Cleveland Premiere Of 'Lemmy' To Feature MÖTORHEAD Tribute Band And LEMMY Look-Alike Contest

The Cleveland premiere of the long-awaited documentary examining the life and career of the MOTÖRHEAD frontman and rock icon Lemmy Kilmister, "Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son Of A Bitch", is set to take place on Sunday, January 30 at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio. MÖTORHEAD USA, a tribute band fronted by Jamie Walters (DESTRUCTOR, MIDNIGHT),will perform live immediately following the film. Doors open at 7 p.m. The film starts at 8 p.m. Admission is $8.

Fans who come dressed as Lemmy to the premiere will receive a free gift card at the door compliments of The Exchange (while supplies last). The Exchange is an independent record store chain with locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Indiana. Male and female "Lemmys" are invited to participate. A grand prize will be given for the best-looking Lemmy. Pitriff's Chris Akin will MC the look-alike contest.

"I'm really thrilled that we were able to put together a screening for Cleveland," says event organizer and Addicted To Vinyl's Matt Wardlaw. "We owe a great deal of appreciation to Cindy Barber, Mark Leddy and the Beachland Ballroom for their immediate support and extra kudos should also go to the fine folks at the Ohio Independent Film Festival, because they're providing the projection equipment for the 'Lemmy' screening. And as if that wasn't enough, Bill Peters had the great idea to make everything louder (than everything else) by adding Cleveland-based tribute band MÖTORHEAD USA and the Lemmy look-alike contest to the mix, so huge thanks go out to him as well. The best part about all of this is that ['Lemmy' co-director] Wes Orshoski is joining us. It's going to be a great night!"

Orshoski is a Northeast Ohio native and is excited about returning to his hometown.

"People can say what they want about Cleveland, but ask any musician, from Bruce Springsteen to THE DOORS, Ian Hunter to David Bowie, there's something special about rock music in Cleveland," says Orshoski. "People there have a hunger for it that you don't see or feel elsewhere. They utterly live for it. I did. Growing up west of Cleveland, it was all consuming for me. For those reasons and many more, it means the world to me that the film is showing at the Beachland."

Filmed over more than three years, and directed by Greg Olliver and Orshoski, "Lemmy" features appearances by artists spanning the musical spectrum, from METALLICA, Ozzy Osbourne, Dee Snider, Scott Ian, Alice Cooper and Slash to Henry Rollins, Peter Hook (NEW ORDER, JOY DIVISION),Mick Jones (THE CLASH) and Jarvis Cocker.

"We screened 'Lemmy' at a film festival in Montreal last summer," recalls Orshoski, "and when I walked in, there was a buzz in the air. A DJ was spinning metal tunes, people were sneaking swigs from flasks and the smell of leather was in the air. It felt like the first time I saw METALLICA at the Richfield Coliseum, may that big beautiful slab of concrete rest in peace, on the '...And Justice For All' tour. I hope we can create a similar vibe at the Beachland. The goal is for hundreds of Clevelanders to rage Sunday night, then call in sick Monday morning!"

The L.A. premiere of "Lemmy" on January 13 served as the official U.S. theatrical launch of the film. The following day, the movie began showing at select cities across the country. A full list of cities and screening dates is below.

The DVD, a-two disc set packed with more than three hours of bonus features, will be released on February 15 via Damage Case Films/Megaforce and will be available for digital download and on Blu-ray.

The film's directors, Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski, will appear live on WJCU's "Metal On Metal" show with host Bill Peters on Friday, January 28. You can listen to the show live from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. EST at 88.7 FM in the Cleveland, Ohio area or stream it live worldwide at www.wjcu.org.

"Lemmy and MÖTORHEAD will forever have a place in Cleveland music history for their infamous show on December 2, 1984 at the Variety Theatre with MERCYFUL FATE and EXCITER," recalls Peters. "MÖTORHEAD played so loud they had to stop the concert because the roof started falling down! The band had to finish their set unplugged. It was the loudest show I have ever attended. Someone down the street recorded the show in their living room and complained to the city about the noise level the next day. It ended up being one of the venue's last live shows. A half hour or so after the concert, I saw Lemmy walking around outside the venue by himself. He started talking to me but I could not understand a word he was saying because my ears were ringing so badly. I just kept nodding my head in agreement. I still to this day have no idea what he said to me. My ears ended up ringing an entire week after the show. The loudest band in the world had just gotten louder in my world!"

"Lemmy" film screenings:

Jan. 26, San Antonio, Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes **
Jan. 27, Savannah, GA, Muse Arts Warehouse (Psychotronic Film Festival) **
Jan. 28-30, Nashville, Belcourt Theatre
Jan. 28-29, Auburn, NY, The Auburn Public Theater
Jan. 30, Cleveland, The Beachland Ballroom**
Feb. 1-2, San Francisco, The Roxie
Feb. 2, Portland, ME, SPACE Gallery **
Feb. 2, Tucson, AZ, The Loft Cinema **
Feb. 2-3, Detroit, The Magic Bag
Feb. 3, Philadelphia, The Trocadero**
Feb. 4, Boston, Regent Theatre (in Arlington, Mass)**
Feb. 4-10, Seattle, Northwest Film Forum
Feb. 4-6, Pittsburgh, Harris Theater
Feb. 4-6, Kansas City, MO, Screenland Crossroads
Feb. 5, 11 p.m.: Long Beach, Calif., The Art Theatre of Long Beach **
Feb. 5, Macon, GA, Cox Capitol Theatre **
Feb. 10, 9:45 p.m., Chicago, The Music Box Theatre**

** One night only