The most “ordained” band in the world

We invite you to follow the story of Luxury, a band who, on the cusp of success suffer a devastating wreck. In the intervening years, they continue to make records and three members of the band become Eastern Orthodox priests. Through interviews and archival footage, Biography / Autobiography will tell the gripping and poignant story of Luxury and will follow the making of a new record, now as priests.

Matt Hinton would have begun this film years ago had he not been struck with the nagging thought that it is hopelessly lame to make a film about the band one plays in. And yet, it is such a thoroughly compelling story with layer upon layer of additionally rich story lines (e.g. Drummer Glenn Black spent a portion of his childhood in a traveling carnival. Bassist Chris Foley was in a break-dancing crew in his youth before he found punk rock. He and his wife are now raising four sons, the oldest of whom has nonverbal autism) that, in the absence of anyone else making the film, he feels more or less obliged. This feeling is heightened by the fact that Hinton has hours of video footage of the band, both from before he joined and after, which includes live performances, recording sessions and even footage of the band in the hospital, when even their hope of survival after the wreck was in question.  The working title of the film, “Biography / Autobiography” (also the name of a track on the 4th Luxury record Health & Sport) gets at the tension inherent in this project.  This film is not being made by Luxury, but by Matt Hinton with the cooperation of Luxury.

Upon the release of their first record, Amazing and Thank You (1995), Luxury seemed poised to move to another level, but a wreck in the summer of 1995 (with tour-mates and fellow Georgians, Piltdown Man) had the opposite impact. All told, there were 3 broken necks between both bands, with Bozeman sustaining the most devastating internal injuries. The wreck changed their fortunes as well (evidently) as their ambitions. With each successive record, there was a greater sense of self-reflection in Bozeman’s lyrics, and the music followed that deepening maturity, all the while maintaining the fundamental dichotomy of soaring melodies on top of angular post-punk instrumentation. The first record was essentially a document of their live shows, which were remarkable events in their intensity and the band’s posture of defiance directed even at their own audience. On successive records, though, Luxury learned to use the studio as an instrument. While, on the first record Bozeman asks “So, what do you expect from life?” he seems to have spent  each of the following records seeking to answer that very question.

We have shot over 90% of the film thus far. In addition to the older analog footage, we have visited each member of the band in their respective environments, in Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. We have begun editing, but need to finish the production phase which includes additional interviews in far-flung parts of America. So, we need to travel a bit. The majority of the funds we raise will go towards the post-production phase. We will hire an editor for the last week of the edit to get another set of eyes on the film; someone who can view the film from a position of objectivity and who can brutally cut scenes that we have fallen in love with but which don’t actually serve the story. Next, we need to have the film color graded. This is especially important with a film like this that pieces together various kinds and ages of media. Next, we’ll have the sound mixed. Again, a film about a band will need good sound. Ultimately we need to output it, manufacture it, submit it to festivals, etc. None of these things are cheap. But we have every expectation that this story will gain national interest and have already hired an excellent publicist. If you or anyone you know has video footage of Luxury, please contact us! We would love to have as much footage as possible at our disposal. As it is, we have plenty of footage to make the film, but every extra camera angle gives us added options for editing! Similarly, if you know of worthy interview subjects you feel may not be on our radar, please let us know. Especially if they are musicians, music critics, etc.

Please visit their Kickstarter page and back their project.