by Roy Peckham (bio)
It was the mid '90s. The sun poured into my dad’s cherry red '63 Volkswagen Beetle as we drove over the Vincent Thomas Bridge into the shipping town of San Pedro, California. We made weekly trips from Long Beach into San Pedro to visit relatives when I was young. But on this particular drive, my dad let me pop my most recent acquisition into the tape player. In retrospect, I’m not sure how I managed to obtain Offspring’s album “Smash”, but I was stoked. As we crested the apex of the long green bridge, “Bad Habit” was just getting started. The long descent down the other side of the bridge seemed to represent the rapid decline in my father’s opinion of my musical taste. However, just as his generation outgrew the LSD-inspired psychedelic rock of the 1960s, so to must our generation eventually outgrow the anarchy-fueled, rebellious era of punk rock. The Other F Word explores the unique juxtaposition of punk rock and fatherhood. Jim Lindberg (Pennywise), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Mark Hoppus (Blink 182), Lars Frederiksen (Rancid) and others offer candid insight into this transition from Punk Rock icon to dad. In a poignant, tear-filled moment, Flea states that "the classic parent attitude to a kid is ‘I brought you into this world, I gave you life.’ But it’s like, I just think completely the opposite. My kids gave me life.” Living in the cultural mecca of Utah puts me about 500 miles from any of the documentary’s screenings. However, if you find yourself in a city where this film is being shown, I’d consider a viewing. Though don’t be surprised if our generational icons aren’t celestial fathers, and let some other choice words (or gestures) slip.Watch the trailer here.
