Happy to share that the director’s cut of Raymond Gayle’s doc Electric Purgatory: The Fate of the Black Rocker is available today.
While Electric Purgatory was released originally on DVD in 2008 and is enjoying a broadcast run this month on Ovation, this version contains an extended interview with Bad Brains front man HR, as well as more bits and pieces of interviews that didn’t make the original cut. Given the paucity of overall documentation on film of the black experience in rock ‘n’ roll, this can only help further the conversation. If you don’t already have this in your collection, add it, James Spooner’s Afro-Punk and keep an eye out for Danni Conner’s in-progress doc on black women rockers, They Say I’m Different.
Ray and I actually caught up with each other back in August, and here’s the conversation that resulted. You can also hear how Electric Purgatory inspired the creation of this blog.
Additional links:
- Official Electric Purgatory site
- Buy Electric Purgatory on Microcinema
- Buy Electric Purgatory on Amazon