Fred Perry's article on Los Wild Ones

Los Wild Ones Premieres at SXSW
March 2013

A short film about Wild Records titled 'Los Wild Ones' premiered at this years' SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas. It was selected as one of the final eight films to be showcased from over 900 submissions.

Wild Records is an LA based independent record label formed in 2001 after owner Reb Kennedy and his wife travelled to LA from San Francisco on the strength of a flyer that promised "Mexican Rock & Roll". Kennedy was blown away by the energy of the band who were playing 'Lil' Luis y Los Wild Teens' and later offered to record their song 'La Rebeldonna'.

Wild Records now have a stable of over twenty, mainly Hispanic, 1950s Rock & Roll and Rockabilly acts. Wild model themselves on an early Sun Records of the 1950s. Where the artists, the music and the passion is what's important as opposed to advertising and PR.

This approach, in this day and age is what the film concerns. Award winning director Elise Soloman explores Wild Records and its unconventional family and looks into how, if Wild was to continue to expand and grow the status quo could not continue. Kennedy's unfamiliarity and refusal to adopt modern business techniques such as utilising the web and social media to advertise, or releasing music digitally, which gave Wild its unique, independent charm and appeal, may have also been its demise.

Spoiler alert, it wasn't, this traditional approach plus the absolutely huge reception the film has seen at SXSW this week, means that things have never looked so good over at Wild Records.





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