Filmmaker Justin Kreutzmann has a strong connection to the drums as the son of Grateful Dead co-founding member Bill Kreutzmann. Justin prepped the documentary Let There Be Drums! that offers an examination of the art of drumming including one of the last interviews with the late Taylor Hawkins filmed as well as chats with many other legendary drummers. A trailer for the film premiered today and can be viewed below.
Let There Be Drums! will be available on October 28 for screenings in select theaters as well as for streaming via Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video. Justin Kreutzman spoke with such renowned drummers as The Beatles’ Ringo Starr, Stewart Copeland of The Police, Guns N’ Roses’ Matt Sorum and the Doors’ John Densmore for the documentary in addition to Hawkins, his dad and fellow Billy’s fellow Rhythm Devil Mickey Hart. Others interviewed for the film include Tre Cool (Green Day), Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), Adrian Young (Green Day) and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers).
“The idea of doing the movie Let There Be Drums! really came to me as a gift. Literally,” Justin Kreutzmann told Deadline. “It started Christmas Day, 1977 when I was given a Super-8 film camera. 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.”
Let There Be Drums! was made to answer the following questions:
Are drummers born that way or do they become that way? Does the urge to create rhythm and be an integral part of a band emanate from something within—or is it learned?
The movie is centered around Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years Of The Grateful Dead, a series of 2015 concerts. Highlights include rare outtakes of Keith Moon from the 1979 The Who documentary The Kids Are Alright, an image taken before Ringo joined The Beatles of Starr showing off a new drum kit and footage of Led Zeppelin’s John “Bonzo” Bonham discussing fatherhood.
Check out the Let There Be Drums! trailer below:
