D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist
Encyclopedia
D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist is a low-budget documentary film
released by Music Video Distributors in 2002. The film is a "celebration of the underdog" and deals with why artists do what they do, regardless of the lack of a continuous paycheck.
The film features some artists that define the DIY ethic
and speaks to the overall DIY culture. It features interviews with Lydia Lunch
, Ian MacKaye
, J Mascis
of Dinosaur Jr
, Jim Rose
, J. G. Thirlwell
of Foetus
, Mike Watt
, Eric McFadden
, Richard Kern
(filmmaker), Ron Asheton
of The Stooges
, Madigan Shive of Bonfire Madigan, and Dave Brockie of Gwar
, among others.
The DVD
was released (under the title "D.I.Y. or Die: Burn This DVD") with no region restrictions or copy protection
. Director Michael W. Dean allowed and even encouraged people to make copies for non-commercial use.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
released by Music Video Distributors in 2002. The film is a "celebration of the underdog" and deals with why artists do what they do, regardless of the lack of a continuous paycheck.
The film features some artists that define the DIY ethic
DIY ethic
The DIY ethic refers to the ethic of self-sufficiency through completing tasks oneself as opposed to having others who are more experienced or able complete them for one's behalf. It promotes the idea that an ordinary person can learn to do more than he or she thought was possible...
and speaks to the overall DIY culture. It features interviews with Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
, Ian MacKaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
, J Mascis
J Mascis
J Mascis is an American musician, best known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter for Dinosaur Jr.. In 2011, he was ranked in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.- Biography :...
of Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr. is an American alternative rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, prior to legal issues that forced the group to change their name, the band disbanded in 1997 until reuniting in 2005...
, Jim Rose
Jim Rose
Jim Rose may refer to:* Jim Rose, founder of the Jim Rose Circus* Jim Rose , publisher and founder director of the International Press Institute* Jim Rose , sports anchor who currently works for WLS-TV...
, J. G. Thirlwell
J. G. Thirlwell
James George Thirlwell , aka Clint Ruin, aka Frank Want, aka Foetus, is an Australian vocalist, composer and record producer...
of Foetus
Foetus (band)
Foetus is the primary musical outlet of industrial music pioneer J. G. Thirlwell. Until 1995 the band underwent various name changes, all including the word foetus. Monikers adopted at different times include Foetus Under Glass, You've Got Foetus On Your Breath and Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel...
, Mike Watt
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...
, Eric McFadden
Eric McFadden
Eric Byron McFadden is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter from San Francisco Bay Area, California, at times described as "an authentic old-west troubadour and an absolutely wicked 6-string maestro."...
, Richard Kern
Richard Kern
Richard Kern is a New York underground filmmaker, writer and photographer. He first came to underground prominence as part of the underground cultural explosion in the East Village of New York City in the 1980s, with erotic and experimental films featuring underground personalities of the time...
(filmmaker), Ron Asheton
Ron Asheton
Ronald Frank Asheton was an American guitarist and co-songwriter with Iggy Pop for the rock band The Stooges.Asheton is ranked as number 29 on Rolling Stones list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time....
of The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
, Madigan Shive of Bonfire Madigan, and Dave Brockie of Gwar
Gwar
Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...
, among others.
The DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released (under the title "D.I.Y. or Die: Burn This DVD") with no region restrictions or copy protection
Copy protection
Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...
. Director Michael W. Dean allowed and even encouraged people to make copies for non-commercial use.