Chris Hansen OrfMcClatchy - Tribune Business News; Washington
Holthaus' film captures the essence of the period, like a celluloid time capsule unearthed after 15 years.
May 18--Filmmaker Nicholas Holthaus says there are a lot of reasons why he made "Mill Ave. Inc." and he's "been trying to shy away from it, but I can't find a better euphemism: nostalgia.
"I wanted people to reminisce, I want people to recapture that feeling of being on Mill Avenue in 1993," Holthaus says. "Another reason I did it is I had all this footage of all these bands, and I knew I had my finger on the pulse, but I knew things were going to change. ... I knew a few years ago that there would be 27-story condos being built on Mill Avenue and nobody believed me."
Holthaus moved to Tempe from Belleville, Ill., to go to school in 1993, and the musician/ writer/filmmaker immersed himself in Mill Avenue culture: watching live bands in clubs such as Long Wong's, Gibsons, Edcel's Attic and Balboa Cafe. Watching street performers at night on weekends when Mill Avenue was closed off in a "Mardi Gras" atmosphere. Frequenting unique, small businesses such as the 6 East bar and Changing Hands Bookstore.
While none of the old local music clubs is still standing -- the adobe building that housed Long Wong's was torn down a few years ago -- Holthaus' film captures the essence of the period, like a celluloid time capsule unearthed after 15 years.
"Greg Swanholm (guitarist/singer for Tempe rockabilly trio Flathead) keeps reminding me that, 'You are the one that preserved this,' " Holthaus says. "Everybody talks about (Mill Avenue's) folklore, but now there's an eternal permanent record of all this cool (stuff) that happened on Mill Avenue. And it wasn't just music, it wasn't just art, it was a sense of community.
"I think it's poignant because Mill Avenue was a very, very vibrant, very important place for a lot of people," says Holthaus. "I wanted to preserve that moment."
Credit: The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.
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