Five Dollar Cover From Memphis to the Whole World
I was fortunate enough to attend the premiere screening of Craig Brewer’s new webseries Five Dollar Cover. $5 Cover casts real-life Memphis musicians in a fictionalized story that documents their struggle to fulfill their dreams. Craig Brewer had this idea in his head for many years, even before directing Hustle and Flow. Originally, he conceived of the idea as a series of indie films entitled Bluff City Chronicles. Eventually, the concept became a web-based series of short films renamed $5 Cover and backed by MTV New Media. The webseries was shot last August with a completely local cast and crew. The musicians featured include singer/songwriter/upright bass player Amy Lavere, singer/songwriter/guitarist Valerie June, Kate Crowder of the band Two Way Radio, Ben Nichols of Lucero, Brad Postlethwaite of Snowglobe, rapper Muck Sticky, and rapper Al Kapone and his son, aspiring rapper AJ. Other acts, such as Jack Oblivian and the Tennessee Tearjerkers and Harlan T. Bobo perform. All these acts have descriptions up on www.fivedollarcover.com.
Through these 15 webisodes, each labeled a “track”, we see the hookups, heartache, setbacks, and triumph of these Memphis artists. The story may be fictional, but it definitely has elements that anybody who has had a dream or chased a dream can relate to. Brewer used several Memphis locales, such as the Hi-Tone, the Madison Hotel, and the Memphis Roller Derby as backdrops. The fictional Packy’s Studio is also in most episodes and local actor Jeff Pope does a magnificent job as studio operator Packy. Clare Grant also delivers an impressive performance as Clare, a dancer/roller derby player/supergroupie. Fivedollarcover.com also has extended performances, photos, and will soon begin posting episodes.
In addition, Myspace will be spotlighting several of the acts on their homepage. AT&T will also make the webisodes available on their phones. MTV2 is also getting in the act, by dubbing next week “Memphis Week” and showing videos from Memphis acts. Commercial Appeal photojournalist Allan Spearman also completed a series of documetaries about several of the artists entitled $5 Cover Amplified. I caught a screening of these Tuesday night and this is a also very interesting and a good companion piece to the webisodes. These documentaries can be found at www.5dollarcoveramplified.com. MTV has also decided to air the three episodes a week for five weeks straight beginning May 1 at midnight eastern time (11 PM Central).
I think everyone should check out the webisodes. I enjoyed them and even a lifelong Mid-Southerner such as myself has been exposed to new bands that I definitely plan to see perform and buy music from. I also gained a new apprecaition for some musicians that I had known for year. Memphis has a rich and diverse musical history and many bands in the area today are adding to that grand tradition. Hopefully, this will lead to more expsoure and great opportunities for Memphis artists. I
