Music fans could be forgiven for feeling like they’ve stepped into a time warp. Coming right on the heels of a tour announcement from The Jesus And Mary Chain, iconic punk band L7 has announced its return, with several live dates already scheduled (only in Europe for the moment, sadly). It seems that this new activity was inspired in part by a new documentary film about the group, a film whose creators have now turned to Kickstarter to help fund and finish.
L7: Pretend We’re Dead promises to be the definitive account of the band, from its beginning in 1985 through its glory days in the ’90s grunge era and the rise of mainstream punk rock. Director Sarah Price (producer on American Movie, director of The Yes Men and Summercamp!) has sorted through more than 100 hours of unreleased home video footage taken by the band to construct a portrait of its existence—an existence during which, the Kickstarter page notes, L7 never stopped dealing with the “gender issue” of being an all-female group. The producers hope to raise money to complete production of the film, and are offering the usual assortment of goodies for pledging, up to and including a séance with the band. (Yes, you read that right: you can try to summon the spirit of Harry Houdini with L7.)
The groups has filmed a video announcing the reunion in which its members literally come back from the dead (it’s below). And although the only live dates thus far are festival appearances June 19-20 in France and Spain, the band sounds eager to add more shows to that list. You can stay updated by signing up for L7’s email list here.