Rock ‘mocumentaries’ like This Is Spinal Tap and The Mighty Wind were not only high-quality but, particularly in the case of the former, quite a big success.
To continue the trend, a new ‘documentary’ biopic is in the works, entitled Crap Artist . According to the creators, the idea is to honor the jam band tradition. The main character will be portrayed by Carlos Santana collaborator J.R. Williams and will also feature Oteil Burbridge (Dead & Company, Allman Brothers), Paul Levine (Suwanee Hulaween), and others.
According to the creators, the film is meant to highlight and represent a struggling musician while promising to engage jam band fans with a twist of much-needed comic relief amidst a COVID-era music industry.
A rural manure farmer by day, J.R. Williams is an aspiring country music star who is sued for $36,000 for not finishing a song he performed. Under different monikers—perhaps to escape the shadow of his brother’s plagiarism and success in music, and the pathos of being an up-and-comer in the COVID-era music industry—the struggling artist has nonetheless performed at Suwannee Hulaween (but also did not finish a single song at the festival), designed artwork for his friend Carlos Santana, partnered with Relix on a music instruction program, toured with members of nationally recognized The Hip Abduction, and is also directing and editing this ‘documentary’ of himself.
Talking about the film, Williams noted that “not every artists’ story is a grand success, and I think it’s time we honor the artist’s journey, not this whole fantasy with your name in lights. You can use Adobe after effects to do that nowadays anyway. It doesn’t mean anything. The question is, are you being honest, are you being true, and do you have good intentions? Cause that’s what we, as the human race, need in this world.”
Oteil Burbridge is probably the best-known name in the cast and he had the following to say about the film:
“I know that this is a really funny movie but I think it’s better classified as a documentary. I’ve actually hung out with JR. This is real! It’s funny but it’s not ‘fiction.’”
