The Gritty Sixties Will 'Not Fade Away'

The Sixties, music and teen rebellion are the subject of Not Fade Away, the first feature film from The Sopranos creator David Chase in theaters Friday, and the young stars of the film – including John Magaro, Jack Huston and Bella Heathcote – are refreshingly plugged in to the era of their baby boomer parents.

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"I grew up listening to [Sixties tunes] and loving that music," says Magaro, listing his favorite bands of the era: "Stones, Yardbirds, Kinks, Beatles, Dylan – there are so many great ones."

Set in 1964, Not Fade Away kicks off with three best friends from the New Jersey suburbs who are inspired by The Rolling Stones and decide to form a rock band. What follows is a true coming-of-age dramedy as the Italian-American pals (played by Magaro, Huston and Will Brill) discover that chicks dig musicians -- but parents don't approve of long hair and "high-heeled" boots.

"In Jersey in the Sixties, if you were in a garage band -- we had pasty skin and really bad hair, and the car you drove and the things you drink … all the real stuff, the details … were so brilliant," says Huston. "It wasn't this sort of glamorized, Hollywood vision of the Sixties. [Our film is] just really honest, beautiful. It's real gritty."

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"David [Chase] is very detail-oriented and he has a very specific vision," elaborates Magaro. "I think he kind of modeled us all after people from the era. I think mine was Dylan, as you might be able to tell from the poster. … When you're a teenager you see these people and you kind of try and emulate them, and I think that's what he was going for."

Also starring Brad Garrett, Christopher McDonald and James Gandolfini, Not Fade Away was also executive-produced by rocker/Sopranos star Steve Van Zandt.