I Trust You to Kill Me (2006)
You’re Gonna Miss Me (2003)
By Victoria Joyce
(SugarBuzz Hollywood)
SugarBuzz Magazine
So brokenhearted by Stones/Scorsese “Shine a Light” thing, we needed to see a good rock doc quick. Netflix to the rescue. Are you into this yet? This is the greatest thing online since Craigslist. For less than twenty bucks a month you get movies over-nighted to your house via the US Mail. Or screen instantly on your PC (sorry Mac). Here’s the frosting, it’s not just movies, it’s everything. Entire TV series, (dude, The Wire), all that great BBC stuff (Aaahh, Red Dwarf), and movies, movies, movies. Obscure classics, Indies, imports and Rock and Roll documentaries.
A lot of the times these low budget efforts are festival darlings with lots of prizes and limited distribution. Like they came and went before you could see them. And that’s if you live in a big city.
Here are two must-see’s: “I Trust You to Kill Me.” This movie has the greatest movie title of all time with the possible exception of “What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?” It stars Rocco DeLuca and Kiefer Sutherland. Yeah, right, Jack Bauer. Damn it!
Directed by first-timer Manu Boyer, we join Sutherland, who through a twist of fate, hears this Long Beach band, falls in love, jumps on board as manager, starts a label (Ironworks Music) and goes on a Mini Euro Tour. Life on the road with a movie star. The clubs, the hotels, the media, the airports, the buses, the fans and the band. Bittersweet and silly, honky tonking in the twenty-first century.
We can easily understand KS’s passion. Rocco is an amazing musician and song writer. And that voice! It goes right through to your bones. He plays one of those silver steel guitars that gives you chills. The film title comes from one of his haunting songs. Gorgeous.
Interviews with Sutherland are smart, funny and white-hot cool. His grandfather invented Medicare in Canada. And there is this six-foot tall rabbit that shows up in background scenes. Wha? Wonderful and weird.
Our favorite bit is sitting in a club in London and reading the flyer.”Rocco DeLuca & the Burden (his band) and Cheap Hotel.” There’s an opening band? Not exactly. Kiefer explains, “We told them we needed a cheap hotel.” This film reeks of mother-wit, wisdom and beautiful lessons in life. You will be a healthier person for viewing.
And speaking of mental health, our second recommendation is a stone cold heart-breaker. “You’re Gonna Miss Me” is the story of Roky Erickson, founding member of legendary rockers The 13th Floor Elevators.
They came out of Texas in 1966 with a radio hit with “You’re Gonna Miss Me.” The first album was called “The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators.” Yeah, that’s right, they invented Psychedelic Rock.
This poor guy. Roky gets popped for a joint. One joint! But it’s in Texas and it’s the 60’s. Some lawyer thinks it will be cool to plead insanity and get the loony bin instead of prison, ala Cuckoos’s Nest. Wrong!
Then the story turns into “Frances.” Shock therapy, schizophrenia, a prison band with serial killers and rapists, voices, crazy mothers and brothers, fights, drugs and religion and its Texas.
Friends, fans, ex-wives and estranged children are interviewed. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbon is throughout. Another fellow Texan, Chet Helms references other Texas escapee, Janis Joplin and her reverence for “the voice.” There is even some old, old video tape of an appearance on American Bandstand and a short interview with Dick Clark. It’s got a great beat and it’s easy to dance to.
Dark ain’t the word, this film will seriously disturb you for days. Five years on, things have improved. A long standing patron saint of Austin’s SXSW, The Roky Erickson Ice Cream Social is a beloved institution. And things have gotten better for the man, Roky made it to last year’s Coachella Festival. He got out of Texas for a while.
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