KCET Premieres “Who is Billy Bones?”
The following is a guest post from contributor, Mary Lansing, who covered the “Who is Billy Bones?” premiere.
Despite being born long after the 70’s punk scene dominated the dive bars and had everyone snarling into a mic in their black leather lace up’s, I have long LOVED the genre and you can often notice me in LA traffic blasting The Sex Pistols or The Clash to get through the afternoon.
A name I was unfamiliar with from the punk riots is Billy Bones. Steven “Billy Bones” Fortuna and his snarling vocals and socially charged lyrics left a lasting impression on the punk music genre due to his unwavering perseverance amid adversity throughout his life. With a four-decade-long music career as a pioneer of punk rock, Billy Bones first appeared on the music scene as front man for the 1977 band The Skulls, which have been widely credited as major influencers of Los Angeles’ punk rock music scene, drawing influence from American 50’s surf music as well as punk bands including The Go-Go’s, Iggy and The Stooges and many more.
Bones with The Sold! And Film Director, Kathy Kolla. Photo: Courtesy of KCET.
This week, KCETs Link Voices series, will premiere Who is Billy Bones? a fantastic documentary that will take old and new fans of the fearless musician on a biopic journey of Fortuna’s life and impact on the punk rock scene.
The film premiered at the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles last summer winning the award for “Best Cinematography in a Music Documentary” and was included on the roster for both the Hollywood Film Festival last fall and the San Francisco Independent Film Festival earlier this year.
To celebrate the film’s U.S. television broadcast debut, I was thrilled to head on out to KCET’s celebration soiree at North Hollywood’s The Federal Bar. With an hour long set, it was incredible to see just what a force of nature Billy Bones and his band, THE SOLD! and BONES, truly are. With politically infused lyrics and howling guitar riffs, THE SOLD! and BONES had all of the concert space rocking out and demanding more!
My friend, Julie, Left, and me with Billy Bones!
Afterwards, our star man was on hand for pictures and meet and greets. Chatting with him, it was humorous to think this was the same person who had just been giving it his all on stage; a very well spoken, calm demeanor, and friendly rocker.
WHO IS BILLY BONES? Premieres Weds. June 22, at 9 p.m. PT on KCET in Southern California
And 9 p.m. ET/PT on Link TV Nationwide (DirecTV 375 and DISH Network 9410).
Mary Lansing is the Editor of the popular LA lifestyle and travel blog, Along Comes Mary.
When she is not keeping busy with her Social Media Managing business, you can find her out exploring all Southern California has to offer, or off on a trip!
Visit her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.