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Rye Coalition: The Story of the Hard Luck Five world premieres at the opening screening of the Summer 2014 New Jersey International Film Festival at Rutgers University!

Rye Coalition: The Story of the Hard Luck Five world premieres at the opening screening of the Summer 2014 New Jersey International Film Festival at Rutgers University! 

This film is an intimate and fiery rock documentary tracing the rise and fall of Rye Coalition, a band of five childhood friends from New Jersey. Here is an interview I did with the film’s director Jenni Matz:

Nigrin: Your documentary film Rye Coalition focuses on the rise and fall of Rye Coalition, a band from New Jersey. Tell us a bit about your film and why you decided to make it.

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Matz: The reason I decided to make this film, is mutli-fold, and has changed over the decade or so I've been working on it. Many of us have had the idea, that our friends' bands are the BEST BAND IN THE WHOLE WORLD. So at the beginning, my goal was to let the whole world know what they were missing: the greatest live rock band... ever!

But as we all grew up, and hit many obstacles along the way (for both the band, and the movie itself)  the narrative became more complex. I realized I had access to a lot of behind-the-scenes realities of the battle scars that bands earn from years on the road. The story of getting signed and getting dropped has been told many times before, but often by bands that have had some modicum of success or popularity in the mainstream. The thing that is amazing about Rye, is that they really never "crossed over", largely because that was never their goal. They are funny, they are a bit weird, and they are Jersey-proud through and through. As one critic put it, they had more of an "anti-charisma" than any hook that was going to get them signed. Yet they persevered. I basically wanted to make a movie that celebrated what Rye Coalition is all about: making great music and having fun with your friends.

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Nigrin: What is this film about?

Matz: The film is about many things. It's about growing up in Northern New Jersey in the early 90s. It's about starting a band with your friends in high school and carrying that on for 20 more years. It's about Herb, Jon, Justin, Dave, and Ralph It's about being a pre-internet, pre-Napster, DIY band that still managed to garner a ridiculously dedicated grassroots fan base. It's about what it's like to have toured across the US in the mid-90s with no label and no money, and hardly anyone having heard of your band before you rolled up to play their house or the nearest VFW hall. It's about what it's like to get signed to a major label, and then, like many bands, watch your dreams fall apart. But mostly, it's a coming-of-age story about friendship and rock 'n roll.

Nigrin: How long did it take you to complete the film and what has been viewers reaction to it so far?

Matz: I started filming the band at shows in the late 90s. I was the kid who always brought a camera to shows. And i would borrow that camera from the AV department at school, so this was usually a VHS-C or Hi8 camera, as you will tell from the early footage. I made lots of music videos and home movie footage for the Rye guys, who were friends. I decided to make an actual documentary around the time they got signed to Dreamworks in 2003. I flew out to LA  to capture their time at Sound CIty with Dave Grohl and engineer NIck Rasculiniwecz. Before I left LA, the Dreamworks deal was over and Rye was trying to figure out what would become of the album they made. During the next several years there were many setbacks, dark days, doubts about the band's status and many technical and legal issues with finishing the film. I was also getting a Masters degree, and working a full-time job. After a particularly bad setback in 2007, I shelved the whole project for several years.  I resurrected the film following Rye's "reunion" show in 2011. We launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise finishing funds, which I sorely under-calculated. But we made our goal, and because of the enthusiastic response from fans who wanted to see this story on film, we finished a few key shoots, interviews, and edits.The editing of this film took the longest time, about 3 years. It went from a 4-hour cut, to a 2-hour cut, and only got down to its current 1 hour 17 timeframe in the last few months.

