14-year-olds Alec Atkins, Malcolm Brickhouse and Jarad Dawkins make up the metal band Unlocking the Truth. Though they started out playing to Times Square crowds, they eventually acquired a manager, a huge record deal, and became the youngest band to ever play Coachella. Luke Meyer’s music documentary “Breaking a Monster” follows the boys’ rise to fame and the troubles they face as they struggle with early adulthood and the pressures of stardom. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.
Read More: How a Legal Battle With Sony Put This Documentary in Jeopardy
The film first premiered at South by Southwest in March of last year before traveling on the festival circuit. After the band underwent a contract dispute with Sony Music Entertainment, the film was in a holding pattern for over a year. Meyer and producer Tom Davis eventually started a Kickstarter campaign to help self-release the film with Abramorama.
Read More: How a Legal Battle With Sony Put This Documentary in Jeopardy
The film first premiered at South by Southwest in March of last year before traveling on the festival circuit. After the band underwent a contract dispute with Sony Music Entertainment, the film was in a holding pattern for over a year. Meyer and producer Tom Davis eventually started a Kickstarter campaign to help self-release the film with Abramorama.
- 10/6/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
"They're relating to everything in La because of Grand Theft Auto!" Abramorama has debuted a trailer for the documentary Breaking A Monster, which profiles the heavy metal / punk rock band Unlocking the Truth. The story begins profiling them when they're in 7th grade, following this three-man band as they play shows to big crowds on the streets of New York City, eventually landing a major record deal along with gigs opening for Metallica. The band features Malcolm Brickhouse on vocals & guitar, Alec Atkins on bass, and Jarad Dawkins on drums. It's not just another rock doc about being famous, since it's also a coming-of-age story of these kids growing up right when they're making it big living their dream. Fire it up below. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Luke Meyer's doc Breaking A Monster, direct from YouTube: Breaking A Monster begins as the three members of the band...
- 6/3/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Needless to say, Unlocking the Truth isn't your typical heavy metal band. Consisting of three black teenagers from Brooklyn, the group broke through thanks to YouTube -- that great 21st century star-maker that gave rise to no less a pop sensation than Justin Bieber -- where videos of the trio's impressive performances in Times Square went viral. Whether Malcolm Brickhouse (guitar/vocals), Jarad Dawkins (drums) and Alec Atkins (bass) can successfully ride the fame-wave that has had them open for groups as iconic as Metallica, Guns 'n' Roses and Marilyn Manson is the question at the heart of Breaking a Monster, a new documentary that charts the unlikely stars' precocious breakthrough into the industry (they signed a $1.8 million, five album deal with Sony Music Entertainment before negotiating their release from the contract last year) and the inevitable pitfalls that arise from it. The Luke Meyer-directed docu looks like a...
- 6/3/2016
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
Read More: Meet the 2015 SXSW Filmmakers #23: Luke Meyer Follows Pre-Teen Metal Band in 'Breaking A Monster' Indiewire's Nigel M. Smith moderated a panel at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival in March discussing the musical, coming-of-age documentary "Breaking a Monster," which chronicles the young rock band Unlocking the Truth and their journey to stardom as well as childhood obstacles. The band's 12 and 13-year-old members, Malcolm Brickhouse, Jarad Dawkins and Alec Atkins, the film's director, Luke Meyer, and producer Tom Davis spoke about the making of the film, gaining their parents' trust and what it was like following the band for a year. Highlights from the talk are below. You can watch the entire discussion above. "Breaking a Monster" plays next at HotDocs Documentary Film Festival in Toronto. Teens Enjoy Their PrivacyWhen asked what they thought of the rough cut, band member Dawkins revealed that he initially thought that some of his personal.
- 4/28/2015
- by Travis Clark
- Indiewire
Earlier this week we brought you a gallery of images from the studio we set up at SXSW in partnership with photographer Daniel Bergeron and Movies on Demand. As the 2015 edition of the festival comes to a close, we have put together a gallery of select images pulled from the second two days of our four-day shoot. Click here to access the first gallery. Read More: SXSW 2015 Portraits of Sally Field, Nick Kroll, Jason Schwartzman and More "Wild Horses" writer-director Robert Duvall."Manson Family Vacation" executive producers Mark and Jay Duplass."Creative Control" director Benjamin Dickinson, actress Alexia Rasmussen and actor Dan Gill."Brand: A Second Coming" director Ondi Timoner.Read More: The 2015 Indiewire SXSW Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During Run of Festival "Breaking a Monster" subjects Unlocking the Truth bandmates Alec Atkins, Malcolm Brickhouse and Jarad Dawkins."Love and Mercy"...
- 3/21/2015
- by Shipra Gupta
- Indiewire
They may still be "Unlocking the Truth," but this heavy metal-playing trio of Brooklyn, N.Y. 8th graders seems to have already found the key to success. Guitarist Malcolm Brickhouse, 13, bassist Alec Atkins, 13, and drummer Jarad Dawkins, 12, have signed a Sony record deal for up to $1.7 million. The boys, who together create the band Unlocking the Truth, locked in the deal with Sony over the weekend, the New York Daily News reports. “It’s so exciting. We’re jumping over the moon,” Jarad’s mother, Tabatha Dawkins, told [...]...
- 7/15/2014
- Us Weekly
The heavy metal trio reportedly inked a $1.8 million deal with Sony.
This isn't your typical boy band.
Brooklyn-based trio Unlocking the Truth is on the rise after harnessing the power of YouTube to go from busking for change in Times Square to performing at Coachella. Now, they've reportedly inked a $1.8 million record deal with Sony. Not bad for a group of 12- and 13-year-olds.
Meet Alec Atkins, Jarad Dawkins and Malcolm Brickhouse, the heavy metal middle school band making waves for their raw talent and frankly, for being adorable. They've been best buds since pre-school and cite Metallica, Slipknot, Disturbed, Living Colour, Chelsea Grin, Motionless in White and Escape the Fate as their biggest influences. "Metal is in their blood," declares a line in their website bio.
They may have signed a mega-money deal with Sony, but according to the New York Post, Unlocking the Truth still needs to prove that they can translate YouTube hits into...
This isn't your typical boy band.
Brooklyn-based trio Unlocking the Truth is on the rise after harnessing the power of YouTube to go from busking for change in Times Square to performing at Coachella. Now, they've reportedly inked a $1.8 million record deal with Sony. Not bad for a group of 12- and 13-year-olds.
Meet Alec Atkins, Jarad Dawkins and Malcolm Brickhouse, the heavy metal middle school band making waves for their raw talent and frankly, for being adorable. They've been best buds since pre-school and cite Metallica, Slipknot, Disturbed, Living Colour, Chelsea Grin, Motionless in White and Escape the Fate as their biggest influences. "Metal is in their blood," declares a line in their website bio.
They may have signed a mega-money deal with Sony, but according to the New York Post, Unlocking the Truth still needs to prove that they can translate YouTube hits into...
- 7/14/2014
- Entertainment Tonight
When you think of the average eighth-grader from East Flatbush, Brooklyn, you probably aren't thinking of Unlocking the Truth. And that's to their advantage. The three boys - guitarist Malcolm Brickhouse, 13; bassist Alec Atkins, 13; and drummer Jarad Dawkins, 12 - play heavy metal, a genre choice that places them at odds with their peers, though it's working to their advantage: The group just signed a record contract with Sony that's potentially worth up to $1.7 million. The group's profile grew steadily over the past year: A video of them busking in Manhattan (their music decidedly against the grain of typical street musicians) went viral,...
- 7/14/2014
- by Alex Heigl
- PEOPLE.com
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