The Metal Voice recently spoke to Director/Producer David Bellino about the recent documentary release of America’s Deadliest Rock Concert: The Guest List on Reelz Channel.
The Guest List is partially based on the book, “Killer Show: The Station Nightclub Fire, America’s Deadliest Rock Concert,” written by John Barylick
Watch Interview here
On the night of February 20, 2003, more than 400 music fans packed into the small Station nightclub. Just seconds after 80's sensation Great White took the stage, pyrotechnics ignited a fire that raced up the walls and across the ceiling of the packed venue. In less than 90 seconds, most of those who hadn’t already made their escape would be trapped inside. They would be burned alive, identified days later only by dental records or tattoos. The Station fire was a perfect storm of human error that became one of the worst nightclub tragedies in U.S. history. It remains America’s deadliest rock concert.
Director/Producer David Bellino
The personal stories of lives forever altered by the tragic Station nightclub fire that left 100 people dead, more than 200 injured, and devastated the tight-knit community of West Warwick, Rhode Island.
The documentary includes interviews with Dee Snider, Eddie Trunk, Jack Russell, John Barylick, Paula McLaughlin, Sandi Arena, Scotty Dunbar, Mike Ricardi, Lita Ford, Don Dokken, Michael Sweet, Vikki Eagan, and others
Viewers will also see rare and jarring footage from the first news crews on the scene tasked with reporting the horrific event as victims’ families eagerly awaited news. First responders share their experiences of battling the blaze, treating victims and managing the chaos as it unfolded. America’s Deadliest Rock Concert: The Guest List is partially based on the book, “Killer Show: The Station Nightclub Fire, America’s Deadliest Rock Concert,” written by John Barylick. who is a producing partner of the documentary and an attorney/law professor in Rhode Island. His book is regarded as the first and most comprehensive exploration of the chain of events leading up to the fire, as well as its legal and human aftermath.
America’s Deadliest Rock Concert: The Guest List explores the Station nightclub fire through gripping survivor accounts and family members and friends of victims who have memorialized their loss through pursuits ranging from an exhibit of commemorative body art to re-immersion in the rock culture that initially brought them and their loved ones to the Station nightclub. Their stories embody courage and deliver inspiration while others depict a much darker aftermath. Great White’s own Jack Russell emerged from the experience a changed man carrying with him the burden of accusation for what transpired that night and in a series of highly revealing interviews he shares his post-fire search for peace after a near two-decade journey of crippling heartbreak and depression as a result of surviving the tragedy. In the afternoon before the concert Russell met many Great White fans in the West Warwick area and graciously added their names to the guest list for the show that night. For many of those fans what appeared to be their lucky day turned out to be their last.
Weeks after the fire a charred handwritten notebook page was recovered from the Station nightclub ashes that contained rows of names and above them were the words ‘Guest List’.