If you’re familiar with local music history then you know the name Marco Collins, and if you aren’t there’s a good chance his tastes have impacted your listening habits without you knowing it.
Marco served as music director and DJ for 107.7 The End back in the station’s salad days of the ’90s. During his time at the station he championed several major bands before they broke big and thanks to his keen ears he picked up on artists like Beck and Weezer and became the first person to play them on the radio. His on-air talent and amazing career accomplishments landed him a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a DJ. Not only was Marco a major tastemaker on a local and national level, he also helped launch the careers of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Death Cab for Cutie, the Chemical Brothers, Garbage, Foo Fighters, Prodigy and countless others. So yeah, there’s a good chance that without him you might not have even heard of some of your favorite bands.
Marco’s life story to date is the subject of the upcoming documentary The Glamour and the Squalor. The film, which is expected to premiere early next year, is about Marco’s rise to prominence with The End and how together they shaped the future of music. But the movie isn’t just a doc on the history of alt-rock. Like most of the best documentaries, the movie tells a story that has a heart. Aside from the music hook, the film has a very human element as it tells the story of Marco’s current battle to stay clean after a decade of drug abuse, his return to breaking contemporary music, as well as his role in helping Music for Marriage Equality contribute to Washington’s historic marriage equality vote.
I’m thrilled and honored to feature the first trailer for The Glamour and the Squalor. Over the past few years I’ve been lucky enough to get to know Marco personally as a friend and one moment from the trailer really stands out. Former End jock Brian Beck says that out of all Marco’s addictions, his addiction to music is the strongest. I can say with confidence that Beck’s words are right on the mark. Marco’s joyful enthusiasm for music, new and old, is one of the many things about his personality that make him such a great person to know and be around.
Watch the trailer below and continue reading for comments from the film’s director Mark Evans and more information about the film.
Evans is an independent filmmaker who is making his directorial debut with The Glamour and the Squalor. He grew up in Richland and previously worked with Arcade Fire and produced award-winning content for brands like the United States Navy, Lockheed Martin and the Smithsonian Institute. He never listened to Marco on The End, but based off the trailer he and his crew did an outstanding job of telling Marco’s story.
“I first came up with the idea for this movie in December of 2011, listening to The End’s 20 year anniversary show. It was fascinating to me thinking back to the time when all of these amazing musicians were in the same city at the same time. It reminded me of the film Midnight in Paris about that city in the ’20s,” said Evans. “I thought it would make an interesting feature film to explore this time through the eyes of this influential radio station in the middle of it all. I’m from the Tri-Cities originally, so I didn’t know the DJs or of Marco when I started my research. From The End’s 20 year broadcast, though, I realized I should get to know Marco’s story a little more. That’s when I came across an article by Chris Kornelis from the Seattle Weekly.”
Initially the film was simply going to be based on Marco’s life story but Evans decided to go the documentary route once he learned more about Marco.
“I thought Marco’s life story would make a great thread for this film. I continued to develop it as a feature film instead of a documentary, but the further along I got, I realized this might be more interesting and more achievable as a documentary. So I brought the concept to my producing partner, Andy Mininger, and he got in touch with Marco about optioning his life story,” he said. “It took a few months and several four-hour breakfast meetings, but we got it done and it’s been a great experience working with him and the many people he helped influence along the way. The music Marco selected and broke was the soundtrack to my life in my formative years and I feel really connected to his personal journey.”
You can get more information about updates on the film over at its Facebook page. The list of interviews that have been conducted for the film so far, as well as a bonus clip of the Supersuckers’ Eddie Spaghetti talking about Marco, are below.
Eddie Spaghetti of The Supersuckers from The Glamour and the Squalor on Vimeo.
Interviews features in The Glamour and the Squalor
Chris Ballew – Presidents of the United States of America
Brian Beck – Flatiron Management, 107.7 The End
Kurt Bloch – The Fastbacks
Charles Cross – Music Biographer/Writer
Mike Halloran – 91X
Kerri Harrop – Music for Marriage Equality
Megan Jasper – Sub Pop Records
Ken Jordan – Crystal Method
Scott Kirkland – Crystal Method
Errol Kolosine – Astralwerks Records
Rick Lambert – 107.7 The End
Keri Lee – 107.7 The End, Mayhem/Warped Tours
Debi Lipetz – Epic Records
Avery Lipman – Republic Records
Ben London – STAG, Alcohol Funnycar
Macklemore – Hip-Hop Artist
Rich McLaughlin – iHeart Radio
Sean Nelson – Harvey Danger
Scott Perlewitz – Sub Pop Records
Matt Pinfield – MTV 120 Minutes
Jonathan Poneman – Sub Pop Records
Bill Reid – 107.7 The End
John Reis – Rocket From the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu
Marty Riemer – Seattle Radio Personality
Patty Schemel – Hole
Eddie Spaghetti – Supersuckers
Kevin Stapleford – 91X, 107.7 The End
Susie Tennant – Geffen Records
Mike Tierney – Epic Records, Rocket Management
Kim Warnick – The Fastbacks
Lisa Worden – KROQ
