The biggest cities of the lush Pacific Northwest, namely Seattle and Portland, will forever be christened the Homes of Grunge, regardless of the fact that the musical landscape of each town is actually as unique and jumbled up as any New York or Los Angeles. “Singles” definitely did its part to cement the deal, and another Cameron Crowe opus, the recent, fantastic “Almost Famous,” changes the locale but goes on to play up the power, swagger, and sheer magic of the elusive rock n’ roll life. Movies about music have been around forever, and they ain’t going anywhere soon.
Director Kurt Voss, who worked on the musically-inspired “Border Radio” with Allison Anders, is set to film another piece for the growing music-film puzzle. “Down and Out with the Dolls” follows the rise and fall of an all-girl (sorry, grrl) Portland rock band, the Paper Dolls, as they try their hand at rock stardom. Voss is at the helm of this project, and the cast includes varsity musicians like Lemmy from Motorhead and singer/songwriter Melody Moore.
Though the piece is just beginning to film, the group has high hopes that they’ll make it all the way to the Sundance Film Festival. Keep your eyes peeled on the [ the Sundance website ] in the months to come.
