Scenes from the Spectacle Theater in Brooklyn, NY, which hosted “Quit Your Day Job: The World of Jeff Krulik”—a three-day retrospective of Krulik’s films. Jeff is a board member and frequent collaborator of The Laurel History Boys.
Board of Directors News
Laurel History Boys board member and co-author of Capital Centre: A Retrospective, Jeff Krulik was honored with a retrospective of his own in Brooklyn, New York in August at the Spectacle Theater. The retrospective screened 16 of Jeff’s films over three days, including: Heavy Metal Parking Lot, Neil Diamond Parking Lot, Ernest Borgnine on the Bus, and I Created Lancelot Link. Each day concluded with a Q&A with Jeff.
The website for the event described Jeff and his film work:
“Spectacle is thrilled to celebrate the illustrious career of independent filmmaker and our foremost archivist of eccentric Americana, Jeff Krulik. His work often focuses on the humorously offbeat side of D.C.-metro area culture, while always maintaining an open, enthusiastic, and appreciative point-of-view towards even the most bizarre programming or personalities that made it to air.
Krulik developed an underground following throughout the 80s & 90s as one of the co-directors—alongside John Heyn—of the seminal 1986 documentary short, Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Set around a Judas Priest concert in suburban Maryland, the film has been hailed as one of the all-time great rock documentaries despite not featuring a moment of footage from the actual concert. Instead Krulik & Heyn turned their lenses on the arena parking lot, capturing the unbridled spirit and style of its tailgating fans, in turn becoming the definitive cultural touchstone for the 80s heavy metal scene.
Krulik produced and directed dozens of films documenting the lives and work of folks from all over the country—Academy Award-winning actors and professional wrestlers, outsider artists and traveling sideshow managers, local librarians and pinball repairmen—each work marked by Krulik’s wry observational style that found the humor, passion, and authenticity in every one of his subjects.”
Grants and Donations
Thank you to Kathie Peterson, Janet Willis, and James Bowman for their monetary donations to Voices of Laurel. We are grateful.
Kudos for Capital Centre: A Retrospective
[The following letters are condensed for space.]
Dear Laurel History Boys (Richard Friend, Kevin Leonard & Jeff Krulik):
Greetings from San Diego, California. I wanted to reach out and tell you how much I am enjoying your collective research project/art object Capital Centre: A Retrospective. I only recently learned of its existence through social media in April. But as soon as I discovered your website, and scanned the sample pages, I ordered up a copy immediately.
I really appreciate the amount of work and creativity that all of you have put into this project. It is beautifully designed, well-researched, and is most certainly a fitting tribute to our beloved Capital Centre. Many, many kudos to each of you.
As someone born in the District of Columbia, and who came of age in Arlington, Virginia during the ‘60s, ‘70s, and early ‘80s, the Capital Centre holds many, many dear memories. And the fact that multitudes of people feel the same way is a testament to the special place in history that we all collectively share. What a unique place in popular culture the Capital Centre is for those of us lucky enough to have lived through that golden era.
I loved seeing the Bullets perform as world champions (“Bullets Fever” indeed—I cherish my copy of the Nils Lofgren 45 rpm record), and the Capitals struggle with their newfound expansion-team status. I loved seeing the Harlem Globetrotters, Dorothy Hamill with the Ice Capades, Circus America, and watching Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains the Same in the parking lot like a drive-in movie. But those 18 concerts that I witnessed between 1976 and 1982 changed my life—something that I know all three of you can relate to.
Again, my hats off to the three of you and to the rest of your publishing team for this remarkable book. Thank you for documenting such an important part of Washington, DC history. My deepest respect and admiration for what you folks have achieved.
—Jon Kanis
Hi Richard and The Laurel History Boys,
I’m a librarian in Fairfax County Public Library’s Virginia Room, which is the local history/genealogy branch of the library system. I’ve been following Lost Laurel for years (I’m not even from Laurel, I’m from Fairfax!) and enthusiastically bought your books over the years through your Kickstarter campaigns. I just wanted to say that for the last few months we’ve been featuring your most recent Capital Centre book on our New Books display here in the library and it has gotten so much high praise and positive feedback from our patrons. Many people have commented on how awesome of a book it is, want to know where to purchase it, and then proceed to tell us about the memorable concert experiences they had there. Your book has brought joy and lots of smiles to many here in Fairfax County and I just wanted to pass that feedback on to you. Excellent work as always! I look forward to your next publication!
—Chris Barbuschak
The book—including our books on Laurel history (Laurel at 150 and Postmark Laurel)—can be ordered at laurelhistory.com/shop. They make great holiday gifts!
Upcoming Events
You'll have a chance to buy our books in person when we'll be at the St. Francis Annual Christmas Bazaar! Stop by and pick up copies of Laurel at 150, Postmark Laurel, and Capital Centre: A Retrospective!
St. Francis of Assisi
8300 Old Columbia Rd., Fulton, MD
November 8th: 5–9 pm
November 9th: 9 am–3 pm D
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