Documentary Channel Presents "SoundCheck" Featuring Music Documentaries Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Evening in June

NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- This June is SoundCheck on Documentary Channel (DOC): every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night throughout the month, Documentary Channel will air high-profile music titles featuring legendary musicians including The Beastie Boys, The Ramones, John Lee Hooker, The Drive-By Truckers, and more.  With a total of 29 films, including 10 new film premieres, beginning on Thursdays (5 pm ET/PT) and picking up each Friday and Saturday night (8 pm ET/PT), the all-star line-up also includes guest appearances by B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana and more—bringing to the channel something for everyone.

As part of this music event, "Awesome: I... Shot That!" featuring the Beastie Boys, will air Friday, June 24 (8 pm ET/PT), being made simultaneously available online and on DIRECTV and DISH Network VOD.  To capture themselves in concert at Madison Square Garden in October of 2004, Adam Yauch, Michael Diamond, and Adam Horovitz distributed a mix of fifty cameras to their fans who shot the movie. Upon distribution, it became a cult sensation.

PREMIERE SCHEDULE

Friday Night Premieres

• "Honeyboy and the History of the Blues" on Friday, June 3
• "John Lee Hooker: That's My Story" on Friday, June 10
• "Ramones Raw" on Friday, June 17
• "Awesome I... Shot That!" on Friday, June 24 "Mott Music" will also be telecast on Friday, June 24 (10 p.m. ET/PT).

Saturday Night Premieres

• "You Weren't There: A  History of Chicago Punk 1977-1984" on Saturday, June 4
• "The Secret To A Happy Ending" on Saturday, June 11
• "Hey Dillon: The Last Great DJ" on Saturday, June 18 "XIT: Without Reservation" will also be telecast on Saturday, June 18 (9:30 p.m. ET/PT).
• "Thievery Corporation: Live at 9:30", on Saturday, June 25

FILM SYNOPSES

"Honeyboy and the History of the Blues" (June 3, 8 pm ET/PT) -- A legendary musician -- and a performer at the inauguration of President Barack Obama -- David "Honeyboy" Edwards was born on a plantation, hopped trains playing guitar around the country at age 16 and became an early pioneer of the musical phenomenon known as The Blues. Featuring interviews with Edwards, B.B. King and other Blues greats, "Honeyboy" is a biographical journey that is as much the story of the man as it is about the music that he helped to create.

"You Weren't There: a History of Chicago Punk 1977-1984" (June 4, 8 pm ET/PT) -- This documentary looks back on the impact of the Punk movement on the Windy City. Though overlooked in the annals of Rock history (compared to media centric LA, NYC and London), Chicago served as an important early supporter of the Punk movement in America. "You Weren't There" talks to the DJ's, musicians, promoters, artists and fans who were pivotal in creating the Chicago Punk scene, including musicians Steve Albini and Vic Bondi. It also showcases classic archival footage of great Chicago bands such as Effigies and Naked Raygun, as well as lesser-known greats like Silver Abuse, DA, and The Subverts.

"John Lee Hooker: That's My Story" (June 10, 8 pm ET/PT) -- A teenage runaway who never went to school, John Lee Hooker spent years working in a factory before becoming one of the most prolific Blues artists of all time. Filmed just a few years before his death in 2001, John Lee tells the tale himself, with help from his family, closest friends, and musical colleagues including Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana and Robert Cray. It includes rare and captivating live performance footage of Hooker playing Blues favorites "Boom Boom," "Boogie Chillen," and "I'm in the Mood," a duet with Raitt.

"The Secret to a Happy Ending" (June 11, 8 pm ET/PT) -- The redemptive power of rock and roll is front and center here: with a look at the American South, where rock was born, and a band (Drive- By Truckers) straddling the borders of rock, punk and country. This documentary encompasses three critical years of touring and recording as the band struggles to overcome trauma and survives a near breakup, in a persistent search for a happy ending.  

"Ramones Raw" (June 17, 8 pm ET/PT) -- Climb in the van, buckle your seat belt and hang on tight because you're about to experience life on the road with the founding fathers of punk rock, The Ramones! This all encompassing video scrapbook spans the Ramones career circa 1979-1996, including countless memorable moments from the band's illustrious career, all set within the core: a plethora of home video from the Ramones personal archives. Armed with a Hi-8 camera on the road for the final 8 years of the band's world tours, Marky Ramone captured it all on tape; the good, the bad and the ugly.

"Hey Dillon: The Last Great DJ" (June 18, 8 pm ET/PT) -- For over thirty-five years Brett Dillon has made DJ his chosen profession. Starting at age 15, when his mother had to chauffeur him to and from his air shift, Dillon's career has been not just unconventional but boarding on the mystic. Like many DJ's Brett moved up and down the radio dial playing Johnny Cash in Michigan, giving the daily bear and moose reports in Wyoming, losing his job to the dreaded format change in Texas, and just spinning records. His thirty-five year career has netted hundreds of very special relationships from call-ins that begin with "HEY DILLON."

"XIT: Without Reservation" (June 18, 9:30 pm ET/PT) --For over thirty years, American Indian rock outfit XIT has been spreading a positive message of unity and truth the Indian population of North America, and with this concert staged at Minnesota's Mystic Lake Casino in May 2000, the band celebrated their thirtieth anniversary by offering a rousing concert showcasing such inspirational hits as "Reservation of Education," "Cement Prairie," and "Color Nature Gone."

"Awesome I ... Shot That!" (June 24, 8 pm ET/PT) -- To capture themselves in concert at Madison Square Garden in October 2004, for the final show of their sold out "Challah At Your Boy Tour," Adam Yauch (MCA), Michael Diamond (Mike D) and Adam Horovitz (Adrock) distributed a mix of fifty DV and Hi-8 cameras to their fans, who shot the movie. Ingeniously editing the amateur footage into a psychedelic DIY extravaganza, director Yauch created an electrifying work that is far more than a mere chronicle of artists at the top of their game, its already considered a cult classic.

"Mott Music" (June 24, 10 pm ET/PT) -- Discover a Piano Factory in the Bronx and the characters that dwell within. Once a part of Mott's Iron Works in the 1880's, the largest producer of cast iron tubs of its time, now Beethoven Pianos is a place of piano restoration. Once inside the film, explores the synchronous lives of a piano voicer, a piano dealer and a piano technician.  

"Thievery Corporation: Live at 9:30" (June 25, 8 pm ET/PT) -- Thievery Corporation is one of the more prominent and popular bands in the electronic music scene.  Members of the group hail from all over the world, creating a truly unique blend of music that transcends genre and classification.  This electric concert film captures never-before-seen interviews and backstage footage as the band performs at the sold-out 9:30 Club in Washington DC.

The Documentary Channel is primarily available through satellite television services DISH Network (Channel 197) and DIRECTV (Channel 267).  

About Documentary Channel®:  Documentary Channel (DOC) is the USA's first 24-hour television network exclusively devoted to documentary films and the independent documentary filmmaker, providing viewers with round-the-clock opportunities to see fascinating, eclectic and award-winning documentary films of all lengths and genres.  For more information on DOC, visit the network website at www.documentarychannel.com, in addition to www.facebook.com/DocumentaryChannel or www.twitter.com/doc_channel.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Ashley Sandberg
Triple 7 Public Relations, LLC
347.735.6480 | [email protected]

SOURCE The Documentary Channel