Hair I Go Again - Film Review
A few years ago, I started posting on this site about an upcoming metal documentary called Hair I Go Again. The film has a simple enough premise: it follows Kyle Kruger and Steve McClure on their quest to put their teenage band back together again and to make a real run at fame and stardom.
Tryxx was formed in the 1980s and featured lots of hairspray, spandex and bad songwriting. To be clear Tryxx was based in Florida, not the Sunset Strip and during the band’s heyday they were young – 18 and under. They were well known at roller rinks in the area for doing great shows.
Kruger and McClure are lifelong best friends. At the beginning of the film it isn’t necessarily clear that they want to give up literally everything for their dreams, but as time goes by that becomes pretty evident and I’ve been conflicted about this ever since.
I watched the movie Sunday night and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say about it, exactly. The film features a ton of hair metal musicians that we love including members of KIX, Anthrax, Warrant, Keel, Great White and of course ever present radio host Eddie Trunk, among others. Seeing all the old photos from the scene days and hearing the music was fun. The interviews are all great. But still something nags.
A not insignificant amount of time is spent on the financial struggles of Kruger and McClure. When it became clear it was just them against the world and Tryxx wasn’t going to get back together, they leaned in – hard. They both quit their jobs… and went broke. They both struggled with housing. Kruger sold plasma. They both put all their energy into making it as professional musicians. Thing is, neither is particularly great at music. We’re not talking about virtuosos here that honed their craft day in and day out. In fact, McClure had to relearn the guitar as he hadn’t played in decades! Kruger had to learn how to sing the right way, too. This was the most shocking bit of the documentary to me. Usually an artist that wants to give up a day job for their craft is working pretty consistently toward… something. Other than the dream of “making it” there didn’t seem to be much planning happening here.
Around Tuesday I realized that the confliction has more to do with me than Kruger or McClure. Replace “musician” with “artist” or “writer” or “actor” and the story is basically the same. I’m a writer. I’d much rather write all day than go to a day job, but I get up every morning, day after day, and go through the mundane slog of life. I have a mortgage and that’s the adult thing to do.
Or is it?
Along the way, Kruger and McClure fight – a lot. They struggle, and practice and get breaks, including landing some financial backers and a sponsorship deal with Peavy. Ron Keel helps them a lot, especially Kruger. The ever kind Steve Blaze lends his skills on an amazing guitar solo since McClure can’t play that fast. And on and on it goes. Eventually you realize Hair I Go Again isn’t a documentary about another 80s band. It’s really a film about friendship.
By the end of the film – and we’re talking about a process that took years – Kruger and McClure become the Denver-based band Bullet In The Chamber. They got to open for Jake E. Lee and played the Monsters of Rock Cruise.
Was this their dream realized? Probably not exactly, but the journey made for a great film and they did get on stage and in the studio to record original tracks. Do Kruger and McClure have day jobs now? I have no idea. I know they are promoting the heck out of the film right now and that takes a lot of time and effort. Will they be household-name musicians? Nope, but those are few and far between now. Of the modern generation of musicians, you can name the big ones on two hands, like Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. The outlook for aspiring musicians isn’t great, but then it never really was, right?
All throughout the film, the famous 80s musicians give the same advice: “don’t quit your day job.” Some are pretty blunt and tell Kruger and McClure that they are too old to expect too much. The music industry sucks now (and so does the publishing world for fellow writers like me). The fact is this and it’s always been the case, but it is truer now than ever: talent doesn’t mean as much as your connections, your drive and your luck.
No, you can’t be anything you want to be, but you sure can try – and you should.
Hair I Go Again was directed by McClure and originally released January 2016. Follow the movie on Facebook to attend a special screening or order on Amazon.