the dramathat Jacksonand Carey stumbledupon with Trod
Nossel,Scientologyand so on, however,it is perhapsunder-
standablethat that shouldtake priority.Moreover,Duren’s
songsare pushedvery much to the forefrontofWaitingand
given plentyof airtime– the filmmakers,and Duren himself,
might argue that they speakfor themselves.
Yet, deficienciesaside,Waitingremainsa remarkable
achievementfrom two novicefilmmakerswhosededication
to their subjectis nothingshort of astonishing.Careycites
SearchingforSugarMan, whichalso tells the story of two
fans trying to track down an elusivemusicalhero, as a major
influence,along withA Band CalledDeath(Mark Covino&
Jeff Howlett,2012) andSupermensch:TheLegendofShep
Gordon(Mike Myers& Beth Aala, 2014).‘Thosefilms helped
us work out interestingways to inject vibe into the film be-
yond just the story,’says Carey,‘with thingslike animation
and drawings.’The subsequentuse of a seriesof illustrations
by the directors’friend Aidan Robertsis a successfulstylistic
choice,imbuingthe film with a warmththat recallsJames
Bogle’s2017 documentaryaboutBrett Whiteley,Whiteley.
Robertswas employed,Careyexplains,becauseof a dearth
of stock footageand photographs,whichthen led the pair to
consideralternativeways to visuallyrepresenta numberof
importantmoments,such as Duren’schancemeetingwith
BruceSpringsteen,and Ringo Starr poppingin to a Memphis
club to see Duren’snew band, Good Question,in the 1980s.
Duren,now in his mid sixtiesand a strokesurvivor,enters
the film about three-quartersof the way through(thoughhis
voiceover– sourcedfrom Skypeinterviews– has been part
of the film from the start). The musicianis a softly spoken
presencewith a melodiousSoutherndrawl,and he is a tad
bewilderedby these untrieddocumentarymakersand their
devotionto him. He seemsawareof the strangenessof two
Australians,who are more than a generationhis junior and
hadn’theard of him until 2016, investingsuch time and money
in settingthe recordstraightregardinghis life and music.
Given how much we have alreadylearnedabout him, Duren’s
appearance– and the way it demystifiesthe hithertoelusive
figure – is, to use Carey’swords,‘almostan anticlimax’.
Ultimately,the answerWaitingoffers as to why Duren never
achievedmainstreamsuccessis perhapsthreefold.As the
film illustrates,he was a naive victimof the pernicious,petty
and chaoticnatureof the musicindustry– and its unsavoury,
self-servingcharacters– at that time. Secondly,the tides of
fashionensuredthat a sensitivesinger-songwritersuch as
Durenwas firmly not in vogue,commerciallyspeaking,by
1978, when punk, disco and even inchoatehip-hopwere
becomingthe dominantgenresin popularmusic.Thirdly,it
must be said that Duren,despitethe excellenceof his music,
offeredno marketableimage,no uniqueor flamboyantper-
sona, to competein the ever-shallowworld of pop music.
As well as a showcasefor Duren’semotiveand invigor-
atingsongs,Waitingis a chronicleof Jacksonand Carey’s
unwavering,almostCaptainAhab–likecommitmentto their
cause.‘I never wantedto give up,’ Jacksonsays in the film.
‘Therewasn’ta day or a minutewhereI wouldhave ever
given up, becauseof Van. We owed him this. We set out
to do something, and we had to follow through.’
https://www.waiting-vanduren.com
BarnabySmithis a critic, poet and musician based in northern
New South Wales. m
Thereis littleinsightofferedastohowthe
musiciangravitatedtohisparticularstyle
...Yet,deficienciesaside,Waitingremains
a remarkableachievementfromtwonovice
filmmakerswhosededicationtotheir
subject is nothing short of astonishing.Previousspread:VanDurentodayAbove,fromtop:Duren
in the 1970s; filmmakers Wade Jackson and Greg Careyhttp://www.metromagazine.com.au | © ATOM | Metro Magazine 201• 99