The life of the touring indie rock musician is shown in all its full unglamorous glory in Adrianne Jorge‘s revealing documentary Making Our Own.

At the center of the film is the band Neptune, a noise band out of Boston, Massachusetts that makes and tours with its own handmade instruments, e.g. guitars made out of scrap metal.

But, don’t be misled that the “making our own” of the title refers to Neptune’s choice of instrumentation. Jorge is less concerned with the nitty-gritty of music making than she is with the rigors of committing oneself to one’s art. That committment then breeds an intense sense of comeraderie and community among like-minded souls.

Therefore, if the title of the film can be considered as the beginning of a sentence, then a variety of final words can be slugged in, from “family” to “lifestyle” to “economy” and more.

And none of this is to say that the doc does not contain some pretty rockin’ live performances, because it does. Jorge punches her interviews up with blasts of sonic energy that make the doc feel very alive and exciting, which is good because listening to talented musicans fret about the emptiness of their bank accounts is not always so cheery to groove to.

Indie rock and indie film always do go together, probably because both communities can relate to each other so well, from the making of art and/or entertainment with no money and finding little financial success in performance and projection.

(P.S. A great double feature to go along with Making Our Own would be the classic indie rock drama Half-Cocked by Suki Hawley.)