The Southern Satellite, film-makers rock in Havre

People came together at Great Northern Fairgrounds over the weekend to enjoy Beaver Creek Jam, a weekend of music captured by a documentary film crew.

One of the bands that performed Friday, The Southern Satellite, is in the process of being filmed in its last week of footage on tour for a project currently titled "Road Show."

T.J. Broscoff, frontman for The Southern Satellite, said on stage Friday night the series will be on a major streaming service in the future.

The two-day music festival, which featured two stages, was part of a fundraiser for a proposed veterans memorial campground in Beaver Creek Park.

The connection to veterans is part of what drew rock legend Warrant, which also played Friday night, in its tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of its song "Cherry Pie."

Havre Daily News requested an interview with Warrant, but band members were not abailable.

Produced by Nick and Alex Duva of Road Show Prods, the "Road Show" series intends to capture the life of a working-class band and the return of fans to live performances post-pandemic, including Beaver Creek Jam.

As far as what viewers can expect over the course of possibly six to eight episodes, Broscoff jokingly said Friday, a road life of chilled water and caviar has been a good one.

"No, reality is, you know, we're a band of brothers. We're a group of guys that get out on the highway. We do, I think this tour is something like 8,000, 9,000 miles when it's all said and done, and, you know, bus life is a whole different thing than what people may perceive," Broscoff said.

Broscoff described the grind of what fans don't see before and after a band takes the stage. This includes the manual labor of unloading gear, sound check, maybe getting food before performing, selling merchandise after the performance, reloading gear and hitting the road again.

"Those two hours that we get on stage, that's the fun part. It's the other 22 hours that are, you know, a grind - little sleep and not showers every day and truckstop food. So, you know, it's definitely a lifestyle that a lot of people couldn't probably pull off," Broscoff added.

Nick Duva said the show will incorporate animated elements in order to tell certain stories while respecting the privacy of certain individuals or in situations where people wouldn't sign releases to be featured directly.

"We're not going to violate somebody's privacy by using that bit of video that we saw a moment of could be adversity, it could be anger, it could be embarrassment. You know, there could be somebody who was drinking in an establishment that their probation officer didn't approve, and so we don't want to get somebody in trouble," Duva said.

"Maybe somebody was out on a date with somebody other than their husband or wife, or significant other, you know, we don't want to violate that trust. But there are still some important stories that are out there that we want to tell," he continued.

Duva added the series features more than the band, including the bus driver, tour manager and other crew members.

"We think that audiences are going to pick a particular character in this story. character in the sense of the entertainment business language, because these are real people, I think they're gonna find something and in each of these persons that they identify with," Duva said.

"Alex and I have constantly had to remind the bandmates that this isn't reality TV. We're not here for gotcha moments. We're not trying to embarrass people. ... This is not scripted. We're not telling people what they should say or what they should do. We're not saying. 'Hey, I think this would be neat if you did this.' We're documenting this as a true documentary," Nick Duva said.

Duva did not give an exact time when the documentary would be finished, as it is still being filmed and then will be edited. He said a goal is to show the documentary at film festivals. Once tour filming ends, an epilogue and editing will follow.

Both Duva and Broscoff mentioned the project being done in time for South by Southwest, an event centered around technology, culture, music, comedy and film. The next South by Southwest event is scheduled for March 11-20 in Austin, Texas.

When discussing his aspirations for the band, Broscoff said if big opportunities come he is fine with that, but his focus remains on areas like Havre.

"My dream has never been to play big arenas. If I ever get that opportunity, cool deal. You know, but that's, that's not what it's ever been about. For me, I love playing places, honestly, like Havre, Montana. My dream is to play all of the awesome theaters across this country and across all of Germany, you know, 500, 1,000-seater rooms, you know, packing those out, selling those out. That's my end goal, if you will," Broscoff said.

As far as more personal goals, Broscoff said he simply wants to build a bigger fanbase, connecting with people who have gone through similar things he has experienced. He said he has been free from drugs and alcohol for 14 years, which he also shared with the audience at Beaver Creek Jam.

"I want people to get something from the way that I write, from my craft, you know. Whether they're going through a breakup or divorce - they're feeling something there or or they're understanding part of the recovery story - that there is hope - you know, I mean, that's the ultimate dream for every singer-songwriter is just to be heard," Broscoff said.

Havre Daily News plans to have more coverage of "Road Show" as the project gets closer to release.