No, this isn’t a docudrama about the creative, sad soul that was Roky Erickson and his band the 13th Floor Elevators (although there’s a 2007 documentary about Roky with the title). This is a dramedy written and produced by Eric Brooks (who’s eight films deep in the TV movie realms, including two Hallmark Christmas flicks*) that’s co-produced by his pops, country-legend Kix Brooks (who appears here as Uncle Elmer, Colt’s brother).

A modern-day western with motorcycles instead of horses, You’re Gonna Miss Me tells the story of the unexpected death of country music legend Colt Montana (John Schneider who, while top-billed, isn’t here much), which serves as a catalyst in reuniting his two estranged sons. Before they can claim their large family inheritance, they have to fulfill their father’s final wish: take a motorcycle-based scavenger hunt through the American Southwest. And they agree to “the ride,” as both have their own demons and motives for needing the financial windfall — but they discover so much more.

As you can see from the one-sheet, there’s a large ensemble cast headed by Leo Howard (who got his start as the “younger versions” of Snakes Eyes and Conan in G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Conan the Barbarian ’11, respectively) and Justin Deeley (Mike Trimbol from Fear of the Walking Dead). We also have the-never-ages Morgan Fairchild (Shattered Illusions) and William Shockley (a noted country music radio host who got his start in Howling V: The Rebirth and a five-year run on TV’s Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman), along with our beloved Eric Roberts (who, like Schneider, isn’t here much, natch). And for the wrestling fans (yeah, we’re talkin’ to you, Paul Andolina of Wrestling With Film, who also writes for B&S About Movies), there’s WWE’s John Hennigan, aka John Morrison. And for the John Doe fans (moi), there’s a helping of John Doe (sportin’ a Plissken eye patch), but he’s here about as much as Eric Roberts. (I want an Eric Roberts-John Doe marquee co-starring film . . . with them as out-of-retirement mercenaries . . . or two ex-rock stars making amends, now!)

If you haven’t also guessed from the one-sheet, there’s an Easy Rider vibe to the proceedings helped by another country-cum-western (and Christmas flicks!) TV movie stalwart, Dustin Rikert, who — despite the film’s bad reviews — made Phil Pitzer’s sequel-passion project, Easy Rider: The Ride Back, work (seriously, it’s not that bad).

Sadly, even with the name of Kix Brooks on the package, this “John Doe Week” entry couldn’t be more obscure and hard to find. There’s no online trailers, no streams, and Vudu — who had it as an exclusive — no longer offers the film in their catalog. But if you’re into The Dukes of Hazzard** ephemera, or need to complete your collection of John Doe flicks, or satisfy your watch-everything-with-Eric Roberts fetishism, you can find (pricey) DVD’s on Amazon Prime that are also currently “out of stock” at Walmart.com. So, Kix, buddy. If you’re reading this, get You’re Gonna Miss Me uploaded as a free-with-ads stream on Tubi TV. We, the fans of Eric Roberts and John Doe, demand it!

* Eric Roberts has made eight Christmas flicks (we’ve reviewed A Husband for Christmas), so how is it that Eric Brooks or Dustin Rikert haven’t made one with Roberts? We want an Eric Roberts X-Mas flick from each of you, stat!

** So you want more The Dukes of Hazzard ephemera, Hoke? Then check out that CBS-TV series’ theatrical precursor from 1975, Moonrunners, which we reviewed as part of our August 2019 “Redneck Week” tribute to Hickplotation cinema.

About the Author: You can learn more about the writings of R.D Francis on Facebook. He also writes for B&S About Movies and publishes short stories and music reviews on Medium.

Editor’s Note: This review originally ran on June 21, 2020, as part of our “Rock ‘n’ Roll Week.” We’ve brought it back for our “John Doe Week of Films.”

Penelope Spheeris may be best known for Wayne’s World, but her life and films are more than just one movie.

Until the age of seven, Spheeris grew up in a traveling carnival until her father was stabbed after intervening in a racial dispute. After his death, she grew up in California trailer parks with a succession of stepfathers, yet still graduated high school voted “most likely to succeed.”

Working at Denny’s and IHOP in Los Angeles — one wonders if she even encountered David Lynch — she put herself through UCLA and started her career producing short films with Albert Brooks, several of which aired during the first few seasons of Saturday Night Live.

