DVD Review: Clockwork Orange County: The Rise of West Coast Punk Rock
It’s definitely been done….. a documentary about punk rock. However, this particular one happens to focus on the punk rock scene in Orange County, California. Clockwork Orange County: The Rise of West Coast Punk Rock isn’t doing anything different, but at least it’s going in the right direction. The DVD features interviews with the typical OC punks: Henry Rollins, Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Jack Grisham, Duane Peters, Joe Escalante and all those assholes.
The production quality is pretty shitty, and as someone that is really into filming stuff and trying to make it look and sound as good as possible- I see two sides of it. I understand wanting to make things the best quality you can and I also understand working with what you’ve got. When I started PWV, I was recording interviews on a walkman with a cassette tape and transcribing them and then moved onto filming them with a FlipCam and then onto where I am today. Not everyone can get their hands on expensive camera equipment, and sometimes it’s endearing that they say “fuck it” and make their film anyway. I think this is one of those cases.
I did enjoy the really old footage of an interviewer asking patrons of punk shows why they became punk rockers and why they didn’t want to become a hippy and other amazing questions. The DVD is filled with super old video of shows and interviews, and that’s really the coolest thing about it. The new interviews are all things that I’ve seen these dudes say and I’ve heard all their stories. I mean, it’s still rad and I support anyone trying to spread the word or show the roots of punk rock, I get it. It’s pretty amazing to be reminded of what some of these dudes USED to look like, hahaha, it’s pretty amazing.
The majority of the film talks about the Cuckoos Nest, a legendary punk rock club in Orange County that was home to many crazy punk shows. I might live in California now, but I wasn’t born and raised here so I didn’t know about punk rock venues like this, and it’s pretty rad to hear Keith Morris, Casey Royer and all these people that were there talk about them and why they loved it their most memorable shows there and stuff. It’s just a piece of history that I find very interesting, obviously, and it’s cool to get people talk about it that actually lived it.
The film also has sections such as The Birth of Slam which made me smile because let’s be real… this shit is awesome. I think that would have been a pretty great DVD title if you ask me. So every kid that grew up going to shows knows that people are insane and run around dancing, pushing and punching each other and shit. I was never one to partake in such, but I have been a witness to many. It’s cool to, again, hear all these dudes give their take on slam dancing and where it all started, the first time they saw it and what they thought.
The DVD isn’t breaking history or anything, but it’s still a good watch. You can check out the film’s Facebook page and check out the trailer below.
The DVD will be available June 3rd and you can order it from places like Amazon or pre-order on the official distributor site, MVD Visual.
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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