A Band Called Death autographed poster!

I've posted here before about our nephew, Jeff Howlett, and the documentary he and his friend Mark Covino made called A Band Called Death.  Well, there's been a flurry of activity surrounding this film since I first blogged about it for the LA Film Festival last year.  At this point, Jeff and Mark and the members of Death have seen their movie shown at numerous film festivals in the U.S. and abroad.  The DVD of the movie has just been released.  It can be purchased a number of places including here, the homesite for Drafthouse Films.  You can also download the movie for viewing from several sites including the Drafthouse site.  George and I are waiting on our Blu-ray DVD which is now on it's way!

The guys of Death, Bobby Hackney, Dannis Hackney and Bobbie Duncan, were nice enough to autograph a poster of their film to both of us and our nephew, Jeff, sent it to us.  You'll notice that each of the guys signed it to 'Nick' and Lee Ann instead of 'George' and Lee Ann.  This is due to George's dual identity.  He was always called by his middle name as a baby and while growing up.  All of his family still call him 'Nick' for Nicholas.  However, when I met him in college he was going by his first name then -- George.  He said he was tired of correcting people.  It can get crazy when I'm around his family and everyone except me calls him Nick.  So the guys in the band know him as Nick via our nephew Jeff.

George had the poster framed at a local frame shop.  The owner of the shop had never heard of Death before but now they've gained another fan.  He was the one who suggested that the poster be framed in a vinyl black frame with tiny grooves that resemble a vinyl LP.  It looks great and George has it proudly on display in his mancave.  Here's the full poster:

Here are some close-ups of the guy's signatures along with one of the corner of the frame where you can see the type of frame a little better.

We love having this memento of Death and Jeff's first film via his company, Howlermano Productions.  Jeff is also heavily into photography, too, which you'll see if you search his website.  Oh, there was also a really cool illustration in The New Yorker magazine in July by an artist named Ronald Wimberly.   It's basically a juxtaposition of Death in the '70's and how the guys look now.  Needless to say, it was pretty cool seeing Jeff's name in The New Yorker.  We've been subscribers for over 25 years.

David Hackney

1952-2000

RIP

'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!