The 242 Main Documentary Film and Archive: Update!

May 31, 2023: The documentary film about 242 Main has reached a milestone: The first rough ‘assembly cut’ of interview footage has been created, establishing the structure of the film and positioning the director to dial-in the story and begin to include all the archival footage, photos and poster art that will help bring the narrative to life. After years of filming, transcribing interviews, large-scale creative investment by two filmmakers, and gathering of artifacts and ephemera from 242 Main’s generous and patient community; we’ve crossed a threshold that signals this film is on its way. A lot of work is left to do before it can be shared with the public — including refinements and the addition of all the fun visual ephemera that has been shared so graciously with the production team. But in the meantime, we wanted to share the good news and a little background about the path to get to this point.

Introduction

For more than 30 years, 242 Main was a gathering spot for the youth of northwestern Vermont. Organized by the City of Burlington’s Youth Office (started by Bernie Sanders when he was mayor), 242 provided a haven for young misfits and fans of underground music. It was part music venue, part musician proving ground, and part teen drop-in center. With programming driven by teens, it became America’s longest-running all-ages punk rock venue and a sanctuary anchored in the hearts of thousands.

After decades of deferred maintenance and neglect, the city closed the doors to Memorial Auditorium, the city-owned building that 242 Main is located in. The structure was deemed too unsafe to occupy. When 242 Main was shuttered in 2016, no city leaders spoke about what it had meant to generations of young people. The city’s mayor was pursuing a private vision of bulldozing Memorial Auditorium to build a new hockey arena with a local university. Youth created a significant cultural legacy in Vermont at 242 Main and its story was in danger of being lost.

This project aimed to meaningfully capture the history of 242 Main and ensure this story was accessible to modern audiences. 242 Main was a symbol of a city’s commitment to youth, and a safe space where many new generations of Vermonters experienced what it means to think critically and build community with peers. It was a direct contributor to the culture of Vermonters who carry those values forward to this day. The imprint of 242 Main on our region continues to inspire advocacy in support of teen-led cultural spaces and civic resources that foster participation in society, the arts, and the economy.

The project includes three components: A documentary film; a public archive of historic ephemera and interviews gathered for the film; and an interactive museum display. When the film is finished and traveling to film festivals and conferences around the world, it will create opportunities to describe Burlington’s unique commitment to — then abandonment and hopefully the reinstatement of — its young adults and the city infrastructure they deserve. Follow this history as it’s made at https://bigheavyworld.com/242main.

Filmmaker Bill Simmon. Photo by James Lockridge.

The film

The documentary began under the creative direction of filmmaker Bill Simmon (photo, above), a writer and media educator in northern Vermont. Bill’s award-winning documentary films include Digital Pamphleteer (2007), about political blogger, Steve Benen, and High Water Mark: The Rise & Fall of The Pants (2016), about legendary Vermont band, The Pants. Bill was the Director of Media Services at Vermont Community Access Media, a nonprofit community media center in Burlington, Vermont.

Simmon conducted interviews with 66 subjects including 242 Main staff, participants, and civic leaders. With remote volunteer assistance, interviews were also conducted in the Washington, D.C. area. Full-length interviews were recorded with Andrew Paley; Ben Hiller; Bobby Hackney; Brian LaClair; Bruce Duncan; Carina Driscoll; Carolyn Fine; Casey Rea; Police Chief Brandon del Pozo; Chris Lamothe; Dan Bolles; Daryl Rabidoux; Dave Lawrence; David Lamoureux; Diana Halvorsen; Diane Sullivan; Emily McKern; Eric Pope; Erick Wisowaty; Ethan Azarian; Gary Lane; Ian MacKaye; Isaac Butcher; Jackson Balling; Jennifer Blair; Jesse Bridges; Jessica Amelia; Jessica Morley; Joe Atherton; Justin Gonyea; Kecia Gaboriault; Kurt Eckert; Lauren Mazotta; Leif Hunneman; Lowell Thompson; Mark Redmond; Martha Pullen (photo, below); Matt Kimball; Max Gregor; Mike Blair; Mike Cram; Mike Gatti; Mike Halvorsen; Mikey X Wierzbicki; Nick Grandchamp; Paul Allison (Ratdog); Peg Tassey; Peter Clavelle; Reba Porter; Rebekah Krushenick; Richard Bailey; Ryan Krushenick; Sam Karcher; Selene Colburn; Seth Warhol-Streeter & Ben Hiller; Simon Brody; Spencer Crispe; Sterling Dew; Steve Flemer; Todd Rheault; Torsten Rau; Tyler Daniel Bean; Jane O'Meara Sanders; Jodi Stone; Eric Burdo; and Dana Shepard.

