MANKATO — There’s a passion that transcends age, genre or popularity that musicians share, and it’s not for money, fame or adoring fans.

That’s the idea behind a new documentary from the folks at Mankato’s Two Fish Studios, Two Fish Multimedia and No Alternative Films. The film, entitled “The Curse of the Blessed: As Told by the Muse,” debuts Nov. 8 at Maverick 4 Theatres.

The documentary follows a group of 12 bands from across the country and across music spectrums as they make their way to perform at the world-famous South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.

The film’s director, Two Fish Studios’ “conductor” and Mankato native Wes Schuck, explained the groups “look and sound so different, but they’re all doing the exact same thing.” By that he means they are all willing to put up with weeks or months on the road, long nights and low-paying gigs.

“I have respect for anyone who does the music thing,” said Josh Epstein, vocalist for The Silent Years, a Michigan indie band featured in the film. “You do it because it’s what you love to do.”

The bands in the movie range from hardcore to folk music. Why these different artists all choose this life — “whether they have a purple mohawk or wear flannel in a blue-grass band,” Schuck said — is the question the film tries to answer.

“The message of this film is to really go after what drives you,” Schuck said.

Filming hit a variety of speed bumps along the way and the movie almost never came to be. Schuck lined up a venue in Austin during the festival and had the dozen bands travel to Texas with cameras in hand, filming their own journeys.

The day Schuck was supposed to leave Minnesota in March of 2006, two feet of snow blanketed the roads. And that wasn’t the end of the weather woes. During the four-day drive, Schuck’s van saw a flood, grass fires and a tornado.

Things got worse. Before Schuck finished the drive, he got a call that there was a fire at the club.

By the time he was driving across the Texas border, there was no guarantee the show was going to happen. But the Austin fire department allowed the club to reopen the morning of the show. And over two nights, the 12 bands Schuck had pulled together performed for South by Southwest attendees and the cameras.

Film of the bands’ journeys to Austin, the performances and, of course, the interviews with the bands added up to hundreds of hours of footage.

“It took about a 14-hour day to get through six hours of tape,” Schuck explained.

It took Shuck and his cohorts more than a year to finish putting everything together.

“Wes is a bright guy,” said Epstein, who hasn’t yet seen the film. “When the film comes out, it’s probably going to surprise us all.”

Now Schuck is getting ready for the Mankato debut and a film tour next spring.

“We’re booking a movie and rock concert package,” Schuck said.

The idea is to show the film at colleges and have a follow-up concert with one or more of the bands from the movie. There’s a plan to show the film and have the bands play at Iowa State University in Ames in April, among others.

Schuck hopes people not only enjoy the film as a music documentary but walk away with a bigger message.

“If it’s able to convey our position and our lives to people who wouldn’t normally get to see that side of things, I think it’s pretty awesome,” Epstein said.

In the spirit of that message, Schuck plans to do more projects in the film and documentary world, pursuing a passion this film helped kindle.



To contact No Alternative Films, view the film’s trailer, inquire about setting up a screening/concert package or find out about purchasing a copy of “The Curse of the Blessed,” visit www.noalternativefilms.com.