Working Class Rock Star
Directed by Justin McConnell. Featuring Lamb of God, GWAR, Unearth, Strapping Young Lad. Now available on DVD.
***

One of the most interesting points made in the documentary Working Class Rock Star comes from Dave Brockie, better known as GWAR’s semi-humanoid stagemaster Oderus Urungus. In a rare unmasked interview, Brockie admits that most members of GWAR, despite more than two decades of worldwide recognition and constant touring, find themselves working part-time jobs in the downtime between tours.

Surprising? The film’s director, Justin McConnell, says it had to be made clear to people entering the music industry that it’s no easy ride.

“The excesses of the ’80s are dead,” McConnell says. “Unless you’re in the top echelon of bands that are out there, you’re not making the type of money you used to.... In the ’60s and ’70s, it was more about the music. The excesses weren’t there — the videos weren’t playing on MTV and making people superstars. They would travel from town to town. I think we’re kind of getting back to more of that ’70s esthetic in terms of how many of these artists are going from town to town. It’s still at the club level. People have to approach it more now for the music.”

A Toronto filmmaker and sometime musician himself, McConnell set out in 2003 to make a film about the trials and tribulations of indie rock, but came out with a documentary subject that may very well serve as a wakeup call to anyone aspiring to walk through the golden gates of the music industry, which are becoming increasingly tarnished by online filesharing and plummeting album sales.

“It’s not something you’d blame on the internet exactly,” McConnell says, “but ever since you were able to get your own music out there, it’s as if everything’s exploded — the market’s become totally saturated because everybody thinks they and their brother can do this. There’s far too many bands now, and there’s far too many labels, and there’s not enough people to support a scene.”

For up-and-coming Canadian metal bands like Bloodshoteye and 3 Mile Scream, both of whom are followed throughout the documentary, it’s obvious that pursuing a career in music basically means putting not just your nose to the grindstone, but your teeth as well. McConnell shows the bands on the road for months at a time, leaving family and even infant children behind as they follow their musical dreams.

The funny thing, I thought, was how the film’s title suggests a separation between the rock star world and the working class — I mean, shouldn’t musicians have to work hard, just like everyone else? I don’t know too many people who consider themselves “artists” who don’t acknowledge that they’re going to invest blood, sweat, and tears into what they want to do.

“Everybody should have to work — it’s not so much that,” McConnell explains. “Your average blue-collar guy’s got expenses. He’s got house payments, bills, etc. See, the musicians have all those things, but they also have expenses [to put their music out]. I do think that, for the most part, the whole industry would be a lot better if people were more down to earth. The problem is that labels are looking for hitmakers. Even the indie labels are looking for hitmakers. The top bands on the label get a lot, and everyone else is left out to dry, basically. You can’t really have that balance. You’re either starving or you’re not.”

Inevitably, there are people who dive into the scene headfirst without knowing a thing about how much it’s going to cost them — the film contains interviews with numerous rockers who learned the hard way that being signed to a label is not the be-all and end-all of “success” anymore.

“I think the problem,” McConnell says, “is that the media in general portrays the idea of the rock star as this giant ... like, you’re going to become famous instantly when you get signed, the perks that you get backstage are glorious. But it’s really not like that. It all depends on how well the promoter treats you. Some of the tour supports these bands get are on a $5 a day budget per person. You can’t even eat one meal a day on that. You can be as careful as possible and still get screwed over badly. Sure, some bands will explode, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to last.... You have to be more realistic about it now, put it that way. You’re not going to have hookers and blow all the time.” He laughs. “It’s a ton of overhead for a little bit of success, for the most part. Even if you get a large advance, that advance is a loan — you have to recoup that loan.

“I’m not saying that labels are bad,” he continues. “But what it

really means is that there’s more middlemen to take money out of the pot. You can make your own CD and pay for it yourself and sell it directly to your fans or over the Internet, and maybe you’ll make decent money at that because you’ll get more money per unit. But unless you already have an established fan base, you kind of need the label, because you’ll get a wider distribution than you would on your own.

“It’s like when I was trying to sell this documentary — I kept getting told that I’d make more if I sold it
directly. I opted in the end for more exposure, because the distributor that picked it up put it in major video and record stores all over North America, and I couldn’t have done that on my own.”