For those about to tweet….
We like to see other people quit their jobs, mortgage their homes, work eighty hour weeks and leave their families behind in pursuit of a creative dream….
Kurt Squiers, creative director and owner of Squiers, LLC, a creative strategy and production company out of Raleigh/Durham, N.C., has always had a thing for AC/DC.
Now, he and cinematographer buddy Gregg Ferguson of Current Motion have taken a year sabbatical from work and other responsibilities to make a documentary about the cultural impact the band has had on fans far and wide – and to follow what may be the last tour.
For “Beyond the Thunder,” Squiers has interviewed a variety of cultural influencers from Pat Boone to the Wiggles, strippers to CEOs, A-list athletes to military heroes. He’s talked with Dee Snider, Dweezil Zappa, Guns n Roses, Kathleen Edwards, Matt Kelly of the Dropkick Murphys, Scott Ian from Anthrax and many more. Advertising folks include our own Gary Koepke; we used “Back in Black” for a GAP spot titled, “Angus” in 2001.
Other famous ads featuring AC/DC music: the Verizon spot starring an Angus Young look-alike in “You Shook Me All Night Long”; the Nike spot using “Rock n’ Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution; and another Gap ad featuring Audrey Hepburn and “Back in Black.” Mike Byrne of Anomaly (who was with Wieden & Kennedy during the Nike spot) and David Baldwin, ex-partner / creative director for McKinney Silver, and lead guitarist/vocalist of the band Pants (who won Adweek’s Battle of the Bands championship), also appear in the film.
Seems like the only people Squiers hasn’t talked to is the band itself, due to the difficulty of penetrating the powers that be. After seven months of calling, emailing and delivering eye-opening packages requesting a single meeting with the band’s management, they’ve had zero response.
But like the dogged filmmakers they are, they keep trying.
Message to AC/DC management: How ‘bout it, boys?
You can see the trailer here.
And you can Tweet for the cause here. That is, if you want to see a kickass rock n roll documentary in a theater near you, soon.
We salute you.
