New York. Dave Grohl thought he was making a nostalgic movie about the beginnings of several famous musicians. And then the pandemic arrived.
Partly by design and partly by circumstances, What Drives Us became a surprisingly emotional documentary about the power of live music and the pain of its absence.
Grohl has become an effective storyteller on film; made the documentary Sound City, about an iconic California recording studio, and the HBO series Sonic Highways. His most recent film is available at streaming from Friday, on the Coda Collection subscription service, and at no extra cost to Amazon Prime Video subscribers outside the United States.
It focuses on a common experience for most musicians.
“You have to get in a truck if you want to be successful in this business,” says Ringo Starr, who says the Beatles had to pile on top of each other in theirs to keep warm after their windshield blew up one frigid night.
Grohl began by exchanging van stories with more than two dozen musicians. But the interviews got deeper as they wondered why they took on those lives, hence the double meaning of the title. What Drives Us, which can be translated as “What drives us” or “What drives us.” He began editing the interviews after the pandemic began and realized that the need to share music on stage was a common theme.
–
–
