Ever heard of cult punk band BANANAZZZ? Led by “enigmatic genius and angry young man” Craig Evanhalen, whose controversial business is “subverting status quos & waking up the silent majority”?
Well then the titular full-length doco BANANAZZZ (that’s ALL CAPS for full punk impact) is your perfect introduction, tracking the group’s comical rise from the underground of New Brunswick, New Jersey to the ‘overground’ (re: Austin, Texas industry conference SXSW).
Directed by Kate Sweeney, the film charts conflicted frontman Craig Evanhalen’s trials and overblown tribulations in forming his DIY punk outfit with the help of a shady publicist and his parents, to delivering hits like ‘Call To Arms Against The Oppression of Tyrannical Monotony‘ to the masses, along with extolling the “three S’s: society, str8edge and sexuality.”
In case you didn’t pick up on the overblown punchlines, BANANAZZZ and Evanhalen is actually the faux musical creation of comedian, musician, and filmmaker Brett Davis, as SPIN reports. “The humorous critique of diehard punks endlessly decrying the inauthenticity of other punks and their squabbles is at the heart of the 33-minute mockumentary.”
Davis’ humorous critique of diehard punks endlessly decrying the inauthenticity of other punks and their squabbles is at the heart of the 33-minute BANANAZZZ mockumentary, punk’s very own answer to cult 1984 classic, This Is Spinal Tap.
It’s admittedly a little rough around the edges, but contains plenty of knowing winks to diehard music fans, including a list of obscure musical cameos from the likes of indie rockers Screaming Females, lo-fi maverick R. Stevie Moore, two-piece “now age” duo Prince Rama, Katy Goodman of La Sera, and Ninjasonik; all chiming in on Craig Evanhalen’s doomed plan to “change the fucking world… or whatever.”
Watch BANANAZZZ in full below, which in the words of Evanhalen “contains all sorts of LIES about me but if you look past them, you can learn shitloads about being a creative genius.”
