''Another State of Mind'' is a documentary film made in the summer of 1982 chronicling the adventure of two punk bands,

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

and Youth Brigade, as they embark on their first international tour. Along the way they meet up with another progressive punk band,

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitaris ...

, whom they hang out with at the

Dischord Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles ...

house for about a week near the end of their ill-fated tour.

Plot

The bands head north up through

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. The film documents

and Youth Brigade live shows; it also features Minor Threat at band practice. At one point in the movie, Social Distortion's

Mike Ness Michael Daniel Ness (born April 3, 1962) is an American musician who is the lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the punk rock band Social Distortion, which was formed in 1978. Early life Ness was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on April ...

sits on a porch and writes future underground hit "Another State of Mind". The film documents not only the complex and challenging social dynamics of the punk scene, the touring bands, and their crew, but also documents the DIY punk touring circuit in its infancy. A final bus break-down in D.C. causes Social Distortion to split up. Liles and Danell abandon the group to stay with friends of Brinson's, where they voice their exhaustion with the tour and the rest of the group. Out of desperation, the others go to the local

Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...

to shop for tarps with the members of

. Mike Ness ends up being stranded when the rest of Social Distortion heads back to OC where they feel they have a better chance of making money rather than staying on the difficult tour. Ness has really no choice but to grab a flight back to LA himself and try to regroup. Youth Brigade rents a truck and drives back to Los Angeles.

Cast

*Adam Stern, bass player for Youth Brigade *Mark Stern, drummer for Youth Brigade *Shawn Stern, guitar and lead vocals for Youth Brigade *

as the lead vocals, lead guitar of Social Distortion *

Dennis Danell Dennis Eric Danell (June 24, 1961 – February 29, 2000) was an American musician, guitarist and co-founding member of the Southern California punk rock band Social Distortion. Biography Danell joined Social Distortion in 1979 while he and ...

as the rhythm guitar of Social Distortion *

Brent Liles Brent Harold Liles (September 7, 1963 – January 18, 2007) was an American musician who was the bassist for Social Distortion from 1981–1984 and later was the bassist for Agent Orange from 1988 – 1992. Early life Liles was born on Septembe ...

(credited as Brent Lyle) as the bass guitar of Social Distortion * Derek O'Brien as the drummer of Social Distortion * Mark Wilson (Monk Rock) as a band manager * Mike Brinson "Rock Star Roadie" as party fill * Louis Dufau, roadie * Marlon Whitfield, roadie * Dominic Mastergeorge, roadie

Production

Filmmakers Peter Stuart and Adam Small came upon a large-scale project which immediately captured their imagination: the

Better Youth Organization Better Youth Organization Records (BYO) is a Los Angeles, California based independent punk rock record label created by Shawn and Mark Stern, two of the three brothers of the California punk rock band Youth Brigade (the third being Adam Stern w ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

was planning a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n tour. Eleven assorted punks would be traveling across the country in a broken down

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...

. It was a chance to explore and document the punk community more extensively than ever before. On August 17, 1982, armed with one

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

, Stuart and Small set off in their rental truck on this journey through the underground. For six weeks and ten thousand miles, they recorded the adventures of the two touring bands – Youth Brigade and

. More than just

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

footage, this film documents the rich collection of characters in and around the tour, and the hardships and dangers of life on the road. The film was made on the cheap side and the scenes that feature instructions for slam dancing were filmed as filler so that the film would be at a viable length for release and distribution. The poster was designed by Josh Freeman, now president and creative director of FreeAssociates, the design/advertising agency in Los Angeles.

DVD special features

Commentaries by Mike Ness, the directors and Youth Brigade.

Trivia

Five cast members have died since the making of this film; Dennis Danell (brain aneurysm in 2000) and Brent Liles (traffic accident in 2007) of Social Distortion, and road crew members Louis Dufau (drug overdose in 1988), Dominic Mastergeorge (died in Middletown,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

in 1995, and Social Distortion manager/road crew member Monk (Mark Wilson) died in April 2020. Additionally, Marcel, a wheelchair-using punk who is shown in the Montreal scene died in 1984. Manon Brière, another young Montreal punk, is still around and she fronted bands Generatorz and Maninc Manon and the Guest List. In the mid 1980s Mike Brinson went to nuclear engineering school in the Navy. He currently resides in Indiana where he has 2 sons and works in the aerospace industry. Strangely, in the beginning of the documentary, Dennis Danell jokingly says that he's 38 and old. On February 29, 2000, Danell died at the age of 38.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Another State Of Mind (Film) 1984 films Documentary films about punk music and musicians American documentary films Social Distortion 1984 documentary films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films