Jersey City natives Rye Coalition take center stage in Jenni Matz's documentary about the relentless drive of an indie band. The quintet came together in the 1990s as music-obsessed teenagers who couldn't play, so at first the kids traded tapes, and then began bashing on their instruments until songs started to take shape, eventually releasing cassettes and touring the dives of America. Some call it emo, but their early material plays more like hardcore filtered through a math rock sensibility (they would move in more of a classic rock direction in the 2000s). To judge from the archival concert footage that dominates the film, the band consistently cut loose on stage: cracking jokes, setting things on fire, and running around like lunatics. To make ends meet, they worked in liquor stores and drove taxis while living at home. As the grind took its toll, the band decided to make Rye Coalition a full-time gig—touring with Queens of the Stone Age, and signing to a major label, although the deal would fall apart. Many bands would've given up, but Rye Coalition forged a compromise between staying together and breaking up. Not a unique story, but one that young musicians should watch; not for instruction, but rather as a how-not-to guide. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)
Rye Coalition: The Story of the Hard Luck 5
(2014) 78 min. DVD: $16.95. Music Video Distributors (avail. from most distributors). Volume 30, Issue 2
Rye Coalition: The Story of the Hard Luck 5
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