San Antonio metal act Pariah was a fixture of the Back Room. The group features in a new documentary on the venue. Credit: Courtesy / Shandon Sahm

San Antonio metal band Pariah will feature heavily in a new documentary about infamous Austin rock venue The Back Room, which will make its debut this weekend at the San Antonio Film Festival.

Bloody & Bruised: The Untold Story of the Back Room, directed by J. Budro Partida, will screen this Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Radius Center. Tickets to the film are available online.

During the ’80s and ’90s, the club was an epicenter of Central Texas hard rock and metal, and Pariah was among its best-drawing regional acts.

“Pariah was my first band,” said Shandon Sahm, son of legendary Texas musician Doug Sahm and a drummer who later served two long stints with underground rock band the Meat Puppets.

Sahm started Pariah in 1987 with Clark High School classmates Kyle and Sims Ellison, who were brothers. Two years out of high school, the group signed to Geffen records and seemed like it would become the next big thing.

Pariah lead singer David Derrick (left) and drummer Shandon Sahm (right) pose in a classroom at Clark High School. Credit: Courtesy / Shandon Sahm

“The guy that signed us signed Motley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses,” Sahm said. “The guy that produced our record was Tom Werman, [who] did three Motley LPs and Cheap Trick [and] more.”

But when it came time to record their debut album, To Mock a Killing Bird, Geffen stalled for over two years as grunge took off, effectively killing the band.

In Bloody & Bruised, members of Pariah discuss renewed interest in their legacy as scene survivors and reminisce about nights at the Back Room. Other acts that played the venue included Pantera, Motörhead, The Ramones, Stone Temple Pilots, the Misfits and Public Enemy.

The San Antonio film festival, which kicks off this Tuesday, will screen more than 200 films at the Tobin and Radius centers over the course of six days. The festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

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This article appears in Best of San Antonio 2024.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.