When most people think of important cities for music, New Haven does not always come to mind. However, the city that some call “New York’s little sister” was home to a bevy of great bands in the 1970’s and 80’s. EM Schrader and JL Sonic decided to pay homage to this scene by producing the documentary, It Happened, but Nobody Noticed. Connecticut natives were interviewed about their memories and thoughts on the Southern Connecticut punk rock scene from 1978-1988. Many of the people in the documentary were present at the film’s first public screening. It was held at the Channel 1 Gallery on State Street in downtown New Haven on Sept. 6, 2009. The fact that the film’s subjects were represented in person made the film more real and proved that although “nobody noticed”, it definitely “happened”. The documentary’s soundtrack features the music of local favorites like Poodle Boys, The Furors, Stratford Survivors, the Reducers, and many others. A few surviving members of the bands even performed live after the two screenings at BAR in New Haven.

The real, underlying theme throughout the movie was the passion of everyone involved, much like the Seattle scene, where everybody was friends with each other. The people and bands interviewed all spoke of the great times and these now nonexistent clubs, as if they had just been there the night before. Most of the clubs were found in New Haven, such as Ron’s Place, considered the CBGB’s before CBGB’s, as well as the Grotto and the Oxford Ale House. Other venues from surrounding cities, namely Bridgeport’s Hotel St. George and the El & Gee in New London, were also touched upon.  Although the stories about these dingy music halls brought laughs to the room, they were much more than amusing anecdotes. These clubs were places for kids to go and for bands that weren’t accepted anywhere else to play their hearts out. This message resonated the most throughout the documentary.

You can check out the illustrator’s blog online, as well as the trailer for the documentary: simply visit http://teaessare.blogspot.com/2009/06/it-happened-but-nobody-noticed.html.
Additionally, the amazing soundtrack can be found online at http://www.independisc.com/ithappened.htm.

Enjoy!