History

Red Dog Enterprises

312 Mountain St • Carson City, NV 89703

If the psychedelic sixties were born in the dancehalls of San Francisco, then they were conceived in a saloon in Virginia City, Nevada. "The Life and Times of the Red Dog Saloon" is the story of the Red Dog Saloon and of the unique extended family that grew out of these wild times. It is told with remarkably articulate and intimate interviews, woven together with music, poster art, photographs, and rare archival footage.

The Red Dog was the first of the dancehall venues, a place where the wild west was enacted on a daily basis, gourmet meals were served, and a new kind of rock and roll was being played. The atmosphere fostered cultural growth and artistic expression—and people danced! The Red Dog offered more than wild nightlife. It provided people with a forum for experimentation. Life was to be shared. Motivations weren't material or competitive, and what started out as a business proposition evolved into an extended family network that remains today.

The film focuses on the music, the art, the lightshow and the lifestyle that made the culture of the Sixties possible, a missing piece of Nevada history and a uniquely American story.

Principally photographed in Nevada at the 25 year reunion of the Red Dog Saloon, the film is unique in that it captures an event while it is happening yet allows reflections on the past and present in a way that weaves the tapestries of many years and lives into one cohesive story.

A few comments from screenings with anonymous test audiences:

"I feel terrific; nostalgic about the good times had in the past, glad about what's happening now and optimistic about the future. Reaffirmed about the value of friendship and family."

"Great to hear all the women tell their stories."

"It's an amazing little piece of rock and roll history/ little known but with far reaching significance in the overall story of 20th century America...a story that needed to be told."

"...the very loving way the people are presented. It brings their gracious and fancy free nature to evidence very effectively."

"It's so much fun to see our history presented in an authentic way!"

"How these people, my contemporaries feel about life now was very interesting."

"Fantastic! I arrived here exhausted but the film swept me away! I've been on the edge of my seat! What a window into an era - It's not often you see a film that is by itself an EVENT. What an amazing film!"

" I learned a lot and feel much better about the SF hippie scene knowing where it came from instead of just what part of it failed."

"History of a soul body experience."

"I thought the people and their honesty were exceptional. I really feel like I got to know them."