Louder Than You Think: A Lo-Fi History Of Gary Young and Pavement, 2023.
Directed by Jed I. Rosenberg.
Featuring Gary Young, Stephen Malkmus, Scott Kannberg, Steve West, Mark Ibold, Bob Nastanovich.
SYNOPSIS:
Gary Young, drummer for indie-rock icons Pavement, injected a wild-card unpredictability into the band’s breakthrough, lo-fi sound. But those same gonzo impulses derailed his rock star dream.
This entertaining and at points melancholy documentary kicks off with its subject boldly declaring that he took LSD 365 times in 1969. From that start point as a 16-year-old in New York, the film describes how Gary Young makes his way to the down-at-heel town of Stockton, California, escaping state police with his life-long partner. By way of jobs both legal and non-legal, Young eventually set up the famous Louder Than You Think home studios.
Hippiedom crossed paths with punk and by 1979 Gary was gigging with many bands including the Fall of Christianity.
Flash to the late 1980’s and two young (20 years or so younger than Gary) guitar freaks, Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg (aka Spiral Stairs) knock on the studio doors for some recording time. Gary dug their sound but felt that his drumming could add a bit more construction and rhythm to the hardcore feedback and effects. Success in the indie world of zines and local gigs soon followed and one of the best-loved alternative acts anywhere was born.
The visual effects in the film using a colourful puppetry style effectively bring about a psychedelic look to the film. The colours and erratic imagery and movement also mirror something of what Young perhaps experienced throughout his life. His very-un indie/punk behaviour of doing headstands on stage, handing out miscellaneous vegetables to the crowd before a show, and classic drum solos belonged to an earlier style of psych/prog rock performance.
The film successfully argues the case that this mix of Young’s influence on the early Pavement made their early recordings and gigs truly stand out. As Dr Adam Harper puts it in the film, Gary wanted gigs to be like the movie Rollerball. Trippy colourful, and dangerous.
Most of the time though the danger was to Gary himself, who after his youthful acid quests lived with a powerful addiction to alcohol. He once fell 8ft from a stage and continued playing. His love of performance never seemed to wane though, and after being shifted out of the band in 1993 due to his unpredictable and erratic nature, he continued to perform with Gary Young’s Hospital. The group’s signature tune Plant Man released a year later was written by Young and became something of an underground classic.
Insight into these early adventures of the lo-fi heroes is given largely from interviews with Young, his partner and members of Pavement. The mix of traditional interview techniques with wild visual effects makes a compelling study of a character who always wanted to have fun his way.
Young passed away in 2023 aged 70. He saw the film at SXSW and gave it his blessing.
Louder Than You Think arrives in US Cinemas from October 3rd.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert W Monk
