Although this 2018 documentary about Dada-inspired big band leader Rev. Fred Lane was largely centered around and shot in Tuscaloosa, the movie also prominently featured several Birminghamians, including notable avant-garde musicians Davey Williams and LaDonna Smith, with several scenes and interviews taking place in the Magic City. A deep dive into the creative world of the Raudelunas art collective— a highly experimental group of multi-talented aesthetes who grew out of the 1970s counterculture at the University of Alabama— the film highlighted a different side of campus life not often talked about in history books, yet one that has made a significant and lasting impact on the world of radical art and music, and in particular cultural satire and the practice of free improvisation. The nom de plume of whirligig maker Tim Reed, Lane remains a confounding figure in American art, theater and music, as his stage persona and purposefully misleading albums were meant to misdirect all but the most astute of observers as he spoofed and mocked the most problematic aspects of modern life in the United States, especially here in the Deep South. For the uninitiated, Lane’s hybrid musical talents have to be heard to be believed, as he careens from crooner to country star, rock and roller to game show host, religious proselytizer to cartoon serial killer, and back again, and all with an ace group of musicians behind the ever-changing facades bringing it all to life. It’s a wild ride, but one that will leave you in stitches, and scratching your head, all at the same time. A not-to-be-missed piece of Alabama musical history.
FUN FACT: Rev. Fred Lane is actually the brother of Jim Reed of Reed Books in downtown Birmingham, one of the Magic City’s most beloved, and longest-lasting, cultural institutions.
Trailer Link: https://vimeo.com/236663650