#DIFF2016 A Fat Wreck

Doing a documentary on this project was the idea of Dallas's own Shaun Colon who in 2013 envisioned a short film about the Fat fandom. The response was enthusiastic not only from the fans but from the record artists which resulted in a successful crowdfunding effort and that turned the film into a feature length project. Making it's World Premiere at the 10th Annual Dallas International Film Festival, the filmmakers were on hand to to relay some interesting liner notes to the making of the movie which will be screened at various film festivals across the country.

In 1991, “Fat Mike” Burkett of the legendary punk band NOFX and his then girlfriend, future wife, then ex wife Erin Burkett, started an independent punk rock record label they named Fat Wreck Chords. Operating their mail order business out of their closet, they built up their empire over the past 25+ years to over 150 albums and 300 total releases selling over one million records per year during their peak. The nihilistic and anarchistic ideals of the genre is not exactly for mainstream music moguls who homogenize their product to the masses. This niche market survived by the savvy of Fat Mike and the outside the box thinking of dealing with the bands. Which basically was letting them do their own thing. Interviews with several of the label artists like Lagwagon, Propagndhi, No Use For A Name, Strung Out and Good Riddance, plus many others, sing praises for their time with Fat Wreck Chords. Sharing behind the scenes stories and the importance of what Fat Mike has done for the industry.

Visually the film is filled with really colorful animation created by COREPOPS who are known for producing animated bumpers for MTV2 and [Adult Swim]. Plus there are puppets created by Jennie Cotterill who is singer/guitarist for the Fat Wreck Chords band Bad Cop/Bad Cop, as well as a mural and background artist. Then there is the music that is broken down into chapters featuring the various bands and samples of their music. There are some major discussions regarding punk vs. metal to the discerning ear. The stories, the memories, the drugs, the debauchery involved over all those years are succinctly edited into a amusing mix of punk puppetry and interviews. If you were not familiar with this punk rock world, you will want to be after watching this movie.
(Review by reesa)


Here's an interview Dallas Movie Screenings had with the Shaun before the festival: