Spector 45 documentary pays homage to two fiery punk musicians

by Brentney Hamilton

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The doc is now fully funded from Kickstarter.

DEEP ELLUM — Anyone who had seen Spector 45 play live will tell you: They were a force. And though the greaser-punk band ended tragically with the suicides of frontman Frank “Frankie 45” Campagna and bassist Adam Carter in 2011, its legacy of loud-and-fast living will continue with the new documentary film 45 by local filmmaker Jonathan Buchner. The project reached full funding Monday via Kickstarter.

With the initial $9,345 goal now surpassed, the documentary is set through post-production. Now Buchner, a UNT graduate, has turned its focus toward a “stretch goal” of an additional $2,336 to support a local screening.

Buchner moved to Deep Ellum about three months after Carter’s suicide in March 2011. Excited to integrate into the community, he frequented local establishments where he began to notice a common thread. Almost everywhere he looked, whether on streetlamps or in shop windows, there were stickers with a heart encircling the number 45.

“One day I asked a friend what the deal was, and he told me the whole story,” Buchner said. “As a filmmaker, immediately I knew it was a story just waiting to be told.”

That story remains essential to Deep Ellum’s identity. The neighborhood watched Frankie Campagna grow up as the son of Frank Campagna, Sr. Campagna is best known for his Gypsy Tea Room murals, which he painted on the building's external wall between 1998 and the venue's closing in 2006. His work can be seen all over town, in places like the "Greetings from Deep Ellum" mural at the neighborhood's DART station. He is also the driving force behind Kettle Art, which bolstered local painters and which will temporarily close in May in search of a new home.

Rather than pale beneath his father’s shadow, Frankie Campagna head-banged his way to local superstardom. A constant face on the line up in local clubs, and as a bartender at the Amsterdam, Campagna followed few rules other than live fast, live hard, and support Deep Ellum arts.

Spector 45 was born while Frankie Campagna was still a teenager attending Booker T. Washington when he co-founded the band with drummer Anthony Delabano. The two played with a number of other musicians throughout the years, but the band’s final bassist, Carter, added a signature style that added new elements to Spector 45’s sound.

“I talked to a record producer during filming,” Buchner said. “He said that there was no doubt Spector 45 was going to get signed. They were on the cusp of absolute wonderment.”

On January 1, 2011, news came that Frankie Campagna had died at 24, just hours after a searing performance at the Bone. Many grieved further when his death was ruled a suicide. When news of Carter’s suicide followed on March 18, 2011, questions – and few answers – emerged.

Buchner’s film hopes to offer a bit of insight, and perhaps a smidgen of closure, in the years following the tragedies.

“Originally, I focused on the end. The why. But, the deeper I delved into it and the more I began to learn about these kids, the more I saw that they were a trip,” Buchner said. “They were fun. They did crazy things. It was laughter and fightin’ and having a good old time. And, it ended so suddenly. So out of the blue.”

That’s when it became clear that 45 had to be more than a band biography. Buchner believes it could help bolster awareness for the types of deeply hidden and internal struggles that Campagna and Carter faced. “The 45 Fund is still in its infancy, and the film highlights the concepts of getting help to people and letting them understand that it’s out there,” Buchner said. “It fights against the idea that punk rockers need to be too proud for help. Or, that reaching out is a weakness.”

Buchner hopes that talking about those things – topics like depression and substance abuse that can cause dramatic shifts in otherwise happy lives – will help others understand what transpired and how to prevent similar tragedies.

“The film’s most important takeaway is that life is fun. Life is a blast," he said. "And, it doesn’t take much to change that. And those changes can cause irreparable damage. It’s a story about being careful with your lifestyle.”

When tackling such a sensitive subject, relying on those closest to Frankie Campagna and Carter was essential. Buchner’s film interviews family members and close friends who knew the pair as a couple of raucous kids in search of big thrills. An integral part of the process were Frank Campagna and Frankie's sister, artist/musician Amber Campagna.

“Frank Sr. is the godfather of Deep Ellum,” Buchner said. “We’re in contact often, and he is really supportive. He wants to get the story out there so that it doesn’t happen to others.”

To that end, Buchner submitted the reels to SXSW and the Dallas International Film Festival. While 45 didn’t make the cut to screen in Austin, it is as of this writing still on the DIFF roll. Buchner said that all DIFF decisions will be made by March 8.

Buchner has also contacted local vendors to initiate a local screening. With additional Kickstarter funds – open through February 27 – he can ensure that the story reaches more people.

“The outpouring was unbelievable,” Buchner said about the initial Kickstarter campaign. “It wasn’t funded only by individuals, but also a number of local businesses. Everyone pitched in and came together.”

While Spector 45 was known as a true spectacle on stage, for those like Buchner, who first heard of Spector 45 only after the tragedies or through the ubiquitous stickers around town, he says it is never too late to learn about the little piece of Deep Ellum as gritty and loud as the famed neighborhood itself.

“Spector 45 is now a main playlist in my car,” Buchner said. “They were, and are, incredible. Just watch the videos and the footage. They’ll still blow you away.”

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