Patty Schemel landed behind the drums for Hole after close friend Kurt Cobain introduced her to Courtney Love. Patty’s life was tumultuous but not atypical of rock musicians… until the tumult factor got turned up to eleven, with Cobain’s suicide, followed four days later by the release of Hole’s (eerily titled) Live Through This LP, followed shortly thereafter by the heroin overdose death of Hole’s bassist Kristen Pfaff. Less than two months later, Hole had auditioned and hired a new bass player and headed out on a world tour.
Ostensibly, Hit So Hard is a documentary about drug addiction, Hole, the ’90s, or Patty being one of the first openly gay women in rock. But what makes it thoroughly enjoyable are its funny, smart, opinionated star and the other interesting and eccentric people involved. The events and personal anecdotes in between the well-documented facts are fascinating. Patty filmed constantly during her days with Hole, and, as in Dig!, the abundance of intimate material herein makes you feel like part of this self-confessed dysfunctional family.
You don’t have to care about Hole to fall for Patty, and while ’90s lovers will fan out on the footage of Kurt and Frances - and the cornucopia of cool ’90s fashions – you don’t gotta like the ’90s either. Other women in rock (The Go Gos, The Bangles) and fellow queers (Joe Mama-Nitzberg, Roddy Bottum) flesh out a discussion of what it was like to be a gay or a girl into rock growing up in the ’70s.
All the members of Hole talk openly about everything, even – admirably – Courtney Love (who for some reason is wearing laughably garish make-up and eating sweets throughout her interview). This film is terrific and inspiring and by the end of it – cryptic spoiler – you’ll definitely wanna give your business to Dog Rocker day care in LA.
WIN
Thanks to Shock we have a DVD to give away! To enter, email
brisbane.win@thethousands.com.au with the subject 'dysfunctional family'
Australian Competitions Club
