SantaBarbarians had the opportunity to sit down with Maxine Trump, director of the documentary "Musicwood," which had its West Coast premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on January 25th.

The Film

For hundreds of years guitars have been made the same way, but now, this could all change

"Musicwood" is an adventure-filled journey and a political thriller with music at its heart. The documentary follows an unusual band of world-renowned guitar-makers — Chris Martin of Martin Guitars, Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars, and Dave Berryman of Gibson — to the remote and primeval Southeast Alaska. These guitar-makers are on a desperate mission: to negotiate with Native Americans and change the way a rare rainforest is logged before it's too late for acoustic guitars.

The film begins with the startling revelation that Native American corporations are clear-cutting vast acres of primeval forest. They are logging the largest coastal temperate rainforest in the world and the largest reserve of old-growth trees in the USA. If logging practices don't change, the industry will run out of Sitka Spruce, a crucial material for guitars, in 10 years' time.

These Native Americans, who’ve notoriously been given a raw deal by the US government, are distrustful of white men telling them what to do. Enter Greenpeace, a radical environmental group, and soon all parties are battling over a forest that is the last of its kind on the planet.

"Musicwood" upends our simplistic view of indigenous peoples and the past, presenting a story where it’s often impossible to tell the good guys from the bad. The film is a culture clash of staggering proportions, pitting Native American loggers, white CEOs, and the most radical environmental group in the world against each other.

The film features exclusive acoustic performances and interviews with guitar players like acoustic virtuoso Kaki King, The Antlers, Yo La Tengo, Steve Earle, Turin Brakes, and Kurt Wagner of Lambchop. "Musicwood" is a funny, complex, and heartbreaking tug-of-war over natural resources, showcasing a profound cultural conflict.

'Musicwood Documentary' | Trailer