Let There Be Drums! – A New All-Star Documentary

Let There Be Drums! is the new documentary created by filmmaker Justin Kreutzmann that features an array of legendary rock and roll percussionists. Justin’s father is Bill Kreutzmann, who is the drummer and founding member of the Grateful Dead, and is also featured in the film alongside peer Ringo Starr, Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stewart Copeland from The Police, Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction, Matt Sorum from Guns n’ Roses, and what is thought to be the last recorded interview with Taylor Hawkins from Foo Fighters.

Let There Be Drums!

After the Grateful Dead’s final 50th anniversary shows in 2015, filmmaker Justin Kreutzmann (son of the Dead’s drummer, Bill Kreutzmann) realised that, for the first time, he and his dad could forge a relationship outside the shadow of the band. This inspired Justin to sit down with the world’s greatest drummers, in the hopes of better understanding both his father and the instrument that has defined his life. Along the way, “Let There Be Drums!” examines the personal struggles that so many of these musicians and their families have faced, the nature of how music passes from generation to generation, and the essential role that drumming plays in human life.

The documentary is set to be released on 28^th October and creator Justin Kreutzmann spoke to Rolling Stone about his inspiration for making the film as an attempt to understand his father more clearly, saying:

“Some might say this was ‘the film I was born to make,’ others might call it therapy. Since I was young and my dad gave me that first Super-8 camera, filmmaking is all I’ve wanted to do. My school grades could tell you that. The first home movies I filmed were of my Dad on stage at Winterland in San Francisco. They were shot from my perspective, sitting right behind him on the drum riser so he could keep an eye on me during the Grateful Dead’s performances. Drums, and the drummers that play them, have been a major component of my entire life. And obviously growing up around the Grateful Dead, my first movies were the people and the crazy things going on backstage, which leads us to Let There Be Drums!

It started as a fun little film with all the drummers I’ve gotten to know over years. It wasn’t until Taylor Hawkins stopped our interview and said, ‘Maybe this isn’t for this documentary, but what was your home life like?’ I found from then on, I was having a dialogue with these amazing drummers instead of just a Q&A. They were as interested in hearing about my dad, Jerry Garcia, and the Grateful Dead as I was about their bands and their lives. So a really interesting thing happened, the film became more about family, but these families just happened to be drummers.”

It’s anticipated to be a touching feature to Taylor Hawkins, who passed away unexpectedly in March 2022. The Foo Fighters drummer was aged 50 and was with the band preparing to play a festival show in Bogota, Colombia at the time. Many tributes have continued to flow out from musicians and fans alike, and from Kreutzmann’s statement, it seems the documentary will be in keeping with the sentiment of Hawkins’ passing and the spirit of his character.

Let There Be Drums! is in cinemas from 28^th October 2022. The documentary is written by Justin Kreutzmann and Kevin Lincoln.

Justin Kreutzmann on Twitter

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