Boston's Punk Music Scene Documented in New Film: Local Premiere Will be Held at The West End Museum

Boston, MA—On Friday, June 22, Gallery East Productions—in association with Stone Films NYC— will present the first of four screenings of its groundbreaking documentary, All Ages: The Boston Hardcore Film at the West End Museum in Boston. Showings are scheduled for 8pm Friday; 3pm and 8pm Saturday; and 3pm Sunday. Directed by Drew Stone, All Ages traces the origins of the hardcore punk music scene that erupted in Boston between 1981 and 1984.
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Fresh off its world premiere at the Boston Independent Film Festival 2012, All Ages goes beyond the music to examine the cultural impact of the hardcore punk scene, which became a haven for teens looking to discover a world beyond their suburban neighborhoods and shopping malls. Driven by a powerful soundtrack of classic first-generation hardcore, the film delves deep into the social and communal aspects of that era; the community, culture, straight-edge and DIY (‘do it yourself’) ethic of the time are all explored in this subculture documentary.

“The film documents an important era in American music, as well as the counter culture of the early 1980s. Hardcore gave kids an opportunity to be heard globally at a time when there was no Internet or cell phones,” said Duane Lucia, executive producer of the film.

In the early 80s, Lucia was the owner and operator of Gallery East, an art and performance space in Boston’s Leather District that provided a venue for emerging local bands to perform in front of an all ages audience. “It’s a do it yourself film about a do it yourself scene,” said Director Stone, a film major at Emerson College in the early 80s, as well as the front man for the band, the Mighty CO’s, which performed all-ages shows at Gallery East.

Former Emerson College radio personality Katie “The Kleening Lady” Goldman, produced the film, which features never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with well-known members of the hardcore scene including: author Michael Patrick McDonald (Easter Rising, All Souls), actress Christine Elyse McCarthy, advertising executive Jonathan Anastas, Thrasher magazine editor Jake Phelps, American Hardcore director Paul Rachman and Newbury Comics owner Michael Dreese, as well as a blazing soundtrack by SS Decontrol, Gang Green, Jerry’s Kids, The F.U.’s and more.

A portion of the proceeds from the showings will go to support programming at the West End Museum.

The film will also be shown on June 29, 30 and July 1 at the Nighthawk Cinema in Brooklyn, New York.