As a resident of the city of Norfolk Virginia, I was very excited to hear about this film. I believe I read the interview that was in Veer Magazine when the filmmakers appeared on the cover.

Somehow I lost track of the date and missed the Opening Night showing at the Naro Theater. I’m sure that must have been quite an event. And ‘red-carpet’ events like that don’t happen that often here in Norfolk, VA. (Some footage of it appears as bonus material on the second disc!)

Debra Persons, the films co-director and executive producer, was nice enough to meet with me to talk about the film. I could really tell that this movie was a labor of love for Debra. This film is very personal to her, and co-director and associate producer Andrea Rizzo. The two were living the awesome life you see portrayed on the screen. By that I mean that the bands that you see in the movie are the bands that they were going out to see and getting to know. The same goes for cinematographer and editor Paul Unger only a bit later in the local scene.

The film starts with a brief history of the ‘Norfolk Sound‘ and the rich musical past that was in this area for quite some time. Very interesting. The footage of Tidewater landmarks and skylines are great and the ‘DIY‘ feel of it adds to the overall aesthetic of the film.

It’s not long till the documentary focuses on rock n roll…
I’m not going to spoil any of the great stories that are told in the film. (And it’s awesome that I know so many people interviewed in the movie!) I advise that you buy a copy of this great DVD for yourself and watch it. And tell your friends to do the same. These film-makers had a dream and went for it…and had success! That is a very bold thing for someone to do and I applaud them for that. We should all show our support by getting a DVD or CD (or both).

They don’t have any plans to make other feature films. (Except Paul…he’s still working in the video business). This is the movie that they envisioned to make, and after a lot of tweaking…it’s done. You can check out their website at –> www.HardcoreNorfolk.com