New Documentary on Dead Boy Stiv Bators Screens at the Cinematheque

Sat 3/23 @ 8PM

Youngstown’s Stiv Bators was a one of punk rock’s great characters. After playing with a local Youngstown band called Mother Goose, he moved north to the big city — Cleveland — where he hooked up with some local boys to form Frankenstein. Soon they changed their named to The Dead Boys.

Very quickly, they moved to New York, made a splash in that city’s burgeoning punk/new wave scene at CBGB, signed with Sire, released two classic albums, succumbed to drug abuse and broke up before the ’70s were over. Stiv himself rose about the wreckage to become punk celebrity, courting the media, dating models, releasing solo work and forming a new band Lords of the New Church. Then he died in Paris in 1990 at the age of 40, under somewhat disputed circumstances after being hit by a car.

Filmmaker Danny Garcia, who has made films about the Clash, the Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious and New York punk rock burnout Johnny Thunders, has now directed STIV: No Compromise, produced by Chip Baker Films. The film includes interviews with fellow Dead Boy Jimmy Zero, Dead Boys producer Genya Ravan, Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats, Dave Tregunna of Lords of the New Church and many more whose lives intersected with Stiv’s.

The film will have its first screening in the area at the Cleveland Cinematheque. The film will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by former Rock Hall curator Howard Kramer. Panelists include Zero, Youngstown musician Frank Secich of Blue Ash, and David Quinton and Eddy Best who played with Bators on his Disconnected album.

Admission is $10.

stivdocumentary

cinematheque/film-schedule/2019/03/stiv

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106

Cleveland, OH 44106

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One Response to “New Documentary on Dead Boy Stiv Bators Screens at the Cinematheque”

  1. Donna Shimko

    I saw this documentary, and it was truly an amazing tribute to a Cleveland (and international) punk icon. The rare footage was a delight to see (and there were numerous sightings of Stiv’s little white bum!) – Stiv’s bands through the decades – even a clip of Stiv’s notorious car surfing! Friends, bandmates and previous partners shared their unvarnished truth with the filmmaker.
    The panel discussion afterward was enlightening as well – past bandmates shared their slightly censored reminiscences and obvious love for the uniquely talented punk star who was also their friend. Jimmy Zero, obviously still saddened by his great loss, shared a deeply personal memory of Stiv’s last phone message to him – a most touching tribute to a departed and dearly loved comrade in music.
    I could have watched another couple of hours of Stiv footage. I definitely see this as a Cannes contender.

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