Prominently displayed in the new movie about Seattle music (and creativity), Will Play for Beer (directed and produced by Carrine Fisher), is a map by Rachel Ratner and Keith Whiteman that charts the interconnectivity of many local Seattle bands. And the map is growing! It has been on display at Capitol Hill Block Party and Bumbershoot, as well as the EMP, and people have added more bands, more connections to it. And it will continue to expand via its web site. 

The map is an apt metaphor for the special quality of the Seattle arts culture: its community, or, its interconnected sense of generosity and collaboration. Seattle is a buoying city, there is little to no crab/barrel mentality about it. This characteristic is displayed in Will Play for Beer and the point is driven home. “I’ve never been in a city [like Seattle] where people aren’t very catty,” said artist Derek Erdman, sounding almost surprised in the film.

There remains, however, as with this movie’s sister film, The Otherside (about Seattle hip-hop, screened at this year’s SIFF), a question about what it is Seattle is making. In neither film is that idea clearly expressed. What is being created, specifically? What are the ideas behind the tapes, the albums, the soda pop from ggnzla records?

“One of the reasons why Seattle’s music scene is so thriving and so energetic is because we have a scene that is reflecting what’s going on in the city,” said Don’t Talk to the Cops member BlesOne. But what is happening in the city? Generality isn’t enough!

Don’t Talk to the Cops member Larry Mizell Jr. offers an interesting idea in the movie, saying that the cookie-cutter idea of success can be found everywhere. So he wants to offer “what you can’t get” anywhere else. But what does this mean to him?

It’s not as if I think all Seattle musicians want to say the same thing. And I cheer the collective work ethic: the idea that artists here are working for the sake of work. Yet, I do wish the movie exposed some of the artists’ actual ideas.

Leaving that question aside for now, it is fair to say that Will Play for Beer is an inspiring and generous documentary. It brings to light venues like The Black Lodge (located on Eastlake, the venue puts on shows for upcoming bands) and Cairo (an art space in Capitol Hill that sells jewelry, puts on shows and hosts parties), and bands like Don’t Talk To The Cops, La Luz, and artists like Derek Erdman. These are not the Showbox or Paramount, not Macklemore or even Pickwick, not the names the world knows (yet). These are, as the movie puts it, DIY artists and spaces working to pay the bills, yet often down to collaborate.

Nathanial Braden Von Mooter of the band Strong Killings makes an interesting point in the film when he says, “If someone came up to me right now and said I’ll sign Strong Killings to Epic Records and you don’t have to work your shitty barista job and you get to go on tour all the time, whatever you want, it still would be a really hard decision because it’s a hard lifestyle.” In this way, it’s all a grind. There is no glamor. I can dig that.

The necessity for big sums of money is shot down, too, with most of the artists on film saying they don’t know anyone who’s made a living making their art – that almost everyone needs a second job to sustain their work. In fact, artist Derek Ryan Claude Mitchell goes as far to say, “Saying you’re limited by cash flow is an excuse to not make the work you want to make.” There are, in truth, hundreds of artists in the city who make a living off their creativity, but maybe in less niche ways. It’s hard to quantify, but it does exist. That fact, though, doesn’t diminish the valiance and courage displayed by the artists in Will Play for Beer who are dedicated to doing what they love.

The question remains, however: what is Seattle making? And what is it about? What does the city and its artists want to say to the world? I’m not saying people don’t have answers to these questions in the town, I’m just saying the film didn’t show any clear answer other than collaboration, itself. Maybe, then, the idea of marking collaboration is the starting point, as with the band map. Maybe the answers WILL come from that. And maybe there will be another movie released soon all about the fruit of the city’s collaborative work ethic.

And now, three questions for the film’s director, Carrine Fisher:

What is your initial response to this review?

I would like to address your over arching question about “what is Seattle making?” which you can feel free to print or leave out.  I would argue that the “what” is the most prominent part of the film.  It’s the product.  The music, the art, the performances, the venues themselves.  It’s the content that is being put out in its various formats and venues, and it’s all over the doc.  It’s the uniqueness of the scene here (partially due to the collaborative aspect, partly due to the weather, and partly due to the inherent culture of the city) that makes the work so specific to this region, and so unlike any other place I’ve been.  That’s what I was hoping to highlight in the film.

Why did you want to make this movie?

I moved here from NY in 2005, and came to know a music and arts scene that was very different from what I was accustomed to back east.  Part of it had to do with moving from a bigger city to a smaller one, but it was more than that.  It was something about the way that people in Seattle take their art seriously enough to make things happen, and produce great work, but not so seriously that they feel the need to create it for the masses and try to sell a million records. Bands here seem to be ok with making music they love, playing for their friends and small crowds, and they don’t feel like they need to change the work to suit a larger commercial audience.  I wanted to tell the story of this particular scene that I’ve come to know and love over the years, and share some of the incredible local Seattle bands and artist that most people might never hear about if they don’t live here (or even if they do).

What are you working on next?

I’m currently directing a Pilot series called “Hangin Tuff” which is a music variety show mixing elements of the classic MTV shows (The Grind, MTV Beach House) and more cult shows like Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and 1960’s Playboy After Dark but with a modern spin.  In each episode, we interview a band or artist (that we love) in a Hot Tub Boat on Lake Union.  There are skits, special guests, and recurring characters, and just general fun times on the water.  After the interview, the band plays a live set, either on the dock, or on some floating vessel, like a barge or Tug Boat, and we edit it down to a 6-10 minute episode.  It’s been a super fun project to work on.  We have 4 episodes in the can, and are doing one more before we take a break and try to find a home for the series in the Fall.