Do U Want It? is a music documentary that tells the story of the New Orleans funk band, Papa Grows Funk, their residency at The Maple Leaf Bar, and then their indefinite hiatus that they announced in 2013. The film doesn’t just capture a band in transition and the creative differences that came along though.

It also offers an insider’s glimpse into what makes the New Orleans music community so special, which the film sometimes accents with New Orleans-styled animation. No surprise then that the film won the audience award at the New Orleans Film Festival when it screened there in 2017.

The film has also screened in festivals across the country including San Francisco Indie Fest, Oxford (Mississippi) Film Festival, and Chicago International Movies & Music Festival. Just a few weeks ago, the film won Best Music Documentary at San Francisco’s Frozen Film Festival.

I had the chance to catch the film when it screened at the Louisiana International Film Festival in April.  That’s where I met the film’s directors, Josh Freund and Sam Radutzky. I was captivated by their affection for the New Orleans music scene and by the way their film explores Papa Grows Funk’s creative collaborations, both when they work and when they don’t, so I invited them to come on the show.

Some of the things we discuss include

• How to connect with bands at shows
• What makes the New Orleans music scene so distinct
• The tension that arises between musicians who are content to preform locally and those who want to build a national following
• How much footage and editing goes into shooting a feature-length music documentary
• The way that Josh and Sam resolved their own creative differences during post
• Budgeting for animated clips in a film and an indie tip for getting a lower rate
• How to shoot a band on tour

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Want to hear from a band that played at Jazz Fest this year?  Then check out this interview I did with Daniel and Jesse Reaux from The Rayo Brothers.

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