Never Get Tired: The Bomb the Music Industry!

Opening movie at the Punkfilmfest Berlin 2015!

Jeff takes seriously his complex relationship to commerce, community and DIY ethics: all the music is free, all shows are all ages and under $10, there is no merchandise. These practices, coupled with Jeff’s relentlessly positive us-versus-them mentality, has earned him the most ardently committed fan base in the punk scene. Fans around the world cling to Jeff as the only true punk icon of their generation, but as Jeff rounds out a decade with Bomb the Music Industry! and begins to outgrow the chaos, he is confronted with the disparate demands of his fans, his loved ones, and his ideals. Never Get Tired tells the story of what happens when the weight of the world outside threatens to break the man, challenging him to choose between his career and his life, his fans and his loved ones, a transient lifestyle and financial stability.

Years before Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails offered free downloads of their new releases, Rosenstock founded the first-ever donation-based label, Quote Unquote Records. In response to the collapse of his more industry-minded former band, Jeff launched the label and Bomb the Music Industry! from home with just a guitar and his computer.

The music sparked something in basements and DIY venues worldwide. Jeff’s donation-based model worked in a swollen music industry that needed saving. The pay-what-you-can model worked because it was inclusive, creating an interdependency between the musician and the fan. People donated, and for the last ten years Bomb the Music Industry! has headlined sold-out music festivals, played packed houses worldwide, played on Showtime and NBC, and sold tens of thousands of records in spite of offering them for free online.

And Never Get Tired was along for the ride. Five years, eleven countries, and three hundred and fifty hours of footage later and the film is shot. Thanks to Kickstarter, back in 2010 I made enough money to buy a camera and go on one tour. The intervening four years was nothing short of a financial miracle. Maxed out credit cards, my personal savings, the generosity of BTMI!, and the volunteered time of an amazingly talented crew allowed me to finish shooting Never Get Tired with no significant film funding. In May of 2014, Never Get Tired exceeded its fundraising goal on Kickstarter and is now in post-production.