The Newport Film Festival will host the world premiere of the documentary, "We Were Feared," on Sunday, April 25, at 5:45 pm with a repeat showing on Tuesday, April 29, at 9 pm. Both screenings will take place at the Edwards Island Theater at Fashion Island."We Were Feared" chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of Orange County's landmark Cuckoo's Nest, the famed SoCal Punk Rock Club that became the birthplace of slam dancing and inspired the surf, skate and extreme sports culture of today. During the late 1970s, The Nest, as it was known, played host or was home to almost every influential and soon-to-be famous punk band including Black Flag, The Ramones, Iggy Pop, TSOL, The Dead Kennedy's, The Circle Jerks, Fear and The Vandals
whose song, 'The Legend of Pat Brown' chronicles one of the more famous incidents at The Nest.
It all began when Cuckoo's Nest owner Jerry Roach, who was struggling to make ends meet, on a long shot turned his bar into a nightclub venue for punk rock enthusiasts. After developing a huge following, angry residents and politicians forced its closure, culminating in a standoff that drew national media attention by none other than Connie Chung. First explored in a short documentary, 'Urban Struggle,' the saga of The Nest and its owner Jerry Roach is one of the great untold stories of punk rock
until now.
Among the era's legends who will be present at the premiere will be Cuckoo's Nest club owner Jerry Roach; The Vandals' bassist and Kung Fu Records' owner Joe Escalante; punk rock singer / songwriter and professional skateboarder Duane Peters; punk rock photographer Ed Colver; skateboarder Steve Olson; and former Social Distortion drummer Casey Royer.
The Endurance Pictures production was directed by Jonathan W.C. Mills and produced by York Shackleton and Jerry Roach. Ivan Correa served as Executive Producer. Portrayed are Jerry Roach, Steve Olson, Casey Royer, Duane Peters, Joe Escalante, Mike Roche, Steve Soto, Tony Reflex, Randy Lewis, Arab, Greg Kuehn, Pat Brown, Jack Grisham, Derf Scratch, Henry Rollins, Connie Chung, Chuck Dukowski, Keith Morris, Ike Death, Damien the Omen, Ron Kaos, Marc Murder, Drew Blood, Elvis Kuehn, and Max Kuehn, among others.
A feature film based on the stories surrounding the birth of the Southern California punk rock movement and the role that Roach and his venue had in it is currently in development, with the screenplay being penned by Endurance principal York Shackleton.