Trailer release: “Louder Than You Think” a LoFi history of Gary Young and Pavement (Factory 25)
Official poster
It’s tough to overstate just how vital Pavement is in the contemporary rock pantheon. Sometimes called “the most important band in the world” whether or not they resonate with you musically, the impact that Pavement had on the sound and aesthetic of indie rock is undeniable.
In the 1990s, at the height of “grunge” blitz, Pavement emerged as an even further sonic reducer to what had already undercut the excess of 1980s glam. As the ultimate champion of corporate music rejection, Pavement made Nirvana look like sell-outs in an era when indie credibility became the most important currency. Growing up in Seattle in the 90s on the cusp of the last official qualifying year of “Gen X”, I was raised in this dogma like it was a religion and Pavement was the Pope.
The opportunity to music supervise this documentary about the origin of a generation-defining band and their tumultuous relationship with original drummer and firebrand Gary Young was a dream come true. I started work on the movie in early 2022 with the help of my usual collaborator Jonathan Lane, and we premiered at SXSW in 2023 winning the audience award in the music doc category (“24 Beats Per Second”).
Pavement had just re-united a couple of months prior so they were on tour at the time, but Gary managed to make it to the premiere despite his declining health. True to form he gave everyone in the audience a banana and wore an outfit so loud it could be seen from space. I was able to chat with him briefly at our after-party and sadly he passed just a couple of months later.
Festival poster
What I love about this film is that it avoids many of the pitfalls of typical rock doc biopics that simply take the viewer along a chronology of an artist’s career because at the heart of “Louder Than You Think” is a relationship story about clashing personalities who in many ways needed each other.
Also, puppets! I’ve never seen puppets used this way in a music documentary and it is delightful.
Obviously you’re going to hear a lot of Pavement music in this (including an as-yet-unreleased “NEW” Pavement song) as well as Gary’s post-Pavement solo material with his band Hospital. But a number of other Matador Records stalwarts from the era are also featured: Superchunk, Dustdevils, Railroad Jerk, and Teenage Fanclub along with a dive into the Stockton California punk scene of the late 80s.
“Louder Than You Think” is directed by Jed Rosenberg and premieres theatrically at Nitehawk Cinemas in Williamsburg Brooklyn Oct 3rd distributed by Factory 25. Look out for it in a city near you after that.
Below are a few photos that I could gather from our premiere at SXSW in (2023). I could have sworn I had one of Gary, (real Gary, not puppet Gary) but I can’t seem to find it now
