LET THEM KNOW: THE STORY OF YOUTH BRIGADE AND BYO RECORDS (Jeff Alulis, Ryan Harlin, U.S.). 89 min. 1 pm, Friday June 19. NFB.
The early punk scenes in the UK and NYC are both well documented, but there’s a large hole when it comes to L.A.
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That’s partly because of the lack of major label involvement, but the absence of corporate money didn’t keep the southern California scene from being extremely vibrant, and it helped forge the DIY mentality to which contemporary indie culture owes a huge debt.
Let Them Know corrects this historical imbalance amazingly well, chronicling the ambitious and idealistic career path of the band Youth Brigade in the context of the larger community. Given the shortage of video footage from the period, the directors make great use of animated still photography to put together a surprisingly slick and watchable package.
