About Me
“One of the most riveting and entertaining documentaries I have seen in the last ten years...†- Reel Talk
When Scott Baxendale first told me the story of his life, I was amazed. I had known him for years as a local guitarist and guitar builder, but had no idea that he had owned the Mossman Guitar Company, had built guitars for people like Joe Walsh and Willie Nelson, had refurbished priceless pre-war Martins at Gruhn..s in Nashville, or curated the rare instrument collection of the Hard Rock Cafe chain. Bax's own hands had cleaned, preserved, and restored guitars that were owned and played by Hendrix, Lennon, Holly... even Elvis. I was stunned even more to find out how he'd come to reside here, in Colorado. His brilliant ascension and eventual fall from grace sounded like a movie from the very first sentence. Music, drugs, brushes with those who are now considered Rock Gods. It was an untold, unknown Rock and Roll story from the working man's perspective, a dreamer's adventure as he tried to break into Rock and Roll, while all the time being shut out by his own pain. I couldn't resist starting to work immediately on a screenplay. Scott Baxendale is, in my opinion, a subtle genius at what he does. His understanding of the physics and mathematics of building an instrument is apparent just by watching him work. But what is most noticeable is the overshadowing feeling when he closes his eyes and taps the top of a half-made guitar, listening for the signature ..magic tone... I have watched from across the stacks of aging wood as the ends of his mouth curl into a peaceful smile when it resonates to the perfection he has intended. It was these days spent in the guitar shop watching him at work which fueled the inspiration for the second, third and fourth drafts of this play. Scott Baxendale..s history is checkered with amazing highs and shocking lows, all from the perspective of one talented but tortured man.
Mr. Depp's ability to reach intensity is so requisite for this film, that it hurts my brain to picture anyone else playing the role, and I remind myself constantly that we are shooting for the moon here, and that probably we will have to approach Harry Connick Jr., or Jimmy Fallon, or who knows who else, and they too may tell us to jump in a lake. But until that time comes, I will continue to picture Johnny Depp in my shots, shaving the braces of those Mossman acoustics, filing the giant frets of the guitar-shaped bars at the Hard Rock Café ..Dallas, and pointing a smoky chrome 357 auto-mag at a quivering crackhead in New Mexico. I will see Johnny Depp, guitar in hand, as I work the 5th draft. And I will do this until Johnny Depp himself looks me in the eye and says, "Sorry, but no."
Scott Baxendale's story can only be truly told in it's effective entirety by way of the screenplay "Narcophonic, the Ballad of Bad Bax". However, below on this page are web-links which contain his full bio, a script synopsis, even a published article which follows his spectacular history, arrest, and downfall. You may visit the official Narcophonic website or download and print the .pdf pamphlet to have at your disposal.
Thank you so much for visiting us.
-Haylar Garcia, Writer/Director.
