Unless you’re a local of Hudsonville, Michigan or stumbled across it on YouTube, you’ve unlikely seen or heard of the hugely entertaining public access music TV show Hot Tracks, which is just like a real-world version of Wayne’s World.
Running for 12 seasons now, each episode sees Hot Tracks’ two co-hosts and friends discussing, rating (and bickering) about their favourite tunes and concluding each weekly show by busting out their best dance moves. And while on paper it might seem like ironic parody, the touching story between the pair behind the delightfully amateurish show is very real, and one in which – to quote Wayne’s World original 1992 tag – “you’ll laugh, you’ll cry” (but thankfully, you won’t hurl).
Meet JB and Nick, the two hardcore music fans with autism who present Hot Tracks and the subjects of a documentary called Musical Minds, which serves to show “the lives of these two guys to show their accomplishments as well as their struggles in life,” according to a Kickstarter campaign looking to raise $20,000 towards giving the film wider exposure.
Andrew Bedinger and James Grochowalski are the team behind the doco, who decided to follow and film JB (West, 38) and Nick (Van Zanent, 29)’s exploits after discovering the pair’s show after the latter got a part-time job at WCET-TV – the public access channel which has aired Hot Tracks for nearly 13 years.
“Nick and JB are an incredibly interesting pairing. They’re like an old married couple when they do the show, playing off each other,” Bedinger tells Noisey in an interview. “It’s something that could be kind of complicated and difficult, but the atmosphere of the show is so fun and light. When we came across ‘DragonForce we knew we had to make a documentary.”
The above clip is one of many edited Hot Tracks highlights that Bedinger and Grochowalski shared on YouTube , slowly building an online following for JB and Nick since uploading their first clip in 2009, all while piecing together what would become Musical Minds in-between bouts of paid work and other film projects.
Finished last March, the pair now hope to take their hour-long film to film festivals across the world, raising the necessary funds through pledges on Kickstarter to cover costs for submission fees, raise awareness for those with autism, and raise donations towards aiding their Hot Tracks stars.
“We really wanted to share with the public how an individual deals with autism and what their normal day to day life looks like,” reads the Kickstarter page. “We want to get this film into as many film festivals as we can to spread the awareness of autism! […] These two individuals are only known in the local area, but we believe they will become well known and loved throughout the country and throughout the world. We believe this documentary will entertain and inform others about people who have autism. We just need your help to send it out to the world!”
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If the whole thing seems a little exploitative, take comfort in the fact that Musical Minds’ makers are aware of the “very fine line” they’re treading. “We obviously never wanted it to come across as though we’re making fun of the guys or people with autism as a group,” Bedinger says in his chat with Noisey. “We wanted it to be fun, because they’re fun.”
View the full Musical Minds doco below and head over to the Kickstarter campaign page to help get this heartwarming flick its much-deserved exposure. Party on, JB and Nick!
