How ‘Hello! My Name Is Blotto— The Movie!’ became a gift to its fans 25 years in the making
ALBANY — It’s a film 25 years in the making. “Hello! My Name Is Blotto—The Movie!” is a meticulous chronicle of Blotto’s journey as a band, with performances and interviews recorded by Rob Lichter, also known as Bert Blotto.
Lichter’s vast collection of archival footage and photos dates back to 1972, tracing the band’s evolution through the decades in a take on the timeless “trying to make it in show business” story.
The premiere is set for Saturday, April 12, at Cohoes Music Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the screening beginning at 7 p.m. A question-and-answer session will follow the film, giving audience members the chance to hear firsthand about the journey behind its making.
“We were thrilled,” said Lee Harvey Blotto. “We knew he was doing stuff, and all of a sudden, he’s putting it all together. And we do have stories to tell.”
“We trusted Bert,” said Bowtie Blotto. “He’d been a friend and a confidant. For a long time, he’d been a friend and understood us really well. We trusted him, and it paid off.”
“Hello! My Name Is Blotto—The Movie!” wasn’t originally intended to be a film. With so much material, Lichter considered turning it into a book. Having befriended Bowtie, Broadway, Sarge, Cheese and Lee Harvey in the 1990s, he steadily began documenting the band, accumulating footage and photos over the years.
“I felt like [Blotto] was not well documented enough,” he said. “The public did not really know enough about this—or not enough for my taste.”
As a video editor, compiling the footage onto a DVD seemed like a natural next step. “I had been recording them doing their shows in clubs and one-offs just for my own amusement because, for me, it was exciting, and I wanted to record it. I just had all of this stuff,” he said.
“It just got to the point where I had all of this, and I needed to do something with it,” he added. “I had never really intended for this to become anything that people would see in a theater.”
The deaths of Cheese and Sergeant strongly motivated Lichter to continue the project despite setbacks along the way. After 25 years of compiling footage, “Hello! My Name Is Blotto—The Movie!” is finally complete. Lichter described seeing the finished project as “mind-blowing.”
“It’s very gratifying, the response we’ve gotten just by putting out the trailer,” said Broadway Blotto.
Lichter received full support from the band, as well as enthusiastic responses from Martha Quinn of MTV,
Buck Dharma of Blue Öyster Cult, and comedian Jackie Martling.
“Nobody involved with Blotto that I have ever met has ever been difficult or uncooperative or ungenerous,” he said. “I’ve been very spoiled by these guys because they’ve been nothing but friendly and helpful.”
The documentary tracks the band’s history from its early days as the Star Spangled Washboard Band to their success with their hit song “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard,” which was the 36th video played on MTV’s launch day, Saturday, Aug. 1, 1981.
With songs like “Metalhead” and “You Can’t Fire Me, I Quit,” their follow-up releases were witty, catchy explorations of genres ranging from surf, pop and heavy metal to soul, country, punk, rockabilly, yacht rock and lounge.
“Playing in a touring band is a very eventful lifestyle,” said Bowtie Blotto. “There are a lot of highs, a lot of lows, and a lot of in-betweens. Doing this was an experience—or an opportunity—to revisit a lot of that stuff, which was a mixed blessing. The finished product is really terrific. When I watch it, I’m just smiling the whole time. I know everything that’s coming, and I’m still smiling.”
“The finished product is fun, good-natured and self-effacing. We did a lot of fun and interesting things, and they’re in there,” he said. “We had a few setbacks, and they’re humorous in and of themselves.”
In addition to being a gift to the band, the film is also a gift to the fans who have followed them over the years. Premiering the film in the Capital Region is a full-circle moment for the band, whose iconic “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard” music video was filmed by SUNY students.
“Everything that I saw and every piece of material that I’ve gotten over the years, I kind of held in my hands as a gift,” said Lichter. “I absolutely hope that it’s seen as the gift that I intend it to be.”
Amaris Ford is a NYPA Award-winning freelance journalist for The Spot 518.