Martha Pullen during the interview. Photo by James Lockridge.

Simmon produced a trailer and began reviewing transcriptions that were prepared by volunteers including Kathryn Baldwin; Ryan Breen; Samantha Burke; Richard Ferber; Cadence Gentley; Ann Harvey; Alice Koeninger; Catherine Krueger; Andrea Lenco; Elizabeth McKnight; Jasper Minson; Steve Murray; Dan O’Brien; Martha Pullen; Ben Reagan; Justin Robbins; Jay Strek; Ashley Truax; and Kaitlin Zupanicic. Simmon’s intention was to generate a narrative arc consisting of a timeline and topics found within the transcripts.

Progress with the film’s production became halting for a period during the COVID-19 pandemic, then faltered due to personal issues affecting Simmon. The creative leadership was supportively passed to documentary filmmaker Mark Covino (photo, below). Covino is a director, producer and editor. His first feature film, ‘A Band Called Death,’ won the Audience Award at South by Southwest in 2013 and was released theatrically to rave reviews around the world. His second film, the award-winning documentary, ‘The Crest,’ was released by Gravitas Ventures in 2019. Covino also produced the sci-fi adventure film, ‘Axcellerator’ (2020), starring Sean Young (‘Blade Runner’), Sam Jones (‘Flash Gordon’) and Maxwell Caulfield (‘Empire Records’). Simmon continues to support the production of the 242 Main documentary.

Filmmaker Mark Covino working on the film. Photo courtesy Mark Covino.

Covino re-initiated the process of reviewing transcripts to generate a narrative arc reflecting his skills and aesthetic. In May, 2023, following slightly more than a year of constructing a ‘hero’s journey’ narrative, Covino arrived at a first assembly cut of the film. This version demonstrates a complete storyline and that the film has come closer to completion of the editing process.

Throughout this period of film production, the community participated in providing photographs, video footage, and concert posters from 242 Main’s 30+ years of active programming. Hundreds of images, artwork and news articles were provided by CCTV Archives / Center for Media and Democracy; Trevor Ayer; Kathy Biscardi; The Burlington Free Press; Barbara Chase; Peter Comley; Spencer Crispe; Geoff Daniel; John Dapo; Evan Engisch; Simone Evans-Diffenderfer; Carolyn Fine; Gregory Gaskill; Mike Gatti; Will Geisler; Charlie Gianonni; Justin Gonyea; Kshanti Greene; Eric Halbach; Preston Hall; Elisha Johnson; Jason Krak; Colette Kulig; Jeff Lamoureux; Kevin Niquette; Art Patriquin; Reba Porter; Joshua Richmond; Paul Rushford; Eric Sherman; Loren Tindall; Nic Vartuli; Maxx Vick; Jason Weiner; Jess Wisloski and more. High school student volunteers also animated still photographs into pseudo-3d or ‘parallax’ video animations for the film.

The next steps in production include fundraising to contract production of title art; color correction; audio post-production; and pressing of a vinyl soundtrack. Covino will be finalizing the edit with the addition of archival video footage, photography, and poster artwork. Volunteers Matt Kimball and Spencer Crispe curated the soundtrack with music from bands that performed during each decade of 242 Main. The soundtrack will be pressed in Vermont at the Burlington Record Plant.

During film production the project was aided with support from a State Department program, Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI). A YLAI Fellow, Laura Bermúdez, was placed with Big Heavy World to produce an impact distribution strategy for festival promotion of the film. Bermúdez is a film director, educator, emerging curator, cultural activist, and social entrepreneur. She is the co-founder and an active member of the Honduran Women Filmmakers Collective and the co-creator of the First Film Festival Created by Women in Honduras ‘Alice’s Dream.’ Bermúdez is also Co-creator of the First Feminist Film Education Program “A Look of My Own” financed by the Central American Women Fund FCAM.

Bermúdez’ impact distribution strategy document outlines goals of raising awareness of the value of conserving youth-led cultural spaces; youth empowerment; punk rock history; and Vermont’s historic contribution to national history via 242 Main. It guides the film toward audiences of youth; university students; key actors in the cultural, government, and academic sectors; civic leaders; international audiences; and the general public, age 13+. The strategy includes screenings at film festivals that have strong affinity for the documentary topic and via television and digital screen rights and licensing.

