WE WERE FAMOUS, YOU DON’T REMEMBER: THE EMBARRASSMENT
WE WERE FAMOUS, YOU DON’T REMEMBER: THE EMBARRASSMENT
DANIEL FETHERSTON & DANNY SZLAUDERBACH, 2022
Catalog No.: FTF-137
Length: 96 Minutes
Ignited by punk’s invasion of the Great Plains, America’s gawkiest and greatest lost rock band battles conformity in Reagan-era Kansas. The Embarrassment played Chicago, D.C., and New York, drawing the attention of influential figures like Allen Ginsberg, John Cale, and Jonathan Demme — but their independence and refusal to sell out sparked tension within the group and kept mainstream success at bay. Through original interviews, restored concert footage, and appearances by fans including Evan Dando, Freedy Johnston, Grant Hart, and Thomas Frank, this documentary shows how the Embarrassment rose out of nowhere to become a post-punk legend that's almost been forgotten — until now.
Directed by Daniel Fetherston and Danny Szlauderbach
Music by The Embarrassment
Featuring: Bill Goffrier, Brent Giessmann, John Nichols, Ron Klaus, Evan Dando, Freedy Johnston, Grant Hart, Thomas Frank
WATCH THE FILM
July 9, 2023
Liberty Hall, Lawrence, KS info
July 12, 2023
Stray Cat Film Center, Kansas City, MO info
July 26, 2023
Nitehawk Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY info
July 27, 2023
Brain Dead Studios , Los Angeles, CA info
July 27, 2023
The Clairidge, Montclair, NJ info
August 8, 2023
Flicker, Athens, GA info
August 17-18, 2023
Tallgrass Film Center, Wichita, KS info
August 30, 2023
PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA info
PRESS
“An inspiring reminder that creativity can sprout anywhere.”
-Mark Olsen, The Los Angeles Times
“The film is clever and exciting and totally transporting.”
-Bob Guccioni, Jr., SPIN Magazine
“An Embarrassment groove coming alive is every myth of indie rock still worth believing in. The Sound is Gang of Four crunched part way towards what would become Superchunk.”
- SPIN Magazine
"The gold standard of the ’80s US geek-punk underground. Not unlike a cornfield-surrounded Feelies, if the Feelies had been more fixated on the Buzzcocks."
- Maximum RockNRoll
"The Embos' modern primitivism raises its grizzly head. Altogether confounding and exhilarating and awesome and joyous and more."
- New York Rocker, 1982
“The Embarrassment are a pop band with very catchy songs. But they are far too loud and intense to be compared to The Beatles, XTC, the dBs or any other band that is generally described as pop. And they are too subtle to be hard-core, though hard-core fans would probably like them. In short a great band, see them, buy their records, then you’ll know.”
- Jet Lag Magazine, 1982
“Kansas itself is a kind of character in the film, with Fetherston and Szlauderbach probing the dynamics around creativity in culturally isolated pockets of the country.”
-The Kansas City Star, 2022
“The band’s sound—at once incisive and loose, targeted yet scattershot—doesn’t fit even the most expansive definition of punk.”
-The Independent, 2022
“The film represents a labor of love and a surprising collaboration that traversed geography, generations, and technological advancements.”
-The Pitch KC, 2022