by Annette Basile

In the new documentary Green: The Fight for Rock and Roll, Aussie director Luke C. Griffiths tells the full-throttle tale of longtime Perth rocker Wayne Green.

“I think when you’re dealing with hard rockers from that period – or any period, really – you expect there to be some skeletons in the closet,” says director Luke C. Griffiths. “I wasn’t necessarily going in searching for this, but I was committed to telling an honest, unflinching story.”

Griffiths is talking to FilmInk about Green: The Fight for Rock and Roll, his documentary about Perth vocalist, Wayne Green, who celebrates his 70th birthday at the start of this excellent documentary. Green was the primal screaming frontman of Wayne Green & The Phantoms – who dominated the 1980s Perth pub circuit – and he was also, fairly briefly, with WA’s Boys. This documentary delivers the goods on the musical front, but it’s Green’s personal story that makes this more than a rock doc.

Wayne Green in action…

There are, of course, the “tales of excess”, beer-stained misadventures and brushes with the law – these stories come with the territory. But Green is also admiringly open in discussing his regrets of being an absent father to his children, giving this documentary an emotional depth not often found in the rock doc genre. “I think the shared past – trauma – of being sons of seafarers and a deep love of music meant we had instant rapport,” recounts Griffiths. “He trusted me, and I trusted him – not bad for two men separated by nearly 40 years of age. From our first interview, he was alluding to these darker aspects of himself and his past. I was actually the one putting the brakes on at this point. I wanted to make sure I could support him through the process of telling these darker stories. I’m glad I did, because I think it made it more meaningful when he did eventually open up; it was a chat between the two of us, the camera just happened to be there.”

The camera also captures candid comments from singer/songwriter Lee Sappho, Green’s partner. Asked what the couple thought of the doco, Griffiths exclaims, “They loved it! I was super nervous showing it to them. They’d each put so much trust in me and shared so much of their lives, so I felt a lot of pressure to get it right. From the get-go, we’d agreed to tell the story honestly and to not pull punches, but that’s an easy thing to say. It’s much harder to stick with that when you’re about to have all your flaws, mistakes and faults presented to an audience of hundreds. Wayne, to his credit, changed nothing in the film – he even tells me he expected me to go harder, which surprises me, because I feel I went as hard as I could!”

Wayne Green back in the day…

One of the themes of Green’s life is his series of missed opportunities. He impressed famed promoter Michael Chugg, but didn’t make use of the connection. He also very nearly featured in a film. Instead, he continues to work Perth’s pub stages, sometimes rocking, sometimes as his country-singing alter-ego Kid Green. The documentary excels at balancing the interviews with the music – but it seems that this balance was achieved almost instinctively rather than by design. “I’ll admit I was just going by the seat of my pants at most points,” says Griffiths when asked about how he managed the balance so perfectly. “From very early on, I was adapting Wayne’s mantra ‘rock was never meant to be perfect.’ This fed into all aspects of the production – hand-held cameras, imperfect lighting, and an almost improvisational approach to editing. I created a rough skeleton on paper and then Caleb Donaldson – my co-editor – and I played with the edit, filling in the skeleton while resisting the urge to go back and tidy things up.”

Green: The Fight for Rock and Roll is a much needed addition to the Aussie rock doc shelf – a shelf with far too little on it, considering how much great music has poured out of this country. When asked who else he thinks deserves the documentary treatment, Griffiths reveals his inner metal-head. “The first thing that comes to mind is that in the mid-2000s, there was an explosion of WA-based hardcore and metalcore bands that were quite well regarded nationally and internationally at the time…some still are. This may be my metalhead bias speaking, but I think it would be an interesting look, at the very least.”

Director Luke C. Griffiths

Western Australia is the birthplace of many acclaimed bands, from The Birds of Tokyo to The Triffids. What is it about WA? Is there something unique about that huge slice of land that has spawned so much great music? “That’s a very good question,” replies Griffiths. “It’s a bit of a cliché, but it’s one I think is true – being as isolated as we are over here breeds a sense of self-reliance and do-it-yourself-edness. You see it in all forms of art, but especially in music. It’s an attitude of ‘Fuck it, let’s suck it and see!’ Or maybe we’re all just a bit mad from the salt, sand and sun.”

Green: The Fight for Rock and Roll is screening on August 9 and 10 at Luna Leederville and Luna on SX. Click for all info here.

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