‘Who Is Billy Bones?’ Will Air On KCETLink June 22nd
“Who Is Billy Bones?” highlights the four-decade-long music career of legendary punk rock vocalist Steven “Billy Bones” Fortuna. Billy Bones was an early pioneer of the punk genre, fronting the 1977 Los Angeles punk band The Skulls with his snarling vocals and socially charged lyrics. Directed by Kathy Kolla, an award-winning director, screenwriter and actress, the documentary features interviews with punk rock legends including Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt, Woolly Bandits member Christa Collins, Dr. Strange Records founder Dr. Strange and Fortuna’s wife Christina. The film includes never-before-seen footage of L.A.’s first punk music venue, The Masque, shot exclusively for the project, along with archive interview footage of The Masqueís original proprietor, Brendan Mullen.
More about singer/songwriter Billy Bones:
As frontman of the seminal L.A. punk band The Skulls, Steven “Billy Bones” Fortuna has made a lasting impact on the genre. After moving to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, Billy Bones quickly made his way into the underground punk rock scene, performing at the legendary Hollywood punk club The Masque and recording the now-classic song “Victims.” In the early 1980s, Bones dabbled in the burgeoning new wave genre, recording unreleased material for Geffen records before retiring from music for nearly two decades. A reformation of his band The Skulls provided a much-needed dose of energy in the early 2000s’ punk scene, and the band recorded two full-length albums, as well as performed dates on the Warp Tour and toured Europe twice. The upcoming documentary “Who Is Billy Bones?” focuses on Bones’ unwavering perseverance amid adversity throughout his life, and will air on KCETLink in June of 2016.
