Kickstarter campaign under way for documentary on beloved Dayton band

Credit: Michelle Fong

Credit: Michelle Fong

As a producer and director, former Daytonian Eric Mahoney has worked on narrative films and documentaries. For his latest project, the Brooklyn-based filmmaker is revisiting the short but powerful career of Brainiac.

The beloved Dayton band was on the verge of signing a major label deal when frontman Tim Taylor died in a car accident in May 1997.

To help cover some of the expenses, Mahoney has mounted a Kickstarter campaign for the documentary. At press time, he was halfway to his goal of $40,000. The deadline to contribute is 11:45 p.m. Thursday, May 4.

Mahoney recently discussed the movie.

INNOVATION CITY

“I’ve always had a fascination with Dayton. I’ve always been really proud to be from a town known for such a copious amount of invention, like the cash register and flight, and it’s the same for Dayton’s artistic and musical output. That has always been a source of pride and fascination for me. Frankly, I don’t know of any other towns that size where this amount of creative genius has sprung from it. That has always resonated with me.”

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SWEAT EQUITY

“I’ve shopped the film to distribution companies and they all gave me the same feedback. They thought it was a great project and it had great people attached to it but it’s a little niche. Because I’m not a famous director, they aren’t able to write me a huge check to do it at this point. If I can deliver on the interviews, they said they would take a very serious look at the project. I have to do some of the heavy lifting up front but it’s something they’ll definitely look at. I decided to keep plugging along and the further I got into it the more emotionally attached I got to the story.”

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CROWD FUNDING

“Right now, from a financial standpoint this had been a one-man operation. That’s why I decided to launch the Kickstarter to try to finance all of these interviews. I’ll be moving at that speed until we get fully funded and I can bring some more hands on deck so we can really get rolling on this thing.”

PASSION PROJECT

“This is a dream project. I feel really fortunate they’re trusting me with their story. I feel a great sense of responsibility to handle this in an artful and appropriate way. I want to get it right and have all the central people be proud of the documentary. I feel that weight a little but I couldn’t be working on anything I feel more passionately about.”

Info: www.kickstarter.com/projects/1955677038/brainiac-documentary.

Half way there! Thanks everyone! Keep on sharing... https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1955677038/brainiac-documentary

Posted by Brainiac: Transmissions After Zero on Thursday, April 20, 2017

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