''If You're Not Dead, Play'' is a 2005

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

documentary, a

Western Reserve Public Media WNEO (channel 45) is a non-commercial educational television station licensed to Alliance, Ohio, United States. It is simulcast full-time over satellite station WEAO (channel 49) in Akron, Ohio. Both are member stations of PBS and jointly br ...

/ PBS production and the sequel of ''

It's Everything, And Then It's Gone ''If You're Not Dead, Play'' is a 2005 PBS rock music documentary, a Western Reserve Public Media/ PBS production and the sequel of '' It's Everything, And Then It's Gone''. This was also written and directed by Phil Hoffman. It provides the f ...

''. This was also written and directed by Phil Hoffman. It provides the follow-up explanation of how the

Akron Sound The Akron Sound refers to the independent music, largely new wave and punk rock, coming out of Akron, Ohio, in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s, following the international success of local band Devo, talent scouts combed the city. Soon, sever ...

came to be with the second wave of

Ohioan Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

punk rock and

new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. La ...

bands who emerged in the 1980s, including

Chi-Pig Chi-Pig was a new wave power trio hailing from Akron, Ohio that formed in 1977. History Before Chi-Pig During the 1960s and 1970s, Susan Schmidt (daughter of Marjorie H. Schmidt of The Co-eds) and Deborah Smith were active in several area ban ...

Unit 5 Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (alb ...

, and Hammer Damage.

It's Everything, and Then It's Gone

''It's Everything, and Then It's Gone'' is a 2003

documentary. It is a

/PBS production, executive produced by Don Freeman and written/directed by Phil Hoffman. ''It's Everything, and Then It's Gone'' takes viewers through the history of the first wave of mostly

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

, and

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

bands, all from

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, that arrived on the scene in the 1970s, and explains just how the

developed. The first wave of these bands include:

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

, King Cobras (who would later reform as the Rubber City Rebels), The Bizarros,

Tin Huey Tin Huey is an American experimental rock and new wave band from Akron, Ohio, United States, that formed in 1972 and disbanded in 1982. History Original lineups Initially named Rags, the band started with Mark Price (then known as Wesley the Sta ...

, Tin Huey's spin-off group

The Waitresses The Waitresses were an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, best known for their singles " I Know What Boys Like" and "Christmas Wrapping." They released two albums, ''Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?'' and ''Bruiseology'', and two EPs, '' I Coul ...

, and

The Numbers Band The Numbers Band (a.k.a. 15-60-75) are an American blues rock and experimental rock band formed in Kent, Ohio, United States in 1969. They are part of the "Akron Sound" that sprang forth from their home state. Career The original personnel w ...

External links

''If You're Not Dead, Play'' Video on YouTube

on Western Reserve Rockumentaries 2005 in music Culture of Akron, Ohio {{music-documentary-film-stub