Playing THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ONLY, November 13 and 14,
at
FilmBar Phoenix:
The Seeds: Pushin’ Too Hard—You know the rock bands you see
in ‘60s movies and TV shows, performing in low-angle shots, often with
trippy solarized special effects? The Seeds was the epitome of that sort of band.
Indeed, at least a couple of times—
in Richard Rush’s 1968 Psych-Out, and on
an episode of the sitcom The Mothers-in-Law, they
were that band.
The scene from
The Mothers-in-Law figures prominently in
The Seeds: Pushin’ Too Hard, a loving but not fawning documentary chronicling of
the swift rise and swifter collapse of this classic American garage/psychedelic/blues
ensemble. Formed in L.A. in 1965, the lads were
regional favorites in California
but had some national success with the title song, as well as “Can’t Seem to
Make You Mine,” “Mr. Farmer” and a few other cuts. The original gang had broken
up by 1968, but in their brief time they were able to lay claim to
originating the idea of, and possibly even the phrase, “Flower Power.”
Directed by Neil Norman (son of GNP Crescendo founder Gene
Norman), the documentary is old-school in style, using little in the way of the
cutesy graphics currently in vogue in pop documentaries. We just get some
narration, by Pamela Des Barres, plenty of old footage of the band, and warm,
funny, slightly bemused interviews with surviving Seeds and their families,
cronies and admirers. Unsurprisingly, the most amusing talking head out of the
latter category is Iggy Pop.
Inevitably, the focus is on Seeds vocalist “Sky Saxon” (aka
Richard Marsh, a Mormon kid from Salt
Lake City). Combined with the tinny keyboard riffing of Daryl Hooper
(very similar to Ray Manzarek’s playing for The Doors), it was Saxon’s haunting
voice and his longing, mystical/romantic sexuality that gave The Seeds their
evocative sound. Iggy Pop remarks, of Saxon’s voice, “He couldn’t really sing,
and neither can anybody else who’s any fuckin’ good.”
After the original Seeds breakup, Saxon
took the franchise through several new lineups and reunions, changed his name
to “Sunlight,” joined the Source Family religious commune, drifted in and out
of touch with this particular plane of reality, was homeless for a time, and
had a late renaissance in 2008 collaborating with Smashing Pumpkins before he
passed on, at 71, in 2009.
Norman’s
movie gets at the comic side of all this—there are times when it can’t help but
feel like a real-life version of a Christopher Guest flick. But (also as with
Guest’s films at their best) it gets at the poignant beauty in this story as
well. It’s a quintessential rock n’ roll tale, and a quintessential California
tale, well told.
Director Norman will be at the Friday evening show at
FilmBar for a Q&A, and I had the opportunity to interview him, along with
producer Alec Palao, by email, about their project. Here’s what they had to say [credit,
and appreciation: These questions were crafted by my pal Dave Gofstein, a
longtime Seeds buff]:
Q: The Seeds were very much part of the LA mid-to-late ‘60s
club scene. What was it about that time & place which fostered groups as
diverse as The Turtles, The Doors, Love, Buffalo Springfield, The Seeds, The
Byrds etc?
A: It was a combination of several different factors, the
baby boomer surge, the rejuvenation of the record business sparked by the
Beatles and the British Invasion, and the shift of the record industry’s base
from the East Coast to the West. Los Angeles was already an entertainment mecca
and southern California had a swelling, music-hungry teenaged population to
cater to. Many of the new breed of musicians gravitated to Hollywood because
that was where you could be seen and get a contract, and the disposition of the
West Coast fostered innovation and tolerated eccentricity. A label like GNP
Crescendo, with its eclectic catalogue, played right into that by signing the
Seeds.
Q: One of the oft-told tales about The Seeds is that “Mr.
Farmer” was on its way to being a “Pushin’ Too Hard”-level hit. Then some DJ or
other noticed the lyrics and declared it a Pro-Drug Anthem which stopped the
momentum. Any truth to this or is it some ancient PR which has become gospel
through years of retelling the tale?
A: This is a myth, but not a PR generated one: more likely from
the over-active imagination of a fan. Sky actually intended “Mr. Farmer” as an
early paean to the back-to-the-land, sustainable health-conscious mindset of
the nascent hippie movement, but in the mid-60s many songs were often
misinterpreted or given unintended meanings.
Q: What was the connection that landed The Seeds on The
Mothers-in-Law?
A: This came from Nick Grillo, then agent for the Beach
Boys, who at one time was actually going to manage the Seeds. Desi Arnaz
directed the episode the Seeds appear in and the clip is featured heavily in
the movie.
Q: Did I miss it, or was “Up in Her Room” never referenced
in the movie?
A: You hear it in several places on the soundtrack, but the
song is never specifically discussed. It was however covered in the original
interviews (quoted in the liner notes). Whenever they performed this live doing
they got a standing ovation, even from Supremes fans at the Hollywood Bowl!
