Seattlest Interview: Keith Schieron, Producer, "We Jam Econo"

Seattlest happily revisited a little bit of our musical past Friday night by attending the world premiere of the Minutemen documentary We Jam Econo. The film, by director Tim Irwin and producer (and Seattleite) Keith Schieron, mixes amazing live footage with recent interviews with surviving band members and various other survivors of the 80s punk scene. We left all wiggly and inspired and suggest that you do the same; see the bottom for dates and times!

Keith was kind enough to submit to the Seattlest interview.

Name?
Keith Schieron

Age?
32

How long have you lived in Seattle?
Since October 2004.

What other movies have you guys made?
Me--none. Tim Irwin (the director) has made: A Film About TJ Lavin, Nasty's World, Miracle Boy & Nyquist, Project Watson, Dig 25 (all BMX films). He's also done quite a few commercials as well as a mini-doc that will be on the super-special deluxe DVD edition of Napoleon Dynamite coming out later this year.

Who came up with the idea to make this movie?
Tim and I have been talking about it since we were in high school (around 1989). We both love the Minutemen so much and could never understand why no one had done anything on them. One of the main reasons we made it is that we wanted to see it!

How did you go about getting it made?
We asked Watt [Mike Watt, bass player for the Minutemen, fIREHOSE] and he said yes. We couldn't believe it. We didn't expect a "no," but I don't think we expected a "yes," either. Once he said we could do it, we kind of looked at each other like, "Wow, we're really going to do this." Watt gave us the thumbs-up in June 2002. We didn't start shooting until January 2003, and then really kicked into high gear in April 2003. We're still making tweaks here and there, but for the most part it was finished in February 2005.

I was really impressed that your movie, too, jams econo. Conscious decision or economic reality?
Both. We knew that we wanted the film to reflect what the band was all about. The band was so inspiring to us, so we thought we needed to communicate that in as many ways as possible and making the film very DIY was part of that. And it was absolutely an economic reality. Tim and I paid for this whole thing ourselves, so we were always very careful not to splurge on anything. It was very much just go for it. I mean, we hooked up with folks, pulled out the camera, and said, "Tell us about the Minutemen." That was it. When they were done talking we said thank you very much and left. We didn't bring in lighting equipment or a sound person or anything like that. We didn't have a bunch of questions that we wanted answers to. It was supposed to be down and dirty.

You managed to pull off a who's who of SST guy/punk rock interviews--how?
We just started calling people up and e-mailing them and everyone was into it. People were so helpful I couldn't believe it. They really bent over backwards to help. I think that really says a lot about the band that everyone thinks so highly of them. I never really thought in terms of if we could get someone or not. I knew with people being so busy and all that everyone was going to be hard, but like I said, people literally dropped what they were doing to help us out.

Favorite guy to interview?
I really loved every interview that we did. It was so great to meet ALL of these people. If I really had to pick I would say spending time with Watt and George [Hurley, Minutemen drummer] was the biggest thrill. I know it sounds corny, but I love this band so much and to spend time with them was amazing.

Having never seen the Minutemen live, I was amazed by the energy of D. Boon, bouncing all over the stage. How did you find all that great performance footage?
Funny enough, Watt and George didn't have anything. Luckily they pointed us to a couple of folks who in turn pointed us to a couple of folks, and so on. It was so great for so many people wanting to help and sending stuff to us. Everyone was always saying they would do anything for the Minutemen and sending in a tape was the least they could do.

The footage where the band is playing acoustic, with George Hurley on bongos, even--where did that come from, and was it ever broadcast on TV?
That was shot for a public access channel down in LA. I don't really know if it ever aired, but it is really amazing. They used to do that quite a bit, play acoustic. We have another great acoustic show, but the camera was at floor level, next to George, so all you really get is bongos!

What's the reaction been like from the surviving members of the band?
I know that Watt had a real tough time watching it. To be honest, I'm not sure if he's even seen the whole thing yet. D. Boon is still a big part of his life and living through those memories has to be hard. His Ma liked it! That was huge for us. Getting her approval was as important as getting Watt's. George said he liked it too, and never thought he going to see himself up on the big screen.

What made you choose Seattle for the world theatrical premiere?
Seattle really chose us. We had done a couple of screenings around the country as one-offs. (We sold out a 1500-seat theater in San Pedro, the band's hometown.) Jaime over at the Northwest Film Forum sent me and e-mail and wanted to show it for a full week (later expanded to two weeks). I couldn't believe it. She didn't even know I was living in Seattle. So living here didn't have much to do with it. All those folks over there are super. I'm really glad we got to work with them.

Favorite documentary, musical or otherwise, other than your own?
Dogtown and Z-Boys really made me think we could do the Minutemen doc. It was very inspiring for me. Plus I loved it. I loved everything about it.

Favorite Seattle band, past or present?
I've always been a big garage-rock fan, so I would have to say the Sonics. Although I guess they were from Tacoma.

What's your all-time favorite Minutemen song, and why?
I can't pick just one. Watt explained that the songs weren't supposed to stand on their own; they were part of a big river. The records were big pieces, not a batch of individual songs. The live shows were played without hardly any space between songs. It was one big thing. So it's hard to pick out a single song. But I had to, if would probably be "Search." It was the first song I ever heard by them and it still blows me away to this day.

We Jam Econo is showing at the Northwest Film Forum through Thursday, June 9, at 7 and 9 pm nightly. Buy tickets here.