Many of Rye Coalition's fans know them as the "Hard Luck Five" from the notoriously bad luck, bad timing, and overall Murphy's law of life that has shadowed their career. But the making of the Story of the Hard Luck 5 also had its share of bad luck. There was the "best show ever recorded" that got taped over, when the only copy of the tape was accidentally loaned to a friend, with a long island bar mitzvah. There was the first and last time i used an assistant editor who decided to media managed the FCP project, only to find all my footage was truncated and could not be salvaged, since the box with the master tapes that had been digitized was left in a basement apartment that got flooded. There was the interview footage that was barely audible and could not be used, because the mic was not properly connected to the camera. There was the distribution deal from a company who went bankrupt the day after the deal was inked, winding up costing me thousands in legal fees. There was the time i went to In 'n Out Burger to transport a much-coveted meal for the band who were recording with Steve Albini in Chicago, and my car was totaled by an uninsured driver in the parking lot. There was the time we all got locked out of the van on tour in Texas. But also much like the band's story, there were many GOOD LUCK stories that shadowed this film. There were all the fans and supporters who logged tapes, transcribed interviews, fixed audio problems, donated copies of shows they filmed, and helped me pare down my 1000s of hours of footage. This band is as blessed as it is cursed, and that has everything to do with the fans who simply won't take no for an answer.

Of the people who have seen this film, ranging from those who had never heard of the band before, to those who were part and parcel of their story, the response has been “hell, yeah!”! Whether you like the music or not, these guys are probably the funniest, most authentically New Jersey bunch you’ve ever encountered onstage and off. The line I hear most is “i didn’t really know their music, but now I love those guys!”

Nigrin: Where there any memorable stories in getting the film finished or any other info about your film you can pass on to us?

Matz: Playing Whilryball on go-cart scooters with the Melvins and David Yow before my interview with Jared Warren (Karp, the Melvins). Interviewing Dave Grohl right before Rye Coalition's opening set for the Foo Fighters at the Borgata in Atlantic City, and following him backstage where he totally rocked out to their set. Watching them record at the legendary Sound City Studios in L.A where Fleetwood Mac recorded Rumors and Nirvana recorded Nevermind. Touring the band in Amsterdam and Germany and seeing 1000s of kids who had never heard of them before become instant fans. Filming a complete set at one of the last Rye shows (and last shows, ever) at the legendary Maxwell's in Hoboken. Watching Steve Albini “not produce” at Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago. Getting to know the guys' families who have been incredibly supportive throughout all of this. Grandma Lena Salvemini's interview is one of my favorite things-- and her explanation/definition of a "douchette" is definitely on the DVD extras. Dave's sister in law Marissa Nashel and Justin's sister Melissa Krupinsky have donated many photos from M. Nashel Photography of the band, as has Herb's dad Herbert Wiley IV. Jack Leto remains a father figure to us all, and his 70th birthday wish to see Rye play inspired the band to get back together and the movie to get finished. I had a good time. and even after spending a decade working on this movie, watching these guys still makes me smile.

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The terrific short films will be screened prior to Rye Coalition on Friday, May 30 at the New Jersey Informational Film Festival.  Here is more info on this screening:

Into The Dark – Lukas Hassel  (New York, New York) This tense sci-fi short about two men on their way back to Earth will keep you guessing to the very end. 2014; 14 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Director Lukas Hassel 

The Wanted Ad Tobi Lee Sigona and Keith St. Lawrence (Morganville, New Jersey) A charming silent film about a young woman and man from the 1920s who are teleported to the early 21st century. 2014; 15 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Directors Tobi Lee Sigona and Keith St. Lawrence!

Chasing The Past – Jonathan Salemi (North Hollywood, California) After losing his fiancée in a car accident, Zach withdraws from society. While running through the desert, he meets a mysterious woman who tells him that she is a time traveler running away from a man in the future. Who is really being chased?  2014; 17 min.

Rye Coalition: The Story of the Hard Luck 5 – Jenni Matz (Los Angeles, California)  An intimate and fiery rock documentary tracing the rise and fall of Rye Coalition, a band of five childhood friends from New Jersey. From their first years and endless late nights spent blasting through basement shows and dive-bar gigs, to signing a major record deal right when the music industry imploded, Rye Coalition endured the nightmares and sustained the dream of playing their music their way, disbelievers and haters be damned. 2014; 77 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Director Jenni Matz and Rye Coalition member Dave Leto!

Friday, May 30, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University,

71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey
$10=General; $9=Students+Seniors; $8=Rutgers Film Co-op Friends
Information: (848) 932-8482; www.njfilmfest.com

Free Food courtesy of Jimmy Johns will be given out prior to this screening of the New Jersey International Film Festival!

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