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Lucero has quickly become one of my favorite bands since I bought That Much Further West some time last year. The songs are so sincere and heartfelt that its hard not to be in awe of their alt country folk punk rock sound. Ben Nichols' voice has a calming angst to it, and the lyrics (not to mention the way he sings them) bring everything together so well.
Despite my love for this band, it took me awhile to actually watch this documentary. Why?-I'm not quite sure. Sometimes I don't find band documentaries all that interesting (especially after my disappointment with the Converge DVD, though the Against Me! DVD was wonderful), or maybe because I have trouble watching DVDs that aren't Netflix movies that I want to watch immediately so I can send them right back or a half hour cartoon show (i.e. The Simpsons or Futurama). Even though I waited about a month to watch the documentary, I found their trek through the dredg of the starving (poor might be a better description) artist who had bad luck with labels to the lucrative record contract that allowed them to own their masters and earn the big bucks salary of a substitute teacher.
There were two things that struck me as incredibly interesting. The first was that Lucero seemed to tour out of necessity instead of enjoyment. There is no doubt that they love and believe in the music they write, but they didn't seem to have the zest for touring that I was expecting. I'm sure the road takes a lot out of a band, and Lucero plays around 200 shows a year, so it is possible that the honeymoon of touring has worn thin. I could also be totally wrong (I'm sure they do enjoy touring because only a fool would tour so much if he/she didn't enjoy it) about this, but the enthusiasm didn't seem all that strong.
"Dreaming in America" also sheds some light on the whole East West Records deal. I paid minimal attention to the deal when it was first announced without really looking into the specifics behind it, but this seems like a really good deal for bands. Though it is a major label (sort of), the bands actually start their own sub label and own their master tapes. Owning the master tapes was the most stressed reason for Lucero signing, saying that its something that not many labels offer and this way they will still own their music even if their album tanks and the label drops them.
Aaron Goldman does a good job of documenting this period of Lucero's life. Nichols serves as the obvious voice of the band, but the other members do get to have their say. There is a great section about Roy Berry's (drums) back problem, which also shows the unity of the band, as they used band fund money to help with the costs due to his lack of health insurance (which I think is a big problem among bands). There's also a funny scene involving girls spanking Berry's ass.
The live portions of the documentary are merely snippets from songs or dialogue during or in between songs, but there are seven live songs included in the Special Features section, which makes for some good watching. Also included is a CD full of 14 live songs, which adds a lot of value to the purchase.
The description of this documentary on their web site describes it perfectly: "'Dreaming in America' takes a brutally honest look at a brutally honest band." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Written by: RF