Supporters of the filmmaking process have included the City of Burlington; Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department; Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership; Vermont Community Foundation; New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission; Lake Champlain Basin Program; Northfield Savings Bank; Vermont Humanities and Paul Kerr. The film credits include the statement, “This project was funded by an agreement awarded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program. NEIWPCC manages LCBP’s personnel, contract, grant, and budget tasks and provides input on the program’s activities through a partnership with the LCBP Steering Committee. The viewpoints expressed here do not necessarily represent those of NEIWPCC, the LCBP Steering Committee, or GLFC, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or causes constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.”

The Archive

The effort to gather the historic record of 242 Main has been intensive. Artifacts that have been collected include newspaper articles (43 from the Burlington Free Press); archival concert and public access television video footage; and hundreds of photographs and concert posters. 360-degree footage of the ‘final’ 242 Main concert in 2016, featuring over 20 bands, was also filmed, as well as standard footage and professional photography of the event. Portrait photographs were taken in the studio during the filming of interviews (See Bobby Hackney, Jr. image, below), and each full interview was transcribed by a volunteer.

Bobby Hackney, Jr. at the interview. Photo by James Lockridge.

Most of the items above have been published to a public archive, with the intention of this archive becoming recognized as an asset to historians and academics researching municipal and youth services. Interview transcripts, photo portraits, and photographs are published to the open source collections catalog platform Omeka on the bigheavyworld.com website. Content will be distributed a little bit at a time as the film is released and work to promote it begins. The project received special permission from photographer Tim Snow to include his very high quality documentary photographs of the ‘final’ show at 242 Main in this public archive (See The Path by Tim Snow, below).

The Interactive Exhibit

An interactive museum exhibit is on display at the Tiny Museum of Vermont Music History in Burlington. It includes a touchscreen computer that interfaces to 57 clips highlighting content from full interviews that offers especially compelling insight into the human experience of 242 Main as experienced by youth, staff, or civic leaders throughout the institution’s 30+ year history.

The interactive touch-screen where moments from each interview can be viewed at the Tiny Museum of Vermont Music History.

Other 242 Main-related artifacts and video surround the touch-screen exhibit: Concert photographs by Matthew Thorsen; a video of 242 Main concert poster images; and the door to the 242 Main office which is on loan to Big Heavy World for stewardship until it can be returned to a reinstated 242 Main space, should Memorial Auditorium be returned to occupancy again, an outcome that Big Heavy World has been advocating for since 2016.

The office door of 242 Main on exhibit at the Vermont Historical Society History Museum in Montpelier. The door is being preserved for eventual return to the historic 242 Main space.

The 242 Main exhibit was first displayed in the Local History Gallery of the Vermont Historical Society Museum during the first six months of 2019. The museum had approximately 6,958 visitors February through July, of which 2,537 were general visitors and 3,624 were with school groups or field trips. The Big Heavy World exhibit that included the interactive 242 Main kiosk and artifacts was honored with the 2019 League of Local Historical Societies & Museums (LLHSM) Award of Excellence in Exhibitions/Public Programs.

The Path performs at 242 Main in December of 2016. Photo by Tim Snow.

Conclusion

Important goals are to illuminate how youth-led programs can succeed over a period of decades and what the values are that give cities a reason to have them; provide access to primary sources of information to inform best practices for others developing youth-led programming in this or other regions; establish a historic record of a significant contribution to Lake Champlain heritage by a traditionally marginalized demographic population; and give the public insight that helps create equitable multigenerational empathy for informing future policy and programming decisions.

The City of Burlington innovated when it established 242 Main and set itself on a course to make history by valuing the energy and vision of its youth and providing an environment for them to gather and have free expression. Youth treasured their experiences there; this project has provided a framework to preserve and honor their memories and capture the importance of 242 Main. Big Heavy World seeks to commemorate 242 Main for many reasons, including its importance to the region’s youth and musicians; the platform it provided for community engagement and empowerment; and for its historic supremacy as the country’s longest-running all-ages punk rock concert venue.

More Information

A page providing history and advocacy for 242 Main: https://bigheavyworld.com/242main

Documentary film trailer: https://youtu.be/vtecbDGAZcU

An example 360-degree video, Spies In America, December 6, 2016 at 242 Main: https://youtu.be/FFhln5WKBtc

Video clips comprising the interactive exhibit: https://bigheavyworld.com/exhibit-242-main-interactive

Public comments from the Save242Main.com petition, substantiating the social relevance and historic importance of 242 Main.