Material Issue Members Set For Q&A Screenings As ‘Out Of Time’ Blu-Ray Nears Release

In December of 2018, while a student at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, director Balin Schneider began work on what would become his debut feature-length film Out Of Time: The Material Issue Story, a documentary tracing the story of 90s power pop stalwarts Material Issue.

Completed at the end of 2021, the arvonia films production, distributed by Factory 25, is now set for Blu-ray release this summer, a special edition which will feature deluxe liner notes and physical extras like a postcard-sized reproduction of a 1989 concert poster featuring Material Issue alongside fellow Chicago alternative acts Insiders and Smashing Pumpkins at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro.

What began as just an eight minute YouTube video quickly became a labor of love for Schneider, who, over the course of three years, sought out and sat down with journalists Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis, managers Peter Katsis and Jeff Kwatinetz, engineer Steve Albini, surviving Material Issue members Mike Zelenko and Ted Ansani and then Chicago-based musicians like Liz Phair and Eddie Roeser (Urge Overkill).

Ultimately, the film illuminates the strength of frontman Jim Ellison’s songwriting and the legacy of a band that stood out from the grunge stylings that eventually came to define the 1990s.

MORE FROM FORBESNew Documentary ‘Out Of Time’ Celebrates Legacy Of Jim Ellison And Material IssueBy Jim Ryan

“Let me begin by saying, I purposely didn’t watch too much of what Balin sent us during the process. Because I had faith that it was going to be good,” said Zelenko over the phone earlier this week. “Based on the feedback that I was getting from Ted, I refrained from watching any of it. I saw it for the very first time in Minneapolis at the first screening at a film festival in November 2021. And I thought it was great,” said the drummer. “I thought it was really well done and I was really impressed with how Balin had put together such a great first effort with the resources that he had and pulling up resources. It was very well done with the music and the editing. And he really did tell the story correctly.”

The trailer to the film highlights the lengths Schneider and his team went to secure the rights to Material Issue’s music, often the most difficult part of bringing any film to home release.

The new trailer sums up Material Issue’s highs and lows while showcasing their prowess as a still raucous live act.

“I heard them first on the radio in the 90s. I was also in a band in the midwest that opened up for Material Issue in the early 90s. Then I moved to Chicago and got to know Mike and Ted,” said Pat McIntyre, who worked on the back end of the film with Schneider, cutting the Out Of Time trailer. “I work at a post house in Hollywood. When I heard about this documentary, I reached out. With the trailer, I just wanted to capture the essence of the film using their songs and their energy. And hopefully it helps bring about an awareness or serves as a reminder of what a great band they are and what great songs they wrote.”

Zelenko and Ansani took part in a series of screenings at the end of 2021 to promote the film’s theatrical release. The duo will return to the road this month, engaging in Q&A sessions with Schneider following screenings of Out Of Time in Chicago (February 24 at Alamo Drafthouse), Minneapolis (March 8 at Trylon Cinema), Harrisburg (March 18 at Midtown Cinema) and Los Angeles (March 24 at Alamo Drafthouse) with additional cities still to come.

New merch, like t-shirts and 45 adapters, is also now available ahead of the events.

“We did a few Q&As in 2021 that were really well-attended. We were really pleased with how many people turned out,” said Zelenko. “It’s nice to be able to tell people things that they want to hear on a one-on-one basis like that, so they get a better idea of what it was like for us when we were in the band together,” he said. “Both Ted and I are looking forward to doing as many of these as Balin and his team are able to. Because I think the film is really good. And we’re going to do everything we can to make sure it gets promoted properly and people know about it and can come out and see it.”

“The band and I really think that the Alamo chain of theaters is the coolest and best place for the film. So the distributor got in touch and this will be one of the first events to happen at the brand new Wrigleyville location on Chicago’s north side,” explained Schneider, highlighting the February 24 event which will be followed by Chicago screenings running through March 2. “The fans ask really good questions – which is a good response to the film. There’s things they want to talk about. The band has a good opinion on the film, as well as insight that wasn’t in the film. So I think the Q&As offer a good opportunity to dive deeper and hear what the band members or myself and the production team were thinking when we made the film.”

In addition to Schneider, Zelenko and Ansani, the Chicago Q&A will also include Jeff Murphy of power pop group Shoes, who produced the first two Material Issue albums (International Pop Overthrow and Destination Universe) at his Short Order Recorder studio in the northern Chicago suburb of Zion, Illinois.

In Los Angeles, former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield will be joined by Melissa Zukerman from Material Issue’s management team. Both appear in the film and Pinfield, who frequently featured Material Issue on the radio as music director at tastemaking FM New Jersey alternative station WHTG and as host of the weekly MTV alternative music showcase 120 Minutes, will moderate a question and answer session following a viewing of the documentary film.

“I love that band,” said Pinfield over the phone, looking back. “I saw them in Chicago. I went to a show they did one night. It was great because I got to watch a Cubs game from one of those rooftops outside Wrigley Field. I grew up in Jersey and I’d never seen anything like that. It was the greatest thing ever. The concert was [across the street] at the Metro and it was just great,” he said. “So when they asked me to host the Q&A, I explained ‘Hey, as long as I’m in town, I’m doing it. I’m doing it out of my love for Jim and my love for the band.’ So I’m very grateful to do anything to bring more attention to Material Issue and Jimmy’s life.”

Material Issue singer, songwriter and guitarist Jim Ellison took his own life in June of 1996. In the film, Ellison’s mother Patricia Wegner speaks eloquently, her words acting as the film’s dramatic core.

“I would say, for me, personally, when I need to revisit, more about Jim than the band – that loss and some of the sadder times during that – I admit it gives me a lot of anxiety,” said Zelenko. “After all these years, I feel it actually gets a little harder with Jim as I get older. Also, with Jim’s mom passing away in this last year, I’m so thankful that I got an opportunity to speak with her for almost three hours on the phone about a year ago. I’m so glad that that happened. That makes it easier. But it’s never easy when someone commits suicide. It just leaves such an empty hole, I think, forever.”

Pinfield spent a lot of time with Material Issue early on during his years on the radio in New Jersey, hosting the group for special beach side events in Asbury Park alongside acts like The Smithereens and grew particularly close to Ellison, spending a mid-90s birthday with the singer and guitarist in Chicago, a story captured in the documentary.

As he looks ahead to the upcoming Out Of Time screenings, Pinfield, who works on air today at KLOS in Los Angeles in addition to duties as host of Flashback, a music showcase syndicated on nearly 180 stations nationwide, he’s acutely aware of Material Issue’s legacy.

“The thing that blew me away when I heard ‘Valerie Loves Me,’ is it had all the energy of what was great about alternative music at that period of time. But it also had a thing that I loved about power pop bands over the years – The Raspberries, Big Star,” he recalled. “International Pop Overthrow came out and I was a huge fan of that album. ‘Diane,’ ‘Very First Lie’ – there were so many good songs on that record. Then I saw that they did a cover of ‘Cowboy Song’ by Thin Lizzy – and I’m a huge Thin Lizzy fan! So I was like, ‘Wow, these guys like Thin Lizzy too, this is great!’” said Pinfield.

“They’re still such a cult band but people love them. There’s a festival that named itself ‘International Pop Overthrow’ after them. They’re more influential than they’ve been given credit for. They were an incredible band. God, if Jim had just lived to see it,” he mused, trailing off. “People really need to go back. I’m glad that International Pop Overthrow is available on vinyl again for people,” said Pinfield. “I wish that more people would go back and explore some of that Material Issue music. Because there’s some great stuff there. There really is. And it’s an important story to be told.”