I recently spoke with Colin Brunton, co-writer (along with director/producer Tim Kowalski and editor Kevan Byrne) of the upcoming docu-film on the life and career of one of Toronto’s most mysterious music legends from the 80s, Nash The Slash. I remember hanging out backstage with Nash after a big concert at the Phoenix Nightclub in downtown Toronto, and was invited into his dressing room (no, I was not a groupie…LOL) to help him get out of costume which included his famous “invisible man” bandages.
Nash was a very secretive artist, so talented and intriguing. But we lost him way too soon, and I remember the sadness that permeated the town, much like the other Canadian icon of alt.music we lost early in his career, Handsome Ned. Anyway, Colin gave me an exciting update on the film’s completion and their plans for screenings in the coming months.
Congratulations on completion of your film…what challenges, apart from financing, did you and the team have to overcome to get to this end point? Finding the time. On a regular project, you have dozens of people working full-time, but there were only four of us, so in between day-jobs, families, and everything that comes with that, we’d pick away at the film. Also, ensuring that we had rights to use photos and old TV clips was a huge job. Nash’s story goes back fifty years; companies don’t necessarily keep everything, so there was always a lot of detective work on our part.
Were you able to source any previously unseen images or recordings from the fans or other music industry professionals? We do have a few gems very few people have seen, and we’ve created better versions of a lot of stuff you might find on the ‘net.
Now, it’s on to film festival submissions – which fests are you targeting? And are you submitting to festivals outside of Canada? We’re applying to some festivals, but I’d hate to jinx it by saying which ones.
Are you hoping for a theatrical release after festival screenings or are you looking at streaming services or documentary tv channels for maximum viewer impact? We’re under no illusions that this will have a typical theatrical run, so we’re working on some off-the-radar venues. It may be more like a tour of one-nighters rather than parking it in a multiplex for a couple of weeks. With a one-nighter, we can have better control of the presentation, and make sure they play it loud. Nash liked it loud. As for TV? CBC, for one, have made it clear that they have absolutely no interest in Nash’s story. (pictured below, Director Tim Kowalski & sound-mixer Daniel Pellerin)
What would you like to tell fans of Nash and those of us who lived and loved the incredible 80s music scene in Toronto? For those who lived it, it’ll be a reminder of when Toronto was a lot more interesting. We had a screening couple of years ago for some twenty-something film students and they were fascinated by the whole story, especially the ‘80’s footage.
Colin, is there anyone you would really like to acknowledge and thank for making it all come together? I saw a woman wearing a t-shirt that said “Yes, I’m still working on my f*$ing documentary,” so really, first and foremost we have to thank the fans for all their patience watching this evolve over the past seven years. 400+ fans supported us in our crowd-funding efforts, as well as being very generous with photos and footage. Music supervisor Natasha Duprey; photographer Paul Till; Trevor Norris and the Nash estate; Gary Topp for his encouragement and advice; Lawyer David Steinberg for keeping us on the straight and narrow. I could go on, but I know I’m still going to miss some people. (pictured below, Colin Brunton)
How can we follow this story of Toronto’s legendary artist who we lost way too soon? We’re on https://www.facebook.com/NashTheSlashDoc/ as well as IG and Bluesky
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