Athensmusic.net: How did you first come to get involved with the project and what were doing with yourself at the time?

Bill Cody: I was sitting on the beach north of Seattle after working for about three years as an assistant to John Milius (Conan The Barbarian, Red Dawn - writer of Apocalypse Now and the first two Dirty Harry flicks among others things). I had just finished working on Uncommon Valor, Red Dawn and Rambo II - in fact you can see my hand in both Red Dawn and Rambo II - my hand alone was considered accountable for two or three million at the box office. At any rate, I had just gotten away from LA for a bit and was staying in my home town when I had this idea to do a version of the Erroll Morris film Vernon, FL with music. I had read about Athens in various publications at the time and decided that this was the only town in America that might fit the bill. I then contacted my good friend Tony Gayton regarding whether he might be up for such a project and he said yes - or at least that he'd consider it.

R.E.M. happened to be playing in Vancouver a couple of weeks later and I went to the show. I knew nothing about rock shows at the time and after it was over I really didn't know how to approach them. But, I did notice that no one asked whether you had credentials if you were moving equipment (this was back when they used local crews at most places) so I got on stage and started moving gear. When Peter Buck exit the dressing room I turn to him and pulled out my resume. He told me to call R.E.M. Athens and we went from there.

AMDN: Why Athens, Ga. in 1986 over some other little scene?

BC: It was partly the concept of the film, the fact that Athens was in the South and of course I admired the bands that had come out of Athens. We actually went and researched Athens before we decided that we could make the kind of film we wanted to do there.

AMDN: What do remember about the townspeople while they were in town? Were they low-key, friendly, cooperative?

BC: You know - when we first came to town it was really hard to talk to anyone. I remember sitting with Tony after the first couple of days thinking it wouldn't work because people were very suspicious of our intentions. But, we ended up having a long talk with Jim Herbert and once he gave us the thumbs up everyone was really helpful and supportive. Jim was a real Godsend by the way. Our crew was pulled together from LA, Athens and New York and having Jim's wonderful camera work was something that really gave the film a feeling that people were right there in Athens.

AMDN: Do you remember watching the completed film for the first time? What did you think of it?

BC: I could not answer this question. We saw so many versions of the film while editing. And we had a few screenings to get the film in shape, so I don't really remember when I first saw the completed film.

AMDN: What surprised you most about the finished film and folks' reaction to it?

BC: I think the thing that surprised the most is that after the way we shot it - it came out pretty much the way we envisioned it when we started out. As far as reactions - I remember we showed it to Bryan Cook when he came out to help with the mixing and when the lights came on he was crying and smiling at the same time. That was high praise indeed.

AMDN: Does it stand up as a strong documentary film today?

BC: I think it does. But, really that's for other people to decide. I've been very flattered at some of the comments I've heard over the years, but I think it is really hard for any artist to judge their own work in terms like that.

AMDN: What were some of your favorite scenes? Why?

BC: I think my favorite scene was always Rev. Ruth talking in his Bible Garden.

AMDN: What were some of your least favorite scenes? Why?

BC: I think I'll pass on this one. It's kind of like being asked to judge your children. There's little Johnny - he's okay - but he's not as good as my other kids.

AMDN: What were some of the more memorable songs/performances in the film?

BC: I don't think I can really answer this question either. I will tell you though - REM came to us with their choice of songs and I really thought they were perfect. They had just written "Swan, Swan H" and when they did it for the film I think it was the first time they had performed it outside of their own practice space.

AMDN: Specifically, do you feel there any musicians, artists and town characters who should have been included in the footage but weren't?

BC: Yes! Ed Tant. He was the first person we talked to when we in town and I still don't know why he wasn't included. I also wish we had had a little more time and money because we would have probably covered Mercyland and gone to Atlanta and interviewed Danny Beard. We did a pre-interview with Danny but made the decision not to [go] to Atlanta for filming because of time constraints. I think it would have been great to have had just a little more time and money. But, it is hard to keep on budget when you're filming a documentary.

AMDN: Were there any musicians, artists or town characters who appeared in the film but probably shouldn't have?

BC: No. I know there was some reaction to some of our choices - but everyone who was in the film was suggested by members of the Athens community that we trusted. I think it is kind of funny in retrospect. If the truth be known the one band that everyone questioned at the time we were filming was probably The Bar-B-Q Killers and they were simply amazing in the film and no one questioned that decision after the fact.

AMDN: Do you think the film captured some of the true social dynamic of the 1986 band scene? How so / how not?

BC: I can't really answer this one either.

AMDN: Do you think the film affected the way people in the Athens band scene conducted themselves and performed and interacted after its release in 1987? How so?

BC: I don't know. I think Athens is still a very special place. If you look at the performers who has come out of Athens since then Vic Chesnutt, Porn Orchard, Widespread Panic, Elephant 6, Jucifer etc - it is still a fertile place thoughtful innovative music and that's pretty special.

AMDN: Especially after watching Inside/Out, what strikes you as having has changed the most about the city of Athens since its filming in 1986?

BC: I'll know when I get there - lol.

- Interview by Ballard Lesemann

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