Between Dudes, Suburbia and two of the Decline films, Spheeris has shown her understanding of punk even as she lays bare some of the sillier moments of the kids caught up in its wake. The decline of Western civilization could mean many things here. It could be a reference to Lester Bangs’ review of The Stooges’ Fun House, where a friend remarked that this album had to be the signal of the end of it all. Or it could be a reference to Germs singer Darby Crash Darby reading Oswald Spengler’s Der Untergang des Abendlandes (The Decline of the West).

The bands within this movie — as well as the punk rock fans — gave Spheeris some amazing access to their lives, warts and all. While some bands like Alice Bag Band and Catholic Discipline may not be well known, X, the aforementioned Germs, Fear, the Circle Jerks and Black Flag should be recognized by anyone, not just punk fans.

After the film was screened in Los Angeles, punk music fans got into so many fights and caused so much chaos that L.A. Police Chief Daryl Gates wrote the filmmakers a letter asking them not to screen the film again.

This series of movies was only available in bootleg form for years. This was because of licensing issues for all the songs and Spheeris not wanting to go back and relive them. She didn’t need the money, but then she decide that she’d rather be remembered for these films than her more commercial work.

You can watch this on Amazon Prime and Tubi. There’s also the official site which has press clippings and more info on the films.

Filmmaker Abbe Wool made her feature film debut as a screenwriter with her 1986 chronicle on the Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious with Sid and Nancy. And she made her directing debut on this troubled production — her only directing effort (which she also wrote) — a reimaging of Easy Rider starring John Doe of X — in one of his few leading man roles (see A Matter of Degrees) — and Adam “King Ad Rock” Horovitz of the Beastie Boys.

According to an October 1991 Los Angeles Times report on the troubled production, it’s learned the film did not start with Abbe Wool, but with aspiring, first-time filmmakers Bill Henderson and James Whitney. The duo planned to co-direct their ’80s updating (as with the later Me and Will and Easy Rider: The Ride Back) of the ’60s counterculture classic — a film that transitioned Jack Nicholson from television (he did an Andy Griffith episode!) into a film career.

Then the writing-directing duo had a fallout with their longtime friend David Swinson, an ex-concert promoter who served as the project’s producer. To hear Henderson tell it, Swinson sold out him and Whitney by making a deal with New Line Cinema. And, with that, the intimate, low-budget indie the first time writer-directors wanted to make as an industry calling card became a bloated $3 million dollar project. Wool was given the green light as result of her track record in bringing Sid and Nancy to the screen — a film that brought British actor Gary Oldman his first widespread acclaim.

While the critical reviews were mixed and the film flopped in both theaters and on home video — and was, in fact, hard to find on home video — Roadside Prophets earned cult status as result of its incessant cable airings in the grungy ’90s (yeah, this is Over the Edge all over again).

Yeah, I love this movie. How can you not love a flick with John Cusack going el loco with an eye patch? Then again, I enjoyed — and everyone else hated — what Melissa Behr and Phil Pitzer did with their respective counterculture updates, so what do I know?

Joe Mosley (John Doe) is a Harley-riding factory worker whose slightly-tweaked friend Dave (David Anthony Marshall; Willie Hickok in Another 48 Hours) tells him about a can’t-loose casino in the town of El Dorado — just before Dave is electrocuted in a video arcade. After honoring Dave’s wishes to be cremated and have his ashes spread in the desert (as in another of my road-flick favorites, 2003’s Grand Theft Parsons), Joe decides to stay on the road and find Dave’s mystical, Nevada casino. Along the way, Joe meets Sam (Horovitz), an eclectic free-spirit traveling America’s back roads to find the Motel 9 where his parents committed suicide (plot spoiler: Sam may be Dave’s ghost).

Along the way, the ’60s retro-counterculture duo meet a diverse cast of characters — the “roadside prophets” — comprised of the diverse cast of Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers (Suburbia), ’60s icons Arlo Guthrie and Timothy Leary, David Carradine (Night Rhythms), an eye-patched John Cusack, Sam Raimi cohort Aaron Lustig (Bad Channels), Stephen Tobolowsky (Ned Ryerson from Groundhog Day!), and a very early-in-their careers Done Cheadle (War Machine in the Iron Man franchise!) and Lin Shayne (the Insidious and Ouija franchises!).

