Dave Grohl’s directorial debut, a documentary?about?shabby-but-renowned L.A. recording studio Sound City,?recently premiered … and in the process of making the film, Dave managed to form a?supergroup composed of a few big-named artists who recorded there, including Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, and Rick Springfield. They call themselves the Sound City Players.
They?re old and a little grizzly … but they're awesome. There is no woman cooler than Stevie Nicks. Not a one. Rick Springfield is as corny and soap opera-pretty as he has ever been,?with hair as badly dyed as Bob Costas’ ? but he and no one else can lay claim to the only hit song ever to?include the word ?moot.? (?I wanna tell her that I love her but the point is prob?ly moot.?) John Fogerty is old as shit. And there’s also Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen looking like a complete asshole in his requisite cap and bowtie. And behind that motley crowd … plus more …?corralling them into one place, is Dave Grohl.
It's difficult not to like Dave Grohl. He'seems like not just a cool guy, but a happy and nice guy … qualities which do not coincide as often as they ought to … and whether or not you like his music, he's an amazing musician who seems to really love music, in all its forms.
The list of musicians who recorded at the Sound City studio is impressive: Nirvana, Neil Young, Elton John, Johnny Cash, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Metallica, and Nirvana, to name just a few. Barry Manilow, for fuck?s sake ? that place was magic!
In the process of putting together the documentary, Dave hung out with many of those people … and they eventually?started playing music together, some old favorites, but also recording new stuff. And thus was born the Sound City Players.
Dave’s?movie debuted in January at Sundance, and the band played a show there as well.?It was so well-received that they played another last Thursday at the Hollywood Palladium,?a 38 song/three-and-a-half hour set?? and backed almost entirely by the Foo Fighters. Imagine that stud Rick Springfield backed by the Foo Fighters! It’s only a shame that Dave couldn’t convince Barry Manilow to join the group.