When I was living in St. Louis after I graduated film school, I started going to DIY punk shows with some friends. I saw all sorts of weird and wild performances at venues like The Sinkhole- a small room in an apocalyptic part of town. One night, we went to a show in the back of a coffee shop where we saw an artist from Texas that set up a bunch of old esoteric gear that produced a deathly wall of noise. The band was simply called Terminator 2. As a musician and a filmmaker that grew up on DIY ethics and independent production, I was both baffled and endeared by this. That’s not a person who’s looking to play huge festivals and tour the world, that’s a person who just truly loves music and performing. For all the absurdity and tragedy of that story, I felt like it was time someone told the story of what it’s really like to be a DIY musician.

I held on to that idea when I moved to Chicago and started an MFA program at DePaul University. After the pandemic had subsided and shows returned, I discovered a vibrant community of incredible musicians in the Windy City and I knew that it was the right place to make what I was calling “Local Band”. I met producer Jake Rotger while working as 2nd Assistant Director on Waiting for the Light to Change, who hopped on to help me develop and produce the idea. With the help of numerous local musicians, non-actors, film students and generously loaned locations, we produced a film that I believe is the embodiment of the exact sort of punk rock spirit that is on display in the film. It’s a testament to making art no matter what and loving it for what it is. As a musician, I believe it’s an authentic document that portrays the life of an independent musician with all the heart it deserves.