The Smart Studios Story: An Upcoming Doc Hoping to Make You Miss the Glory Days

Possibly riding the coattails of last year’s wildly successful Sound City movie, a new studio-centered documentary has been announced, this time for Madison, Wisconsin’s own Smart Studios. The Smart Studios Story is set to focus on the dingy building where artists from L7 to Smashing Pumpkins have thrived. While the film is currently only in the Kickstarter phase and looking at a projected October 2015 release, a trailer has been produced. Check it out:

Created in 1983 by Steve Marker and Butch Vig – who would later go on to form the band Garbage – Smart Studios was originally intended only to provide for Vig’s band Spooner, but soon grew to support the local alternative scene for nearly a decade. A whirlwind of success followed after Vig’s involvement with Nirvana’s Nevermind and the studio became the host of bigger and bigger names. It is worth mentioning that Nevermind wasn’t actually created here as some might try to claim in hopes of sparking more interest; demos and what would become the song Polly called Smart home, but the real connection ends with Butch Vig. Regardless, the film’s Kickstarter page has set out to prove Smart’s worth with a little good old fashion name dropping:

Amazing artists, record producers, and engineers have already given their time to this project, including Dave Grohl, Billy Corgan, Shirley Manson, Donita Sparks, Chris Walla, Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace, Butch Vig, Steve Marker, Duke Erikson, Ben Sidran, Jeff Castelaz, and members of the bands Killdozer, Die Kreuzen, Tar Babies, Young Fresh Fellows, Appliances, Ivory Library, Bongzilla, Appliances SFB… the list goes on.

Like many of its kind, Smart Studios closed in 2010. The documentary hopes to be a celebration of Smart’s life and an homage to all that have walked through the doors.

If you want to see The Smart Studios Story for your own eyes, you can pledge a donation via Kickstarter.