Documentary shows roots of 'flower power'

By TOM LAVENTURE

[email protected]

Ironwood - Patrons said the topic of a music documentary drew them to the Historic Ironwood Theatre on Friday, but to have the filmmaker present with a touring recording artist was something special.

Filmmaker Neil Norman, who was present to introduce the film, "The Seeds: Pushin' Too Hard," said the Minneapolis screening had sold out but that he was still honored to speak to the small crowd here who he called the "V.I.P's of Ironwood." The documentary project about the 60s band The Seeds took six years to complete in 2013, he said. 

"I love making documentaries as a way to introduce this time to a new audience," Norman said. "That is my mission and I love doing that."

As a child of the music business Norman said he met the band through his father, Gene Norman, founder of GNP Crescendo Records. The band had perfected their "Flower Power," psychedelia sound in California's small club scene when Gene Norman signed them, he said. They had tremendous success with the early songs that had been perfected through the live performances, along with the trend-setting long hair and costumes.

"The original band formed as Volcano, a genius combination," Norman said. 

The band burned very brightly and fell apart with great difficulty, he said. What makes the story an interesting movie is that it's "a human story, a music business story, a rock and roll story, a funny and crazy story," he said."

The band had already been turned down by three major record labels, Electra, Columbia and Capital, he said. Gene Norman found them playing at a bowling alley and, within two years, the band was on television and headlining the Hollywood Bowl, he said.

The band's lead singer, Richard Marsh, who later changed his name to Sky Saxon. A Utah native, he was on his way to becoming a minister when he left for Los Angeles to chase a music career and joined the founding members of The Seeds, including Jan Savage 

Saxon was a very charismatic man, even at age 70, Norman said. He was also a talented artist in the music studio and he also conceptualized the band's album art. 

"He had millions of ideas," Norman said. "They were experimental and they tried to stay cutting edge."

Saxon, not unlike other performers, let his fame go to his head. The Seeds early music is remembered as showing sophisticated orchestration within simple melodies, he said. That sound was perfected over time in the clubs. The band was among the first to use a keyboard bass, which created a new sound.

The later albums lacked the intensity and part of that was due to fame and fortune, Norman said. The band fought the objective voice of the producer and wanted more control of the process. Saxon even self-produced his later albums.

"It's always better to have that role with someone who is objective," Norman said. "Bands need to find producer they can trust."

The other factors in the demise of The Seeds was that the psychedelic era evolved into Pink Floyd and the hard rock era led by Led Zeppelin also ushered in the 1970s, he said. 

"Part of my mission is I want to say these guys were important," Norman said. "They were famous; they originated a lot of ideas; they were one of the first to have really long hair, and they had killer intensity."

Bands like The Ramones and Iggy Pop who helped to found the punk movement in the 1970s credited the intensity and simplicity of The Seeds as an influence. Saxon continued performing and had just recorded a song with The Smashing Pumpkins when he died from an infection in 2009.

The success of the documentary has inspired the surviving members of The Seeds to reunite for a reunion tour, Norman said. He and the band just returned from a successful performance and screening in England, he said.

Traveling with the film is much like being a musician on the road, said Norman, who was also a musician who once recorded with Saxon and toured with Flock of Seagulls. The interaction with the public and hearing the comments and questions is invaluable and serves as an impetus for future projects, he said. 

The next project could be a television series or feature film that is set in his father's nightclub on the Sunset Strip in the 1950s. Gene Norman, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1940, went on to become a radio personality in Los Angeles and was friends with all the big stars, he said.

Dusty Boggs, Ironwood, said he was in junior high in 1967 and remembers the music of that time very well including The Seeds.

"They weren't a big name but I remember them," Boggs said.

The references to Star Trek in the movie were also enjoyable, he said.

Zona Wick, the theatre's board president, said summer crowds are always a risk with people out at the lakes but events like this are important, she said. The film and music resonates with the Baby Boom generation in the area, the people who love the '60s music, she said. 

"I think many people will remember 'Pushin' Too Hard,' I know I recognized it," she said. 

Bruce Greenhill, operations manager of the Historic Ironwood Theatre, said the screening and performance was exciting.

"A lot of our patrons came to this theater back in the day when this was happening so it's exciting to have it here," he said.

Michael Jahnz of the band, Richrath's Project 3:13, was present with guitarist Doug Janssen, and Scott Weber, keyboardist, at the invitation of Norman to perform following the screening. The band is on the GNP Crescendo label and will perform at the Kewaunee County Fair at 7 p.m. on July 13 in Luxembourg, Wis.

"We came to perform some acoustic music to show the people what the label is all about," Jahnz said. "I happened to be one of the artists who recorded with the label back in 1992, and now we're currently putting out a new record this coming year. So, we're working on new material and we're doing some of the old R.E.O. (Speedwagon) stuff."

Jahnz performed with the Gary Richrath band until the founding member and former REO Speedwagon member died in 2015. Jahnz formed the new band to perform Richrath's music including material the two wrote together.