The Punk-O-Rama DVD scores another stellar review
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It's crazy how many DVD's are being released these days. Personally I think it's a great thing, especially for people who live in Europe, because we don't have any resources for punkvideos on our TV-screen except for the Sum41 and Blink stuff that is of course.
There's 22 video's on this DVD, featuring songs from the early days as well as newer stuff. It really is a full coverage of Epitaph's oeuvre I guess, with a few additions by Burning Heart bands that got released on Epitaph like Refused, The (Int) Noise Conspiracy, Division Of Laura Lee and of course Millencolin. It's obvious that the more recent work is looking much more professional than the early stuff. Because you might have forgotten that this label started out of nowhere to become one of the biggest indie-labels around.
And that's what I thought was the most interesting part of this DVD: there's a 40 minute documentary of the history of the label, with founder/owner Mr. Brett Gurewitz himself leading you through it all the way. Starting out in the early 80's with a Bad Religion vinyl release (CD's didn't exist yet), covering the trouble they had when Offspring's Smash came out, how Brett started Westbeach Recorders with Donnell Cameron ending up being a label that is represented in all these different countries. There's also Fletcher (Pennywise) and Mr. Fat Mike (NOFX/Fat Wreck) giving some feedback.
I leave it up to you to decide whether Epitaph deserves to be where they are now. Some call them a major label, but I still respect them for not giving in on the many offers they had from these real majors when The Offspring got this big.
Other bonuses that come with it are excerpts from an early Bad Religion documentary called "Big Bang", live footage of The Bouncing Souls and a behind the scene view for Pennywise's "Fuck Authority" video.
I can only tell you that this DVD is a must have for anyone who is interested in knowing everything that Epitaph represents. It's nice to