Dave Grohl has always been a joy to watch onscreen, whether bashing away at a drum kit like the heavy-footed, wild-haired spawn of John Bonham and the Muppets’ Animal in Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video, or flashing an endearingly goofy grin in the Mentos-spoof clip for the Foo Fighters’ “Big Me.” And a big part of that appeal is the sense that no matter how long he’s been in the business, Grohl is still a guy who is acutely aware that he’s living out a teenage daydream every day of his life.
His first turn behind the camera as a director is essentially an extension of that same feeling, a celebration of just how unbelievably awesome it is to make rock music for a living — not to mention being so successful at it that you can get your childhood heroes to come over and jam.
That’s where Grohl’s debut documentary ends up. But before getting to the part where he giddily hosts recording sessions with the likes of Stevie Nicks, Rick Springfield and the artist formerly known as the cute Beatle, there’s the small matter of the whole reason they’re all here: Sound City Studios.
Opened in 1969, the L.A. recording studio would wind up becoming the go-to spot for the biggest acts in rock. The number of gold and platinum records that originated in the modest space is staggering, from Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours to Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl” to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Damn the Torpedoes. All of those artists — and plenty more — answer Grohl’s call to participate in this tribute to one of the great rock ‘n’ roll landmarks, though one not so well-known outside the community of musicians themselves.
Grohl’s own introduction to the space came during the recording of another seminal record. In mid-1991, Nirvana jumped in a van and drove down from Seattle to make Nevermind, launching their own superstardom as well as a second tidal wave of interest in Sound City (the first came after Springfield’s 1981 hit).