Basically Frightened: The Musical Madness of Colonel Bruce Hampton

Aquarium Rescue Unit founder and jamband scene inspiration Colonel Bruce Hampton is the subject of a new documentary film. Basically Frightened: The Musical Madness of Colonel Bruce Hampton will debut at the The Atlanta Film Festival on Friday, March 30 at 7:15pm. The film features commentary from a diverse group of musicians, including Mike Gordon, Dave Matthews, Susan Tedeschi, Chuck Leavell, R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler, Bill Kreutzmann, Derek Trucks and the members of ARU. Billy Bob Thornton—who cast Col. Bruce is his breakout film Sling Blade in the ‘90s—also provides some on camera support.



I love Colonel Bruce and his different iterations of his band. There are a lot of great musicians that got their start playing with Colonel Bruce and the Atlanta music scene is in debited to him for all he has done. I am looking forward to seeing this film and hearing all of the testimonies from the great musicians he has helped and inspired. If you ever get a chance to see Colonel Bruce live, please don’t pass it up! He is out on the road now with his new band, The Pharaoh Gummit and will be in Atlanta on 3/30/12 at Smith’s Olde Bar and 4/20/12 at theVariety Playhouse. Here is a picture from the last time I saw Colonel Bruce live. Notice the trophies, we put those on stage and he loved them! We were all winners that night!