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The railroad industry in America has played an immense role in the development and progression of our modern society. Besides its most obvious role as a life line for supplies and sustenance to newly burgeoning towns and industry, it helped spawn an incredible subculture of people, the hobos and tramps of America. These hobos used the trains during the great depression in order to seek work, and a whole society of people grew around the railroads.

The National Hobo Convention, held yearly in Britt, Iowa since 1933 has celebrated this subculture by providing a meeting point and fairgrounds, and a hierarchy with elected officials. These kings and queens were designated to preside over the races, relays, and burlesque events at the festival.

Agency films has long been associated with the railways and has produced multiple short films and ..aries around the subject of train hopping and have made it their mission to preserve the history of the American train tramp. We have generated national interest due to our increasingly popular television shows, You Tube broadcasts, and the yearly Asheville Rejects Film Festival.

In cooperation with The National Hobo Convention, Agency Films is due to kick off their Hobo Film Festival mid July, 2007, and will embark on a national tour culminating in Britt, Iowa at the convention. We have brought together dozens of filmmakers who produce films around train hopping and hobo culture and are gathering more submissions to create the ultimate visual dichotomy of this colorful and truly important facet of American history.

who can forget the academy award winning “my cousin Vinnie” with Marisa Tomei and Joe Pesci? Pesci’s attempt to pronounce “youths” as “yoots” sticks in our heads when trying to describe the essence of tonight’s show.

Abe Vigoda played the very first Club Sandwich show back in July of 2006, so it’s an anniversary of sorts, and no one band represents the spirit of precocious yoot like this Chino, CA quartet. Praised on blogs for their stop-start shenanigans and vibrant songwriting, this mainstay of the now-legendary Smell scene in Los Angeles tours in support of its Olfactory release “Kid City”. Yes, they erected a Kid City and it’s other denizens are Talbot Tagora, an offshoot of Seattlite Chris Ando of Mikaela’s Fiend. A softer pop exploration from another West Coast yoot movement. We Quit! from Portland, OR also capture the bottled spirits in their co-ed bass and drums outfit, a mix of prog, Japanther-styled pop, and P-U-N-K. Jones and Mason recently issued a split 7″ with SF’s own Warbler. Hornet Legs has another Japanther connection, as well as connections to Spider and the Webs (ATA veterans) and Dub Narcotic Sound System. John Thill from Pomona, CA practices the art of acoustic guitar songs strummed and lyrics earnestly espoused.

Club Sandwich is an all ages show promotion collective – http://myspace.com/clubsandwichsf“

leonard Knight and his salvation mountain

PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA is a feature documentary directed by Chris Metzler & Jeff Springer, with narration by legendary counterculture filmmaker JOHN WATERS and music by the surreal, southwestern, alt-rock supergroup, FRIENDS OF DEAN MARTINEZ.
 
Once known as the California Riviera, the Salton Sea is now called one of America’s worst ecological disasters: a fetid, stagnant, salty lake, coughing up dead fish and birds by the thousands. Yet a few hardy eccentrics hang on to hope, including a roadside nudist waving at passing European tourists, a man building a religious mountain out of mud and paint, beer-loving Hungarian Revolutionary Hunky Daddy, and the real-estate Ronald McDonald known simply as The Landman.  Through their perceptions and misconceptions, the strange history and unexpected beauty of the Salton Sea is revealed. www.saltonseadoc.com

“Weird and wonderful.” – The New Times
  
  “Heartbreaking, sidesplitting parade of humanity.” – Village Voice
 
  “Historically thorough and thoroughly hysterical.” – L.A. Weekly
 
  “An interesting, disturbing, and humorous look at environmental disaster.” – The
Berkeley Daily Planet
 
  “A hilarious and kindly ode to a fallen paradise.” – SF Weekly
 
  “Four stars!  Offering you a vacation like you’ve never had before… in this
charming, yet sad documentary.” – Film Threat