Dreaming in America (2005)

At the heart of "Dreaming in America" is Lucero's story about that amazing thing, too often overlooked: a blue-collar rock group's struggle to survive. As the music industry has exploded over the past few decades and the ability to "move units" has become the defining calculus of the business, it's an incredibly emotional experience to see a band who does it because they have to, because their lives depend on it, and because they love it. There are hundreds of such bands criss-crossing the country at any given moment. This is a film about one of them-a band on the edge of greatness, working to break through. In a happy bit of rock kismet, "Dreaming in America's" cameras started rolling just as Lucero was breaking from its indie rock past and considering the treacherous leap to a major label deal unlike anything seen by the industry before. At that point, the band was between labels and, though it had sold north of 20,000 records, lead singer/ songwriter Ben Nichols and the boys had not earned a single cent through royalties. Inspired by films like D.A Pennebaker's classic look at the enigmatic genius of Bob Dylan, "Don't Look Back," Jem Cohen's Fugazi documentary, "Instrument," and, more recently, "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," the highly acclaimed Wilco movie by Sam Jones, "Dreaming in America" chronicles Lucero's seemingly endless travels-and the 250 shows a year they play. The film also covers the recording of their new album "Nobody's Darlings" in a country barn with super producer Jim Dickinson, and their battle with the music industry. All in the name of selling their songs without selling out. At a particularly poignant moment in the movie, Lucero's music is described as "a cross between Bruce Springsteen, Kurt Cobain, and Willie Nelson." In "Dreaming in America," find out if the music industry, and the world at large, will still make room for such a sound.