Documentary Film – More Than Just A Party Band

Premiere of Documentary Film More Than Just a Party Band

The film explores musical creativity, the meaning of success and community, and the power of fun
in the colorful life and times of Spencer Barnitz, of Spencer The Gardener, a Santa Barbara cultural and musical icon.

“More Than Just A Party Band “, showing May 20, 2023, at 7:30 pm, at the NEW VIC Ensemble Theater in Santa Barbara, 33 W. Victoria Street (across the street from Public Market).

Tickets are available on the New Vic website at https://bit.ly/morethanjustapartybandfilmtickets and at the New Vic box office. Tickets are $15 ($12 + $3 New Vic’s handling fee).

The 80-min film tells the story of Spencer Barnitz, a musician growing up in an idyllic Santa Barbara of the 1970s, who effortlessly achieves a flash of early fame but then faces personal and professional tragedies. In response, he rewrites his definition of success, and the result is his own enduring and quirky brand of music and entertainment style that some say sounds like the soul of Santa Barbara.

Friends, neighbors, musicians, and even Good Morning America, join Spencer in telling the story of his music and its inspirations against a backdrop of personal setbacks, comebacks, and successes while living in Santa Barbara, London, Peru, and Mexico. Stories from Glen Phillips (Toad The Wet Sprocket) and Marko DeSantis (Sugarcult) describe Spencer’s role in the raucous Santa Barbara music scene of the 1980s and 90s. While making the film, Spencer sees his many past lives focus on a coherent story just in time to face another existential crisis.

The 80-minute film was written and directed by Robert Redfield, produced by Emile Millar, and co-written by Spencer Barnitz.

The film’s website is https://www.morethanjustapartybandfilm.com/ and contains the film’s official trailer and link to purchase tickets.