ALMOST FAMOSO: THE STORY OF THE NEXT BIG NORTHERN CALIFORNIA METAL BAND (FROM THE EARLY 2000’s THAT YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF)

a feature documentary ON THE BAND WURKT, from writer-director danny acosta

(the TEEN PHOTOGRAPHER SUPERfan TURNED FILMMAKER who lived it)

WTF IS WURKT?

Before I co-wrote a movie distributed by Lionsgate Films, before I photographed Deftones, Metallica, Bad Bunny, Santana, and so many more of the world’s best and most famous musicians, before I wrote for Rolling Stone, KQED, Vice, and Maxim, before I directed music videos, before I was a SiriusXM radio host…I had a front row seat to the greatest alternative metal band that never was.

Yes, the band was actually named Wurkt (no one knows WTF Wurkt is, so don’t ask). They were four young Northern California kids who played, peaked, and dissolved during the ”nu-”metal era of rock in the early 2000’s. Wurkt might be treasured by select few who were there or the randoms who discovered them by chance in the years since, but somehow, they have close to 30,000 monthly listeners on Spotify NOW, so someone’s still listening; in fact, that’s probably the biggest and most consistent listenership they ever had. After all, despite the odds, Wurkt finally has their loyal fanbase reaching beyond Northern California, modest by the numbers but remarkable in the context they are a no name band. “Nu-metal” is big on TikTok, the kids are dressing like we used to, Deftones are one of the biggest bands in the world — it all adds up to, now is the time to tell this story.

This is their story, but I was there, I was both their prime target audience (angsty teenager), and I was there with the band as their defacto photographer, sometimes roadie/webmaster/street team member/PR professional for a lot it.

They were signed to a kingmaker label, Warner Bros., for the legendary producer David Foster’s imprint, 143 Records, and after recording their debut album with major producer Josh Abraham following his success with the band Staind, Wurkt was being given the golden ticket to follow Northern California stars Deftones, and Papa Roach, as the next big band to break from the region during that time, as the industry tried to discover the next “Last Resort”-style breakout single and their next hit-making, headlining band. Lead singer of the band Orgy, Jay Gordon, worked on Wurkt’s vocals and felt they had that elusive “it” factor. But the bad luck of the music business struck, ending Wurkt’s right time-right place streak; Wurkt’s album was shelved when Warner Bros. Music dissolved Foster’s imprint label 143 Records. New ownership auditioned all their acts so the musicians could fight to keep their jobs and it was a disaster for them.

Wurkt had briefly lived like rockstars, made their first fancy and expensive record for them to take the world by storm, only for it to get locked away in the Warner Bros. vault, prompting Wurkt to battle to get their record back in their possession and send it out to the world on their own. But the legal standoff and spinning wheels took a toll, and Wurkt’s guitarist secretly tried out for Limp Bizkit’s national open-call to replace their guitarist Wes Borland, sowing discord in Wurkt.

Wurkt picked up some momentum independently pushing their Warner Bros.-recorded album out of their trunks, yet in the end, it essentially ended before it truly began. All they ended up with was the album to take home, to try to turn it into something on their own, without a label marketing budget (or even a manager), but the band couldn’t survive getting chewed up and spit out by the music industry and starting over.

And yes: this is a true story.

If the music isn’t good, who cares? OK, take a listen to the first song off their only full length album, Better in Two Weeks (pictured top left)…

WHO is WRITER-DIRECTOR DANNY ACOSTA?

I didn’t know it then, but when I was taking photos of Wurkt at all their bar and club shows (and 2 festivals) around Northern California, I was going to grow up to be a concert photographer. When I directed my first music video in 2021, it reminded me when I was growing up around music, taking pictures of Wurkt on my disposable film camera.

It all felt full circle, and suddenly, I could not stop thinking about Wurkt. I started listening to their music again after I hadn’t regularly in ten years.

Wurkt is something that never makes sense to anyone who hears me say Wurkt out loud, but even though no one’s heard them, they were crucial to my growing up to become an artist. When I co-wrote a feature film thriller, “Green Rush” distributed by Lionsgate Films, I kept thinking, if I had directed it, I would have put Wurkt songs in it. That thought has persisted. So instead of sprinkling Wurkt songs into narrative films I make, I decided to lean on my documentary background and finally tell the story of Wurkt.

All the dreams I had when Wurkt was inspiring teenage me, I’ve lived, and the music still inspires me today, which is why I still want everyone to know about this band and hear these songs, 20+ years after we all lived it and the music was released, but never went far….never went much further than Northern California…

OK BUT WHY DOES THIS STORY MATTER?

Wurkt is emblematic of thousands of musicians who have been shelved by a record label, undercut by the industry, or simply lost to time. Not every underdog has their Rocky or Rudy moment. This may not be that for Wurkt since there is no reunion ahead, but this is an opportunity for the world to finally hear these songs and learn about the machinations of the music industry, in a “where are they now” story for a band they’ve never heard of, a band that may have been one label decision away from being known around the world today…

“”What if” stories are usually bittersweet, but few are as fun and loud as this…