'A Band Called Death' at the Los Angeles Film Festival

Jeff, Zach Martin & Mark Covino

We're so proud of our nephew, Jeff Howlett, for having his documentary, A Band Called Death, accepted for it's world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival (June 14th-24th).  Jeff and his co-director and long-time friend, Mark Covino, have been working on this production for years and now they're seeing the fruit of their labors on the big screen.  Here's one review here and here's the official synopsis of the film:  "Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of Bobby’s attic nearly 30 years after Death’s heyday — that anyone outside a small group of punk enthusiasts had even heard of them."

Death

I have to admit that I'd never heard of Death before Jeff started working on this doc but they really were pioneers when they began in the 1970's in their hometown of Detroit.  Here's the band's homepage.  They have a great sound that was ahead of it's time.  Luckily, the Hackney brothers didn't discourage easily and soldiered on through good times and bad -- including the death of brother David Hackney, their lead, rhythm guitarist and songwriter.   The band currently tours and has released new material.

Jeff started his own film production company Howlermano Productions and has produced some music videos.  He's now searching for his next documentary subject.   Here's the promo for A Band Called Death.

Good luck to Jeff, Mark and the members of Death - Bobby Hackney, Dannis Hackney and Bobbie Duncan!