Ace Stallings, lead singer of Break Away performing at United Blood in a scene from the documentary "sXe" (Photo courtesy VCU)
Thanks to a trio of student filmmakers at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond's straight-edge scene is getting a rare turn on local public television.
"I knew about punk music, and I've listened to hardcore," says Carolanne Wilson, a senior at VCU who is co-directing the student film "sXe," which explores the lifestyle surrounding straight-edge, a sub-genre of hardcore music that extols clean living. "I was more interested in the fact that there were punks out there living this very wholesome lifestyle while, these days, middle-age moms and guys on the golf course seem to be living a more dangerous, drug-fueled, alcohol-filled life."
The 10-minute documentary will air June 1 on WCVW-TV (Channel 57), one of four VCU student docs scheduled for a summer-break airing in the Friday 7 p.m. slot normally slotted for the "VCUInsight" news show. Wilson, and classmates Julie Rothey and Jennifer Werling, weren't necessarily big fans of the music, and didn't approach this senior project for their class called "The Documentary" with much knowledge of the scene. "We started off with straight-edge in general," Rothey says, "and Richmond was what we had access to. But as we talked to people, we realized that Richmond was an important place for straight-edge and for hardcore. And we just happened to be here."
In the film, they speak with members of local bands including Break Away, and with promoters and enthusiasts such as David Foster, owner of High Point Barber Shop, who promotes one of the area's top hardcore festivals, United Blood (the students shot footage during the April festival at Strange Matter and Canal Club). "We talked with him about the economy of straight-edge," Wilson says. "And how being straight-edge has helped people succeed in business here at places like Charm School, Black Rabbit Tattoo and High Point." Sterling Frost, the manager at Black Rabbit, also appears. "She talks about what it's like to be a female in this quote, unquote 'brotherhood' of straight-edge," Wilson says. Bobby Eggers, owner of Oregon Hill's Vinyl Conflict record store, also filled the trio in on what the driving music is all about.
Werling came away with profound respect for her subjects: "A lot of them talked about how it was a self-made choice and there weren't trying to push it on anyone else. They just want to live their lives as authentically as possible without anything altering their mind or body."
"I found that hardcore and punk, whether it's straight-edge or not, is really not centered around drinking at all," adds Wilson, who doesn't imbibe, "and that blows my mind."
Julie Rothey also had some a-ha moments: "I [had] never been to a hardcore show, it's definitely not my scene. But being in that environment is not what I expected. You think it's supposed to be angry, but it's not. People run into each other, but they're laughing when they do it. Far from being angry, it's just fun ... and so silly."
"sXe" will air on WCVW-TV on June 1 at 7 p.m.
