THE PANELS -
Each panel occurred after each showing. I actually didn’t wanna go to the second showing, but I got peer pressured into it so I saw both in full.
The first panel consisted of: Buzz McCoy, Jello Biafra, Steve Knudson (Wax Trax! Denver), Groovie Mann, Andy Wombwell (Wax Trax!), Julia Nash & Larry Crandus (Wax Trax!). Marty Leonards (WXRT radio) was the moderator.
Larry contributed video archival footage to the doc as well, I believed he mentioned he was the one who filmed the Front 242/Ministry show in 1984 (the one we talked about on YouTube some time ago).
(photo credit: errorcatastrophe)
The second panel consisted of Groovie Mann, Paul Barker, Julia Nash, Richard 23, Sean Joyce, Chris Connelly and Patrick Codenys.
It’s kind of hard to go into detail about what info was shared at the panels that would be of interest to anyone here, a majority of it was anecdotes about Jim and Dannie, working at the store, it was very warm reunion kind of fodder.
Jello did acknowledge that he did not have a huge tie to WT as far as we know, he stated he was barely in 1000 Homo DJs (his wail is throughout “Hey Asshole”) and that he knew WT more from discovering it in Colorado in the mid-70s. He stated that the cop on “Hey Asshole” was based on a cop named Jerry that was in the store and would frequently kick Jim or Dannie out of their office to make phone calls. A sidenote - he tried to get a job at WT but was turned down because Jim thought Jello was “too weird”!
Questions about TKK centered around the imagery and origins of why and how it formed, but mostly Groovie related in that he was an employee who never got fired, despite his infrequency for not being at work or causing mischief.
I don’t know who the moderator was for the second panel but let me shed some light on what went down with this guy…
He wasn’t a very good moderator, in that he seemed more like a superfan than someone who was there to engage and move the event along easily. He was throwing out factual tidbits and stats throughout the discussion when needed, which mostly were on point except for a circumstance in which he brought up the fact to Groovie that he did lighting on the 1987 Ministry tour. “It was '86,” Groovie said. “Really? I was sure it was '87.” “No, it was 1986,” Groovie insisted. There was a short pause, and Groovie stated dryly and slightly sarcastically, “Next question.” I’d like to point out also that Groovie was really, really stoned for the second panel.
He did this with Richard as well, in reference to a certain venue F242 played when they came to the states in 1984. Their first venue was Medusa’s, and then he mentioned that they played some other venue in Chicago and then he asks, “Which venue?” And Rich keeps talking and the guy asked again what the venue was, leading him to say, “Does that really matter?” People laughed but, it was clearly an irritance.
That’s the only thing I can see that maybe stuck in Groovie’s craw, but that coupled with his condition and his ability to be dry with sarcasm - make of that what you will.
I think it is a strong possibility that more unreleased WT-era material will surface or be released down the line, as Julia was asked on both panels of that being a thing. She paused each time, and said, “Maybe.”
Paul did verify the origin of the 1000 Homo DJ’s name as being that of Jim mocking it never being heard beyond a thousand homo DJs playing it.
I wish I had more to add about these panels, but the one that stood out was that Groovie filmed himself in Jim and Dannie’s apartment above WT burning the inside of a windowpane with Al J’s photo on it while Groovie was mock singing “Burning inside, burning inside!” He nearly burned down the apartment yet, alas, did not get fired as a cashier of the store.