SKUM ROCKS! chronicles the unbelievably true story of SKUM, the band who gained substantial popularity on the East Coast of America in the 80’s despite the fact that none of its members knew how to play their instruments. An overwhelming manipulation of the media led to their rapid rise in popularity, such that their main objective became inventing new and creative ways to get kicked off stage without actually playing.
SKUM treated their shows like parties, booking venues in residential neighbourhoods or near hospitals and libraries – where they’d expect to get shut down for noise ordinances. If that didn’t work, they’d throw out free beer to the college crowd while calling the cops to report underage drinking. Either way, they timed their stage appearance moments before the sirens and flashing lights arrived, guaranteeing a “good show” for their fans.
SKUM founding band mates Hart Baur, Pat Burke, John Eaton, Tommy Gunn and Todd Mittlebrooke all tell their side of the story, an absurd tale of the quest for the American Dream – fame without talent, effort, or ability.
Directed by Clay Westervelt (producer of Popatopolis, HBO’s Miss You Can Do It, and other documentaries), SKUM ROCKS! attempts to sift truth from twenty-years of urban legend surrounding SKUM. A veritable Who’s Who of Hollywood and Rock royalty weigh in on the legend of SKUM, including Rock-and-Roll Hall of Famer Alice Cooper who appropriately narrates this bizarre story of fame claims, “These guys may have been naïve, they may have flat-out sucked; but nobody can say they didn’t ‘go for it’.”
SKUM ROCKS! takes a hilarious look at everything that can go wrong when a group of guys with no real direction gets into a position of power. With an amazing ability to garner investors, combined with no ability to deliver on empty promises, their rock and roll train derails quickly.
This film is a sordid tale of a rock band growing bigger than it should have, scamming their way into the hearts and wallets of hundreds of investors. SKUM was a band that couldn’t be bothered with such musical banalities as “practice” and “learning chords”, yet they managed to make it to the cusp of fame and fortune… only to watch it implode.
The filming of SKUM ROCKS! led to the band reuniting more than twenty years after they disbanded. The "missing White Album" of their generation has been found and one of the most absurd acts of their time and place are back and planning to make a comeback as only they know how. New tracks have also been recorded at fabled Elvis haunt Sun Studios, and the band will be recording more music at Abbey Road Studios as they make their way to London for the world premiere of what has to be the craziest and funniest rockumentary of all time!
“SKUM ROCKS!” narrated by Alice Cooper will premiere at Raindance International Film Festival on Thursday September 26, 2013 at 8:45pm at VUE Apollo Piccadilly Circus
