Documenting the fertile musical ground of Tucson, Arizona in the '80s and '90s, HIGH AND DRY introduces viewers to the musicians who put Tucson on the map.
Check out some the surprise hits of 2021 that caught the attention of IMDb fans and are all available to stream now.
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: High and Dry (2005)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Calexico | ... | Themselves | |
| Joey Burns | ... | Self | |
 |
John Convertino | ... | Self |
|
|
Doo Rag | ... | Themselves |
|
|
Bob Log III | ... | Self |
|
|
Brad Denboer | ... | Self |
|
|
Giant Sand | ... | Themselves |
|
|
Howe Gelb | ... | Self |
|
|
Tommy Larkins | ... | Self |
|
|
Scott Garber | ... | Self |
|
|
Scott Benzel | ... | Self |
|
|
Mike Fisher | ... | Self |
|
|
Stuart Kupers | ... | Self |
|
|
Bradley Kemp | ... | Self |
|
|
Al Perry | ... | Self |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
HIGH AND DRY is a documentary profiling the history of Tucson, Arizona's eclectic music scene. The past two decades have seen a number of singular talents emerge from Tucson, including Giant Sand's Howe Gelb, who has been called "the godfather of the alt-country movement," seminal blues slide-guitarist Rainer Ptacek, and original cow punk Al Perry. The city has also spawned more popular acts including Calexico, the Supersuckers and Machines of Loving Grace. Some of these bands reached the big time but self-destructed under the pressure of a music career they just weren't ready for, while others still make a successful living from their music, without the support of a major label or the mainstream music industry. HIGH AND DRY tells these musicians' stories, while giving insight into the choices they made along the way - where the desert meets rock 'n' roll. Drawing upon rare archival material, as well as live performances and exclusive interviews with band members, the film provides a ... Written by Upstairs Film
Like most DIY films of this ilk, this film is of interest only to those who are in it. A history of a bunch of lousy bands who, with a few exceptions, no one has deservedly heard of, and have broken up years ago. The one saving grace to this film is Howe Gelb and the various members of his rotating band, whose music is actually decent and transcends this rather badly done homemade documentary. Howe himself admits the only reason he stayed in Tucson so long was that he was "trapped" there due to the fact that he wanted his daughter to have a stable upbringing in the schools. Trapped is how you will feel too. The Bob Log III segment is funny, as he doesn't bother to take his helmet off. Other than that it is painfully long and boring...High and Dry -- aptly named. A pile of middle-aged rock and roll has-beens-that-never-weres reminiscing about the glory days when 10 or 20 of them would get together at somebodies house to hear a half-assed band play. They had to do that as Tucson was so backwater there were no real rock venues to play in until the 90s. Unfortunately, rock was pretty much dead by then. Particularly embarrassing was this guy named David Slutes who had a band the local priests called "Satanic" -- even though they were the spokesmen for a Don't Do Drugs campaign, complete with posters. You could go to any small city and make a home movie like this. As I throttled the fast-forward to save myself the pain of watching this I couldn't help but wonder -- who cares?