Austin, TX (Top40 Charts/ Western Publicity) Reversal Films announced today the release of the critically acclaimed, New York Times Critics' Pick, Echotone, on Hulu, coming March 5, 2012. After drawing over 500 to the desert for its World Premiere at the Marfa Film Festival, criss-crossing the country at packed festival screenings, winning Best Film at L Magazine's 2011 Northside Festival in Brooklyn, and selling out 10 nights during its theatrical Run at the Alamo Ritz in Austin, Texas, Echotone is coming to Hulu, March 5 in anticipation of the SXSW Festival.
Austin continuously wages wars within its city limits, with music as its battleground. Echotone beautifully examines those battles by neither condemning nor sensationalizing but by letting the city speak through its inhabitants." - Paste Magazine, TOP 20 DOCS of 2011
Quotes from Echotone:
"SXSW was never about unsigned bands, I remember the meeting I was there before we did the first one when we said it's not going to be about unsigned bands…and people go,' it used to be about promoting Austin Music.' It was never about promoting Austin Music, again I was there." - Louis Black, Co-Founder SXSW
"More than 1500 musicians are at SXSW this year. All of them are hoping to get some exposure, and maybe, just maybe, their big break in the business." - KVUE NEWS, Austin, TX
"I know that these people are helping support our economy, but it's like just the way any person who lives in some paradise that people want to travel to. You are going to despise those tourists cause they're like coming in and manhandling your paradise, whatever you love." - musician Cari Palazzolo, Belaire
"You can stumble into a porta -potty and catch a good show."
James Moody, Founder Transmission Entertainment, The Mohawk
"The thing about SXSW is it's a monster, it's a behemoth. And it's the center of the music industry, practically of the whole world, so that's why when you get it in your like 'I made it!' but then it's like 'wait, there are 7000 other bands playing and I'm playing at the Empanada parlor on Sunday night.' It's not like I made it. I just graduated to a new level of the game." - musician Bill Baird, Sound Team / Sunset
"When you arrive at SXSW it's totally mind blowing to see artists from all over the world there to share their latest creations. Austin is a magical place that week despite some of the grumbling, although I do understand why." says Echotone producer Nicholas Jayanty. "It's evident there's millions of dollars changing hands, but it's pretty clear it's not landing in the pockets of the artist that traveled thousands of miles just to play in front of a Miller Lite banner and sleep on someone's crusty living room floor" adds Jayanty.
Upcoming Screenings
AUSTIN
Sunday, March 4 at 2 pm
At The Jones Center, 700 Congress Ave., Community Room
Presented by AMOA-Arthouse
Free
BROOKLYN
Friday, March 23, 12:00 AM, & Saturday March 24 - 12:00 AM
The Nitehawk
136 Metropolitan Ave.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
$11.00
Echotone The Series
Inspired by their work on the feature documentary Echotone, the team behind the doc are expanding the story to other U.S. cities including New York,
Chicago and Los Angeles.
"The more I travel the U.S., the clearer it becomes to me that the story we told about Austin's music scene is a national story. The struggles of the creative class, specifically musicians, are unified in all major cities: the implosion of the major music industry, rampant gentrification in culturally vibrant neighborhoods, noise ordinances and early curfews imposed on music venues," says Echotone
Director Nathan Christ.
"While we were shooting in NYC this past summer four DIY venues were closing due to condominium development eating up the Williamsburg waterfront. The New York Times was covering it. Chicago's scene has been forced so far underground, places like Mortville, deep in the ghettos of the city are the incubators for independent music there, and now we're shooting in LA, kind of digging through the aftermath of the earthquake that hit the music industry in the past decade. Something is in the air right now! Even against all odds, in every city, artists are refusing to give up, no matter the cost. For the first time in history artists are universally taking their careers into their own hands." We are currently in post production on the documentary miniseries pilot and plan to start sharing it with potential buyers in April," Christ adds.
The new series follows Austin musician
Black Joe Lewis, New York legends, the Dap Tones, publicist and manager Heathcliff Berru know for his work with Best Coast, Odd
Future and many others, Chicago's underground heroes, White Mystery, and many other undiscovered acts all engaged in the quiet fight for a louder future.
For more information about Echotone, visit echotonefilm.com. To become part of the conversation, find the film on Facebook and on Twitter @echotonefilm.
