Heavy Metal Parking Lot
Encyclopedia
Heavy Metal Parking Lot is a video
documentary
short produced by Jeff Krulik
and John Heyn in 1986.
fans tailgating
in the parking lot outside the Capital Centre
(since demolished) in Landover, Maryland
, on May 31, 1986, before a Judas Priest
concert (with opening act Dokken
).
cult-classic, usually traded on bootleg
VHS
videotapes. It was reportedly a favorite on the Nirvana
tour bus, among many other bands. Due to growing popular demand for the film, music-rights issues were finally sorted out with Judas Priest and in 2006 an official, features-packed 20th-anniversary DVD
was released.
and American Hi-Fi
parodied Heavy Metal Parking Lot in their music videos for the songs "All My Best Friends are Metalheads" and "Flavor of the Weak
". The Backstreet Boys
also lampooned it in their music video for "Just Want You To Know
". Film distributor Cowboy Pictures gave it a limited 35mm theatrical release in 2003, paired with Chris Smith's documentary Home Movie. Lady GaGa
's original partner and DJ Lady Starlight has created a homage to Heavy Metal Parking Lot with her series of YouTube
videos, Lady GaGa's Pop Culture Parking Lot, documenting fans outside venues on the pop stars 2009 Fame Ball Tour.
broadcast the TV series Parking Lot, which expanded on the 1986 documentary. Created and co-produced by the original filmmakers, John Heyn and Jeff Krulik (in association with Radical Media), eight episodes were broadcast before Trio TV went off the air in 2006.
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
documentary
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...
short produced by Jeff Krulik
Jeff Krulik
Jeff Krulik is a director of independent films and a former Discovery Channel producer.Krulik's work frequently explores the fringes of popular culture from an enthusiastic and appreciative point of view....
and John Heyn in 1986.
Plot
Heavy Metal Parking Lot documents heavy metal musicHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
fans tailgating
Tailgate party
In the United States, a tailgate party is a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle. Tailgating often involves consuming alcoholic beverages and grilling food. Tailgate parties usually occur in the parking lots at stadiums and arenas, before and occasionally after games and...
in the parking lot outside the Capital Centre
Capital Centre
The Capital Centre was an indoor arena located in Landover, Maryland, unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland; a suburb of Washington, D.C. Completed in 1973, the arena sat 18,756 for basketball and 18,130 for hockey....
(since demolished) in Landover, Maryland
Landover, Maryland
Landover is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, within the census-designated place of Greater Landover. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover...
, on May 31, 1986, before a Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
concert (with opening act Dokken
Dokken
Dokken is an American heavy metal and hard rock band formed in 1978. They split up in 1989 but reformed four years later. The group accumulated numerous charting singles and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide...
).
Reputation
By the early 1990s, Heavy Metal Parking Lot had become an undergroundUnderground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...
cult-classic, usually traded on bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
videotapes. It was reportedly a favorite on the Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
tour bus, among many other bands. Due to growing popular demand for the film, music-rights issues were finally sorted out with Judas Priest and in 2006 an official, features-packed 20th-anniversary 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.
Cultural references
Less Than JakeLess Than Jake
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida. Originally formed in 1992 as a power pop trio, the band evolved into a hybrid of ska punk. Less Than Jake have also been cited as showing influences from a wide variety of genres including post-grunge, heavy metal, alternative...
and American Hi-Fi
American Hi-Fi
American Hi-Fi is an American pop punk band from Los Angeles, California, which originally hailed from Boston, Massachusetts. The band consists of vocalist Stacy Jones, guitarist Jamie Arentzen, bassist Drew Parsons, and drummer Brian Nolan...
parodied Heavy Metal Parking Lot in their music videos for the songs "All My Best Friends are Metalheads" and "Flavor of the Weak
Flavor of the Weak
"Flavor of the Weak" is a song by American rock band American Hi-Fi. The song is released as the first single from their self-titled debut album. It peaked at number five on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. and number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100...
". The Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...
also lampooned it in their music video for "Just Want You To Know
Just Want You to Know
"Just Want You to Know" is a rock/pop song performed by the Backstreet Boys. It was released as the second single from the group's fifth studio album Never Gone...
". Film distributor Cowboy Pictures gave it a limited 35mm theatrical release in 2003, paired with Chris Smith's documentary Home Movie. Lady GaGa
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
's original partner and DJ Lady Starlight has created a homage to Heavy Metal Parking Lot with her series of YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
videos, Lady GaGa's Pop Culture Parking Lot, documenting fans outside venues on the pop stars 2009 Fame Ball Tour.
Cultural influences
In 2004, TrioTrio (TV network)
Trio was an American cable and satellite television network.Trio went on the air in 1997, then originally owned and operated jointly by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Power Broadcasting Inc. as a venue for airing the CBC's arts, culture and entertainment programming in the U.S...
broadcast the TV series Parking Lot, which expanded on the 1986 documentary. Created and co-produced by the original filmmakers, John Heyn and Jeff Krulik (in association with Radical Media), eight episodes were broadcast before Trio TV went off the air in 2006.
External links
- DVD release
- filmmaker Jeff Krulik's website
- {http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=14515 Review by Lucas Stensland]
- Q&A: Heavy Metal Parking Lot 20th Anniversary by Metroblogging DC
- Q&A with director Jeff Krulik
- Heavy Metal Parking Lot novelty trading cards