I just watched the DVD by ETiT Productions called "It's A Long Way..." (2010) which features live footage and interviews of some great bands: Andre Williams, Dirtbombs, Nashville Pussy, Southern Culture On The Skids, and Supersuckers. 

Basically, it is their "take" on being in a hardworking/touring/recording band these days. I found it pretty entertaining, and it was only about an hour long. 

I'd never heard of the flick before, and there isn't much info online about it. 

What did you think?

If any of these bands interest you, you'll find it interesting. I was hoping for more live footage and just more of the bands' music, in general. 

More details here: http://www.amazon.com/Dirtbombs-Nashville-SOuthern-Supersuckers-Williams/dp/B004D0AMQU

"AC/DC's Bon Scott sang in the late 1970's the words ""It's a Long Way to the Top if you wanna Rock and Roll"". Thirty years later Andre Williams, Dirtbombs, Nashville Pussy, Southern Culture on the Skids and the Supersuckers tell you what it's like to be in a Rock and Roll band, to be on the road, to have record contracts, to lose record contracts and if it truly is a Long Way."

Not familiar with it , but , I will watch out for it....I'm reminded of something Damita (?)from L7 once told me , "We've clawed our way to teh middle". And tehy were pretty popular at that time , but , still , about the same as teh people you mentioned , somewhere in the middle.

Ha! Yeah, that became one of the jokes the Supersuckers were laughing about when they were asked what they thought of the concept "Its A Long Way To The Top" (they cited AC/DC as a major influence on their music).  They came back with "Its a long way to the middle...", they couldn't fathom what it would be like "at the top".

Just checked out the trailer.  I need to get the DVD.

Those are all people who KNOW , if they're all still together , they're not going to make it to the top....But , there's no dishonor in that , if you've worked your butt off , and maybe had some fun along the way , to at least be in an as good , or better place , than you were 20 years ago. Not everybody (Inexplicably.) GETS TO BE AS big as The White Stripes , Strokes , etc.  But , then again , for every Woggles who are still out there , buggin' , there were a lot of 90's Garage bands that were good , but threw in the towel , and are barely remembered , now. Last time I saw The Cynics , there were about 40 people there , and they still killed it like they did in the 80's , just as The Fleshtones always do , but , how many of their peer bands stuck it out this long (I grant you , the Cynics had split up for about 7 years.) , regardless of demand ? THE CHESTERFIELD KINGS ONLY RECENTLY SPLIT UP ,  and The Lyres and The Fuzztones have perservered through various lineup changes. Regardless of whether you do or don't like some of these bands , the point is , a handful of 'em stuck with it. There was a time you could'nt get arrested playing Garage Rock. On many levels , that still rings true.

I agree with John Battles. In the flick, all the bands make it clear that they are fully committed to their bands and won't be stopping anytime soon. They all make it clear that it has been a lot of work and they don't expect to make it big. All the bands express they enjoy what they do, but agree it is constantly challenging and gratifying at the same time.

Striking it big time like The White Stripes is a one in a million shot. I love The White Stripes, but it still boggles my mind that they blew up the way they did, considering there are so many other similar and great bands out there that hardly "made it big" from that White Stripes explosion.  Another reason I think it is amazing to me that The White Stripes got as big as they did: I would wager that the first three White Stripes records (being quite fuzzy/raggety garage) were very challenging for the masses, considering people tend to like slick and radio-ready stuff more along the lines of Strokes and other more "commercialized" bands. 

Side note: I also saw The Cynics when they toured a couple years back (they played Ann Arbor) and they performed to only about 40 people at that show, too. It was an amazing bill which included The Sights and The Hentchmen, from the nearby early 2000's neo-garage explosion "hotbed" of Detroit.  It was a great show chock full of legit garage acts, but it was sadly under-attended. 

You can buy it pretty cheap on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004D0AMQU/sr=/qid=/ref=olp_tab_new?ie=UTF8&colid=&coliid=&condition=new&me=&qid=&seller=&sr=

......I WON'T FORGET SOMETHING Damita (is it?) from L7 told me ( Not a fan , but , I met 'em twice , they were very nice people.).  She said "Yeah , we clawed our way to the middle.".

Sometimes , you may have more success with your band than expected , but , I think a majority of bands are not so delusional. They know it costs more to tour than they're likely to make doing gigs , and , possibly , selling merch , besides.  Some bands are too proud to take a "For gas money " gig on a weeknight. Even your big name Rock stars you may or may not care about are having to cut the costs wherever they can.

It's kind of funny how The Hentchmen got lumped in with this post - White Stripes Detroit (Area) Garage "Explosion". I first saw those guys in '90 or '91 , maybe.... If they had more success after they changed their sound, more power to 'em , they're great guys. I saw The White Stripes about 5 years before they made it. I thought they were competent Jeffrey Evans wannabees (But not as good at it as Knoxville Girls.) , but , I could'nt have foreseen their success.

What's amusing is , I saw Steve Miller and Tesco Vee promoting their book , "Detroit , Rock City" (Yeah , you should buy it.). Miller said he happened upon  flyer for a "GARAGE !!!!" show in Chicago , and said "Hey ! We started this ! "(Umm..no , it started in the Northwest while Elvis was in the army .)......Yeah , Detroitland had The Hentchmen , 3-D Invisibles , Gories , Snake - Out , etc. , when the only Garage band happening in Chicago was The Cunts , and they only played private parties to assembled groups of 10 or more. But , as far as that later stuff is concerned , much of what I've heard from Detroit AND Chicago , in recent years , does'nt sound very Garage at all.     However , I had to tell Miller , when he said there's always been a rivalry between our cities , I said , on the contrary , I think there's always been a camaraderie between us.

I agree, I don't sense any "rivalry" between Chicago and Detroit. From what I gather, we have a pretty neighborly attitude to Chicago over here. I mean, it is the coolest big city close by; not that Detroit isn't cool, but in all reality you don't hear about people from Chicago longing for a road trip getaway to Detroit so much as it is vice versa. To us, getting a gig or seeing a show in Chicago is a fun treat. I know of many Michigan bands that start to "expand" and either move to Chicago or simply play shows there regularly. 

Right now, The Metrotimes Blowout is going on, which is a pretty big deal (one of the biggest local music festivals in the country) and I know some Chicago bands manage to get a gig playing it (even though the point is that it is 98% metro-Detroit area bands). 

http://www.mtblowout.com/

Like John said, the increasingly higher overhead for touring really weeds out a lot of the "wimps", sadly. Plus, I simply think that live music doesn't have the appeal/draw it once had several years back (as indicated by the shrinking numbers of live music venues).

On a side note, the Hentchmen still play out here and there, and they happen to be playing a small/intimate $5 gig in Ann Arbor next weekend (see this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1473225816227529/) as well as the Blowout. 

So, despite the "chance" they had a few years back, they are still rocking the garage, in the literal sense of the word... I, personally, love the band (one of my favs that came out of the Detroit "garage revival" of the early 00's).