Endless Calls For Fame

With filmmaker Olivia Serafini-Sauli’s engrossing rock doc Endless Calls For Fame, we finally get the untold history of what happened in New York during the alternative music explosion of the ’90s. It follows the core members of The New Rising Sons: Garrett Klahn, Kevin McGinnis, and Drew Thomas (never mind the bass players; there will be a new one in 10 minutes).

Serafini-Sauli incorporates footage she shot during the decade of the Lower East Side creative scene with current interviews, telling this story of a band that almost was. Everything starts in the ’80s hardcore matinees at CBGBs, with many future band members bouncing off each other in the mosh pit to the Cro-Mags or Agnostic Front.

These teens grew into 20-somethings who moved downtown to start a new sort of guitar sound. After circulating through several different bands, three musicians gelled together over a love of late ’90s Britpop and formed The New Rising Sons.

“…the untold history of what happened in New York during the alternative music explosion of the ’90s.”

They sold out clubs in the city and got caught up in a label bidding war to sign them. However, after their debut album was recorded, the label decided to write off the record on their taxes rather than release it. What could have been America’s answer to Oasis never got to your speaker… until unusual events over a decade later ended up with a second act for a band that never got to finish their first.

During the documentary, Nirvana’s famous show at the Marquee in 1991 came up. This was the one they did before Nevermind blew up, and it only cost about six bucks to get in, which also got you a Melvins show. My editor at Jenny, the fanzine I wrote for at the time, invited me to go into the city to see it with him, to which I declined.

My reasoning was back then six bucks was a lot of money and that Nirvana was a stupid name for a band. I had never heard of The New Rising Sons either and would have also skipped seeing them due to the band name.