In addition to his work as a leading man, John Doe also scored the film, while the soundtrack features solo tunes from his ex-wife Exene Cervenka (we’re reviewing her work in Salvation! this week, look for it), the Beastie Boys, the Pogues, Pray for Rain, Gary U.S. Bonds, and tunes collectively written and performed by members of X and the Blasters. And yes . . . that’s David Carradine performing the song “Divining Rod” that he also wrote. And that’s Harry Dean Stanton crooning “Make Yourself at Home.”

Wool eventually left the director’s chair and word processors for a successful behind-the-camera career as a camera electrician on films such as The Big Lebowski, Space Cowboys, Charlie’s Angels, and Planet of the Apes ’01. (Be sure to check out out Planet of the Apes tribute week of sequels, remakes, and ripoffs.)

About the Author: You can read the music and film reviews of R.D Francis on Medium and learn more about his work on Facebook. He also writes for B&S About Movies.

Writer and director W.T Morgan is a name engraved in the history of the Los Angeles punk band X. When Morgan made his debut foray into feature film narrative work with his rock ‘n’ roll love letter to his college radio roots in A Matter of Degrees (1991), he cast X’s bassist John Doe in one of Doe’s best-remembered roles as a burnt-out college rock disc jockey at odds with the commercialization of radio broadcasting. And that theme of the homogenization of music and radio industries carries through in this rock-doc.

As with the four-years-in-production schedule Doe experienced with his first acting gig in Border Radio (started in 1982, released in 1987), W.T Morgan followed the band around Los Angeles and Southern California between 1980 to 1985. In addition to its sixteen-song strong soundtrack of the band in the studio and live on stage, the film also features band interviews, along with footage and insights from local disc jockeys, record store owners, and other local movers and shakers.

Granted with a limited art house release, this is one that punkers were first exposed to as result of its multiple showings on HBO and the resulting VHS tapes that hit the shelves. The DVD and Blu-ray version was issued on December 7, 2011, and includes a special features section with John Doe and Exene Cervenka discussing the film.

X: The Unheard Music is available on a wide variety of VOD streaming platforms, but we found a copy on You Tube. This is X in their prime. If there’s any punk document to watch, it’s this one. Watch it. And they still got “it,” as this 2019 full concert, courtesy of The Current.

About the Author: You can learn more about the writings of R.D Francis on Facebook. He also writes for B&S About Movies.

If you know your Quentin Tarantino, and we know you do, you know the career of American novelist Elmore Leonard through the Q’s adaptation of Leonard’s Rum Punch (1992) as Jackie Brown (1997). Of course, that was preceded by Barry Sonddenfeld’s adaptation of Get Shorty (1995) starring John Travolta, which was based on the 1990 novel of the same name, and Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight (1998) starring George Clooney, which was based on the 1996 novel of the same name.

Of course, long before Tarantino exposed Leonard to a new audience, Leonard’s novels produced the Burt Lancaster-starring Valdez is Coming (1971), the Charles Bronson-starring Mr. Majestyk (1974), Stick (1985) with Burt Reynolds (Smokey and the Bandit), and 52 Pick-Up with Roy Scheider (Sorcerer). And Tarantino hasn’t given up on Leonard: back in 2009 he optioned the 1972 novel Forty Lashes Less One. But since the Q has stated he’s not making anymore films after Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood, sans his interest in doing a Star Trek film, we’ll have to accept that film will never come to fruition.

In all, twenty-six of Leonard’s novels and short stories have been adapted for the screen, with nineteen as motion pictures and another seven as television series and TV movies. And this film co-starring John Doe of X is one of those movies.

And unlike most of his works, which were westerns, mostly crime dramas, and a smattering of suspense thrillers, Leonard broke “format” and came up with Touch (1987), a lesser known, dramatic-black comedy concerning an ex-Monk (Skeet Ulrich of Scream fame) who becomes a substance abuse counselor; when he acquires the divine abilities of faith healing, he’s manipulated by a fundamentalist preacher (Tom Arnold) and washed up evangelist (Christopher Walken). Love triangles ensue with Bridget Fonda (Singles) and Gina Gershon (Prey for Rock & Roll). And Anthony Zerbe (Mathias from The Omega Man) shows up as a Father Donahue, a Catholic Priest.

