Ruston, in northern Louisiana, is not the first name that comes to mind when one thinks of music from Louisiana. But in the 1980s, it was the launching pad for a group of musicians whose indie rock bands, though they moved elsewhere, would stay linked by their buzzy record label, The Elephant 6 Recording Co.

The label released albums beginning in the early 1990s by The Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control and others. Those bands are associated with music scenes from other cities, notably Apples in Denver and the rest in Athens, Georgia, which had already produced R.E.M., The B-52s and others.

The documentary “The Elephant 6 Recording Co.” profiles the label and the bands, and traces a handful of the band members to their high school friendships in Ruston. It’s a good documentary about the bands’ lifespans from the late 1980s through the early 2010s, but it’s also a great portrait of what makes a small-town music scene blossom into something bigger.

The film is most focused on the charismatic Robert Schneider, who left Ruston to attend college in Denver, where he co-founded Apples in Stereo. Meanwhile, his friends Jeff Mangum, Bill Doss and Will Hart moved to Athens and formed Olivia Tremor Control. Mangum also formed Neutral Milk Hotel, which had a predecessor in Ruston. It released its debut album, “On Avery Island,” on Elephant 6.

Though Ruston is home to Louisiana Tech and Grambling State University is nearby, it didn’t have much of a music scene. Schneider and his friends hung out at an arcade and a record store, and they messed around with old instruments. But when 4- and 8-track recording equipment became affordable in the 1980s, they got hooked. They played lo-fi, psychedelic rock, and they found ways to make the most of 4-tracks.

By the time they left Ruston, it had become a stopover for touring bands on their way to or from New Orleans, though the shows were usually in houses where the friends lived.

Director Chad Stockfleth, who is based in New Orleans, interviews plenty of the Ruston musicians and others from the three scenes, including Andrew Rieger of Elf Power, Kevin Barnes from of Montreal and more. There are a few celebrity appearances, including actor Elijah Wood and comedian and actor David Cross, who were fans of the label.

The film benefits from plenty of old footage, much of it before the age of smartphones. The old concert and home video makes 1990s action look at least a decade or more older.

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While Schneider delves into his early makeshift recording and tinkering in Ruston and Denver, the film also captures the lifestyle side of music scenes. Schneider and bandmates from Apples shared super cheap living spaces in Denver, but the Athens scene seems in part the product of cheap rents and bandmates living and practicing in dilapidated houses where landlords and neighbors didn’t complain about music going till 4 a.m.

Also, musicians could survive on part-time jobs, and there was a lot of social overlap with artists and other creatives. There’s an amusing scene with an all-women band, named Dixie Blood Mustache, making experimental music by playing appliances and kitchen utensils. Friendships, potluck dinners and social events became catalysts for bands forming and performing.

The label started in an organic but haphazard manner, with a zine-like catalogue and friends running it out of their home. It was a bit more professional by the time Rolling Stone and other music publications started writing about it, though there are different accounts of the label's founding. The film captures the charm and industry of many of the musicians, bands and scenes while it was building to that point.

“The Elephant 6 Recording Co.” opens Aug. 25 at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge.

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