Starting with an 80s tape of friends battering inside a bar, this short film mainly followed the 38-year history of the Pigz Brotherz, told by Danny Squires, the main pig and squeeze. This indie documentary was directed, produced, filmed, and edited by Scott Simerly Jr.
Hog Heaven: The Pigz Brotherz Story isn’t only about a band; how the group came together was intertwined with the history of the legendary spot in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina—the Berkeley Cafe. A compilation of reports from the news outlets showed Berkeley Cafe, having stood at its original location for 43 years, was forced to move due to the upcoming development to build a condo tower at. As one of the oldest music venues in Raleigh, it closed the Nash Square space in 2023 and moved to a new spot in 2024. Berkeley Cafe is also an important avenue for live music and a staple for the local music scene. That’s where the story of the Pigz Brotherz began.
In the interview, Danny Squires shared the humble beginning of the band. Another founder of the band, Sonny Sherrill, came up with the quirky band name, drawn from a popular unserious saying at that time, and Danny Squires gladly accepted. They began to play at friends’ house party. After Chips Davis joined, they worked on their own music. Soon after, they participated in an open mic night at Berkeley Cafe, which was still a new and unknown spot at that time. They were immediately liked by the crowd and the owner, who invited them to keep coming for the weekends. They accepted the invitation for the round of applause, the tip jar, and the free food and drinks. Throughout the interview, we could understand the true precious treasure in the musical performances was not any material benefit but was the rock ’n’ roll with a family vibe and the joy in every listener’s face at that moment.
The sound design of this short film went along with the mood in the footage, up and down, as the obvious emotional cues, uplifting and mournful at times. This short film used several close-up shots of old physical media: tapes, cassettes, old newspaper cutouts, notes of song titles or lyrics, posters, and flyers. More than their own cassettes, it also displayed the CDs of the artists who have influenced their creation. The old recordings and photos were featured frequently. For the gathering at bars in recent years, it showed digital photos and vertical phone recordings. It also used wide shots and aerial shots panned over the landscape for contemporary Raleigh. The film itself became an immersion experience of time passing in this community, displaying the aging of the band members and their audience.
The band performed at the new Berkeley Cafe again to honor Danny Squires, who passed away in 2026, along with this short film itself. Overall, this documentary maintained an upbeat energy and finished telling a story of the past with a professional modern look, which might have the drawback of making the film look commercial. It also brought up the curiosity about the other musicians that the Pigz Brotherz have collaborated with, especially the women musicians that frequently showed up in the old footage. On the other hand, it gave the grand topic of gentrification a personal and embodied footnote. The film ended with the hopeful note of being grateful for the memory we shared, despite the uncertainty of the future and the closure of a longtime band. With these organized materials, the film kept a record of the changing local landscape, and the documentary itself became an essential archive for the local community.
Comments