Band of brothers

Published April 28, 2010 at 3:47 p.m.
...It’s a Bash! tells the Neutral Nation story
Acclaimed local director David Bettencourt immortalizes Providence-via-Attleboro punk pioneers Neutral Nation in his latest documentary, It’s a Bash!...

GETTING INTO IT Neutral Nation feeling gravity’s pull.

Acclaimed local director David Bettencourt immortalizes Providence-via-Attleboro punk pioneers Neutral Nation in his latest documentary, It’s a Bash!, premiering on Friday at Lupo’s (followed by a week-long run at the Cable Car) and leading into a triple-bill headlined by who else but Neutral Nation. To top it off, local label Big Noise just released Neutral Nation: Live At Bandwagon (available at iTunes and CDBaby.com), a kinetic 26-minute lightning ride recorded in 1986 at the Living Room at the Bandwagon benefit concert, organized by Big Noise founder Al Gomes, inspired by Bob Geldof’s Band Aid and Live Aid. Live At Bandwagon will be available at the Bash, and Gomes is proud to report that all proceeds will benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

Bettencourt garnered attention with his wildly-popular 2007 directorial debut You Must Be This Tall: The Story of Rocky Point Park, which ultimately led to his take on Neutral Nation, who used to perform a spiked rendition of the Rocky Point theme song. Bettencourt pitched the idea to producer Kevin Cafferty, as both were highly-familiar with the DIY punks; Bettencourt grew up in Harrisville and made frequent trips to Thayer Street to shop for records, while Smithfield native Cafferty hosted the Shindig Punk Rock radio show in the mid-’90s during his college days at URI, where he met fellow punk enthusiast Bettencourt.

“I got into punk rock when some older skater kids tape-recorded some records for me when I was 12, and one of those records was Neutral Nation’s It’s a Bash! album,” Cafferty re-called.

Read more


Back | Read more at Providence Phoenix