Who knew Dave Grohl would become such a film festival fixture?
As if his first two lives — as drummer for Nirvana and then lifeforce of Foo Fighters — weren’t enough, Grohl was showcased in a comprehensive documentary, “Foo Fighters: Back and Forth,” directed by Oscar-winning documentarian James Moll that screened at the SXSW Film Festival in 2011 and won a Grammy. His band put on a fast-and-furious show in downtown Austin right after the premiere that had enough energy to keep the lights on in Texas for a millennium. (He’s heading back to SXSW to deliver a key note address at the 2013 edition in March.)
Now Grohl is bringing his formula a step further with “Sound City,” his directorial debut. The film, which landed in the Documentary Premieres section of the Sundance Film Festival program, is Grohl’s love letter to analog recording through looking at the life of the Neve 8028 recording console from Sound City Studios that was used by everyone from Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young to Nine Inch Nails and Metallica.
To turn the film’s Friday afternoon Park City premiere up to 11, Grohl announced Wednesday that he would unveil a new music project called the Sound City Players Jan. 18 at Park City Live on Main Street with a blockbuster show that includes “core musicians and special guests” who appear in the documentary. Given the range of bands involved in the film, those “special guests” could be anyone from Neil Young to Trent Reznor and Tom Petty.
The event may also serve as shrewd strategy in producing an arena’s worth of goodwill among potential distributors of the film. Whether it causes a bidding war or not, let’s hope the sound levels at the show don’t cause a different kind of avalanche.
UPDATE: “Sound City” already has U.S. distribution: theatrically in association with Variance Films and digitally in an HD DRM-free download and stream via the film’s website Feb. 1.
“The film ‘Sound City’ showcases the most talented group of musicians in the world and we are thrilled they chose to celebrate the documentary at Park City Live,” said Park City Live CEO Kathryn Burns. “The evening will be spectacular and we look forward to seeing who will join Dave Grohl and the Sound City Players onstage.”
Uh, so does Indiewire.
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