INTERVIEW WITH IAN MCFARLAND - DIRECTOR OF 'CHIP ON MY SHOULDER'

With "Chip On My Shoulder: A Cautionary Tale of Slapshot" playing the Salt Lake City Film Festival this weekend (Saturday, 8/15 at the Post Theater to be specific), the director Ian McFarland was nice enough to sit down and answer a few questions. He'll be unable to attend the screening tomorrow night, but in his place the Executive Producer and the Owner/Founder of Taang! Records Curtis Casella will be on hand to take part in a Q&A session after the film.

And since Ian won't be attending, we're happy to have our own little Q&A session right here on Grudge City Activities.com

Enjoy and we'll see you all at the film tomorrow.

What is it about Slapshot that warranted its own documentary?

Well, if you have a band that has managed to be around for as long as Slapshot has (24 years) there is bound to be some sort of story there. Besides the fact that they are the band that introduced me to hardcore, they have definitely made their mark on the history of not only Boston Hardcore but the genre in general.

With your experiences and connections—and because the city has such a rich and storied tradition in the punk/hardcore genre—the film could have very easily morphed into an all-encompassing Boston Hardcore documentary. Was it hard for you to limit your focus to just one band?

To be perfectly honest with you, it was not difficult to stick to Slapshot because the truth is that this film is more about the personal side of the band than the historic side. From day one, Anthony and I wanted to expose a side of the band that no one had ever seen-- the human side and the yin & yang like relationship between Mark McKay and Jack "Choke" Kelly.

Originally I wanted to do a lot of interviews with bands like Sick Of It All, Agnostic Front, Scream, Bad Brains and so forth, but I decided that it was more about the band’s members and their personal side rather than Slapshot the band/act. Therefore we only interviewed the band’s present members and a few past members as well as their roadies. I wanted the people that were there in that van for the whole trip. They were the ones that could talk about what Slapshot did to them rather than what Slapshot did as a band.

I mean yes, the history of the band is definitely in the film but it is not the focus. To me, I wanted to essentially humanize the the superhero-like figures that I had grown up wondering about.

I think a full history documentary film can be done when the band is broken up.

How did you get involved with the band? Had you always been a fan?

The first time I met them, Slapshot and my band (Blood for Blood) were on a three week European tour in 2004. We were sharing a bus, so naturally that makes you either become really close or puts you at odds with each other . Luckily in this case, we all hit it off immediately. We were constantly laughing—it was definitely one of the funniest tours that I have been on. I can’t speak for the other guys In my band, but I can say that for me the experience of touring with a band with so much history and a band that has had so much influence on a subculture was surreal. One nigh on that tour, I was having a dinner with Chris Lauria (Slapshot, bassist) and he was telling me some really amazing stories about the band and their history when it just hit me that no one had done anything with them before. And in talking with Chris more, I realized how interesting their past is. I mean Chris, Mark and the original guitarist Steve Risteen went to Jr. High together and got into hardcore all at the same time. They used to go see Choke’s other bands before Slapshot (Last Rights, Negative FX) when they were literally young teenagers. That was in the early 1980’s; now almost 30 years later they are still friends and doing basically the same things. You don’t see that much these days.

When you brought up the idea to the band, what was the initial reaction?

From the start I wanted to do a documentary film rather than a fan DVD that only the fans would appreciate. I thought that the band had an interesting story that would appeal to a much broader audience if presented in the right way. When I approached the band about the idea, they really didn’t think that their story was very interesting and they didn’t think that anyone would want to hear it other than fans. Regardless, they agreed to let me give it a shot and I began work on the project. I think that once we did the first round of interviews with them, they quickly realized that I was not out to tell just the history of the band but rather was interested in looking at the opposing personalities of drummer Mark McKay and singer Jack “Choke” Kelly over their 30 year history.

The thing that surprised me the most was that these guys just really don’t take the band seriously and never have. I mean yes, the band started with a mission to put the Boston scene back on the map but that was as far as it went. I don’t think that they ever dreamed that they would be together 30 years later, let alone still be close friends. And in looking at the footage of when they were teenagers and being around them today, they really haven't changed too much.

How hard was it to find all the footage from the early 80’s Boston shows?

At times it was a pain in the ass to locate some things, but for the most part I could always fall back on Choke's collection of tour footage. See, most people don't know that Choke actually went to film school at Emerson College in Boston. Some of the footage he filmed is really priceless. As far as gathering other live stuff, Steve Risteeen (original guitarist) was my go-to archival footage guy. He really seemed to have everything I needed and knew where it all was.

How long did the whole process take from conception to finished product?

We went through about 7 different cuts till we found the one that we liked. I am still not 100% happy with it, but I can say that about all my work. Sometimes you have to know when to just say when. We did not work on it full time— we would work on it for a month or two then take a break and come back to it. Altogether the film took about 3 three years from start to finish.

What is your favorite Slapshot song and why?

I don't think that I really have a favorite song but I would say I have a favorite album. "Step On It" seems to alway be the album that has meant more to me than others. It was the first album that I listened to when I was getting into hardcore. I will never forget the moment that I first heard Slapshot (which was also my introduction to hardcore). My best friend Chris Moores and I were hanging out and he thought that I should listen to something other than metal so he threw Slapshot my way. That moment changed my life forever.

What’s next for you as a filmmaker?

Well, I just wrapped on a very large project that I did for the band Meshuggah. They brought me on to direct / produce their new Live DVD. We filmed 4 shows in total (Tokyo, Toronto, Montreal & NYC), all 5-7 HD cameras per night, plus I lived on the road with the band for about a week and a half so I also filmed a bunch of really cool moments with the guys on the road. All in all it's a really unique DVD and plays more like a live/film rather than a band live band DVD.

Right now I am currently looking into a few ideas that I have for documentaries and gearing up to hopefully produce a feature narrative in early 2010 for a friend of mine.