A new documentary from asks the question: Where do drummers come from – are they born or built?
Director Justin Kreutzmann is the son of co-founding Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, and as such, enjoyed many Dead gigs as a youth from a seat on his dad’s drum riser.
While Justin didn’t become a drummer himself, his lifelong curiosity about percussion has brought about the new movie, Let There Be Drums, arriving October 28.
The doco is a deep dive into the art of drumming, featuring Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Ringo Starr, Stewart Copeland, Stephen Perkins, Chad Smith, Adrian Young, Matt Sorum, Tre Cool, Steve Ferrone, John Densmore and Taylor Hawkins.
Hawkins’ interview for the film was last he ever gave on camera before his death in March of this year.
“The second I sat on the drums, it was like a bolt of lightning went through my body,” Hawkins recalls in the trailer. “I know I will never forget that day.”
Beyond a trove of artist interviews, Let There Be Drums also makes use of footage from Justin’s 2015 concert film, Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead, as well as Keith Moon outtakes from The Who’s 1979 documentary, The Kids Are Alright, and archival footage of Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham explaining how he was imparting his love of drums on his son, Jason.
