“The Other F Word”: Fatherhood is hardcore! (and a little emo)

“The Other F Word” – a new documentary from writer/director Andrea Blaugrund Nevins – offers a rare glimpse into the values, lifestyle and grit of the punk patriarchy from the tour bus to ballet practice.

Coming of age in the loud, fast, fuck-everything fringe, Nevins captures largely middle-aged punks today – graying and feeling their oats – getting real about life on the road while playing their biggest gig to date: fatherhood. “It’s tough to be a punk rock hero and still be an authority figure to my kids,” laments Pennywise frontman Jimmy Lindberg, who the film follows during an excruciatingly long world tour and sporadic, albeit moving, moments at home with his girls.

Honest, humorous and poignant, Lindberg – alongside peers Fat Mike (NOFX), Lars Frederiksen (Rancid), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Tim McIlrath (Rise Against), Duane Peters (U.S. Bombs) and others – discusses not only the irony of being an authoritarian on the home front and punk prophet on stage, but the challenge to put food on the table as a career musician in a business that’s turning on its head. “I don’t think anyone of us, when we started punk rock, looked at [it] as a career decision with a long-term career path and pension plan,” admits Brett Gurewitz (Epitaph Records, Bad Religion).

Although the film addresses challenges any working-class parent can related to, it also reveals the painfully hilarious trappings exclusive to punk parenthood: Frederiksen questions his choice, pre-fatherhood, to get a forehead tattoo; Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus pokes fun of himself for buying clean versions of his albums for his kids; and Fat Mike, with his loud ensemble, draws attention from passersby while walking his daughter to school.

Righting their parents’ wrongs is a common thread among the dads – more than punk, even. Flea, who grew up in a violent, alcoholic home, gets choked up more than once discussing his outlook on parenthood – how it snapped him out of his party-hard lifestyle. We meet his good-natured teen daughter who clearly adores him. “My kids gave me life … they gave me a reason,” he says, verging on tears.

Everclear’s Art Alexakis croons “The Wheels on the Bus” on a car trip with his baby daughter. Also hailing from a poor, broken home, Alexakis, soft-spoken and sober, says he’s driven to embody the type of dad to his children that he longed for growing up.

Suit and tie or studded belt, you’d be challenged to find more committed parents than the dads of “The Other F Word.”

Watch the trailer:

Punk Papas in New Doc: “The Other F Word”

“The Other F Word” hits theaters nationwide in November and December.

No one knows anarchy like parents! Really stoked to see “The Other F Word” – a new doc about punk-ethos-meets-fatherhood. Review to come!

“What happens when a generations ultimate anti-authoritarians – punk rockers – become society’s ultimate authorities – dads?  ‘The Other F Word’ is the revealing, funny, and touching film that tackles this question. With a large chorus of punk rock’s leading men – including Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, and Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath – the documentary follows Jim Lindberg, a 20-year veteran of the skate punk band Pennywise, on his hysterical and moving journey from belting his band’s anthem ‘F—k Authority,’ to embracing his ultimately authoritarian role in mid-life: fatherhood.

“Director Andrea Blaugrund Nevins explains, ‘When I was a kid growing up in New York City, Punk Rockers were the people you crossed the street to avoid.  So when Cristan Reilly, the film’s producer, came to me with a book that her old friend, Jim Lindberg, the lead singer of the Southern California skate punk band Pennywise, had written about being a Punk Rock Dad, I was both repelled and intrigued.’

“Producer Cristan Reilly adds, ‘Punk Rock Dad.  It’s a great oxymoron.  Andrea and I, who share, among many things, an ironic sense of humor, started with that very tiny but amusing kernel… We had no idea how much deeper the story would go, and we believe our film reflects the journey from funny concept to a series of moving realizations about rebellion, growing up, fathers, and fatherhood.’

“Other dads featured in the film, which was Executive Produced by Morgan Spurlock & Jeremy Chilnick, include Art Alexakis (Everclear), Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), Tony Adolescent (The Adolescents), Fat Mike (NOFX), Lars Frederiksen (Rancid), skater Tony Hawk, and many others.

“‘The Other F Word‘ screens first in New York and Los Angeles, then hits theaters across the country in November and December.”