Now, you would think that an Elmore Leonard novel adapted and directed for the big screen by Paul Schrader of Taxi Driver fame (and his rock ‘n’ roll love letter with Joan Jett’s Light of Day) would be a box office winner.

Wrong.

As with the poorly reviewed and, in most cases, rarely seen, and/or poorly distributed Be Cool (2005; with John Travolta), Freaky Deaky (2012; with Christian Slater of Playback), and (the truly awful) Life of Crime (2013; with a woefully miscast Jennifer Aniston), Touch failed in its test screenings and in its limited theatrical release before being dumped into the home video market.

And not even its alternative rock tie-in to the then “hot” grunge-rock wave engulfing America from the Pacific Northwest could save the film.

At the time, I was spinning alt-rock tunes and the Touch soundtrack was an instant add to our station’s rotation due to its grungy pedigree. All of the alt-rock rags and radio trades of the day made much ado about the film as one of the post-Nirvana projects by Dave Grohl; the drummer composed the film’s soundtrack (and played all of the instruments) for his new Capitol Records imprint, Roswell Records, a concern that found great success with the 1995 freshman and 1997 sophomore releases by Foo Fighters: Foo Fighters and The Colour and the Shape. While the majority of the soundtrack features instrumental tracks to score the film, it also featured the songs “This Loving Thing (Lynn’s Song),” a collaboration between John Doe and Dave Grohl (Doe would later rearrange the song with his solo band, John Doe Thing). Grohl also collaborated with Louise Post of Veruca Salt (remember “Seether“?) on the film’s title cut theme song, “Touch.” (Luckily, the extremely rare soundtrack is uploaded to You Tube to enjoy.)

Now, remember as you watched the quintessential grunge flick, Singles (1992), after Soundgarden released their fourth studio album, Superunknown (1994), you began to recognize snippets of that album’s songs — “Spoonman” in particular — appearing as instrumentals in the film? (An uncredited Chris Cornell scored the film for Cameron Crowe.) Well, in the grooves of Touch you’ll hear snippets of Dave Grohl’s drum rolls and fills — “Stay Away” (aka “Pay to Play” in its demo form) in particular — from Nirvana’s breakthrough album, Nevermind.

At the time, Nirvana was hot, John Doe knew a good thing with grunge when he heard it and got X back into the studio — after their 1987 demise — with Hey Zeus! (1993), and Louise Post was the new alt-rock darling with MTV offering their full support to Veruca Salt and their debut, American Thighs (1994; You Tube).

So, with that alt-rock pedigree behind it, darn right alt-rock stations were spinning the soundtrack. My station even used the instrumental tracks for various production vignettes. And, as with the John Doe-starring A Matter of Degrees (1991), the Touch soundtrack was better known and more successful than the actual movie it intended to promote.

Now, if you remember your grunge (soap) operas, you’ll recall Dave Grohl wrote “Everlong” from The Colour and the Shape (1997), inspired by his ongoing romance with Louise Post. However, prior to her romance with Grohl, Andy Thompson, the lead vocalist and guitarist with the Dallas, Texas, alt-rock quartet the Buck Pets was a bit more blatant in his love for Louise Post: the Buck Pets’ eponymous Island Records debut (1989) closed out with “Song for Louise Post.”

Ah, sigh . . . alt-rock love with Punk Rock Girls.

Been there. Done that. And heart broken. Curled up on the couch watching the VHS of Touch with Kim, my little “punk rock girl,” aka my “Louise Post,” is one of my cherished memories; her apartment wafted with vanilla incents and clove cigarettes. A “Greasy Boys Pizza” on the coffee table. And she never did return my copy of the Touch compact disc.

I hope Kim still has that CD, plays it, and remembers me the way I remember her, as I write this review for B&S About Movies “John Doe Week.” And Kim and I really did hang out a place called the Zipperhead (Room). And she liked Mojo Nixon and we went to see the Dead Milkmen live. We went to quite a few club concerts together.

True love. Now I am an adult and life sucks. To touch that alt-rock dream, again. So thanks for the memories, Mr. Doe. I need to buy you beer, my friend.

Touch was previously available as a free-with-ads stream on TubiTV, but has since been pulled. You can, however, stream it for a nominal fee on Vudu.

About the Author: You can learn more about the writings of R.D Francis on Facebook. He also writes for B&S About Movies.