Private Project

Spanky Was A Punk Rocker

Documentary about the life, loves and collecting obsessions of the gay drummer of horror/punk rock band Dead Vampires.

  • Kelly Hughes
    Director
    Hush...Hush, Nellie Oleson!
  • Lucky Charm Studio
    Producer
  • Spanky
    Key Cast
  • Hellen Bedd
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Punk Rock, Gay, LGBTQ, Horror, Reality
  • Runtime:
    46 minutes 1 second
  • Completion Date:
    August 23, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Los Angeles Punk Film Festival
    Venice
    United States
    August 30, 2020
    World Premiere
    Finalist
Director Biography - Kelly Hughes

Director of the documentaries "Hush...Hush, Nellie Oleson" and "Heart Attack", Hughes got his start writing and directing the Grunge-Era exploitation anthology "Heart Attack Theatre" on public access TV in the early '90s in Seattle.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

TRIGGER WARNING: The documentary contains explicit language and graphic sexual images.

Sometimes you meet a person who begs to be documented. Spanky is one of those people. I met him through other VHS horror collectors, and quickly realized there was much more under Spanky's surface.

I consider this a "kitchen table" documentary. Sitting around, drinking coffee, letting people tell their stories without a lot of manipulation or forced revelations. It's a glimpse into the life of a person who has expressed his creativity in a variety of ways.

There's no ephinany in "Spanky Was A Punk Rocker". It's not a "I Was In A Band, Got Hooked On Dope, Went To Rehab, Learned A Lesson" story. It's more about how we, as adults, can keep a child-like wonder of the world around us. It's about being sentimental, while still moving forward in life. It's about staying passionate about your causes no matter what other people think.

To sum it all up:

You can take Spanky out of a punk rock band, but you can't take the Punk out of Spanky. He lives it every day.