Clang & Clatter

So unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last few years, you know that Dave Grohl is all over the place. The multi-dimensional, multi-instrumental Foo Fighters founder and frontman is no stranger to the spotlight. His band’s most recent Butch Vig-produced album Wasting Light debuted at number one in twelve countries (including the Billboard 200 here in the states), has sold in excess of 660,000 copies in the U.S. alone, and won him and his cohorts five of the six Grammys for which they were nominated this year. The Foos have toured massively behind Wasting Light, and they released the documentary Back and Forth chronicling the band’s career and which focused largely on the making of the new album. And then there’s that whole Them Crooked Vultures thing.

Now Dave’s making a movie. But not just any movie. A movie about a studio. And not just any studio, but Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, which has seen its fair share of rock’s elite record there. As a matter of fact, seven of Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (a designation I’m not going to debate here) and 5 of Spin Magazine’s Top 40 Metal Albums of All Time (another argument I won’t get into) were recorded at Sound City.

And in true Dave Grohl fashion, the documentary will not just focus on the studio, but on a specific sound board that was used at the studio—the 1970s model Neve console that was used to track Nirvana’s Nevermind and that he acquired when Sound City announced its closing to the public in May 2011. Similar to his Probot side-project that saw him team up with some of the heavy/death/extreme metal heros from his youth, Grohl has invited artists that recorded at the legendary studio to collaborate with him to make music on the board one last time. And he’s filming the entire thing.

Here’s how Dave himself described the project in an interview with Rolling Stone:

When Sound City closed last year, it was a very sad day. That place was like a church. The list of people that recorded there reads like a virtual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame… We recorded ‘Nevermind’ there back in 1991.

That funky old place had the best drum room in world. The drum sound at the beginning of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ — that’s Sound City.

I decided to make a film about that feeling you get when you put five guys in a room, hit ‘record’ and the hair on the back of your neck stands up. Expect some epic jam sessions.

The impressive list of artists on tap for the project includes Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures), Tom Petty and Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers), Stephen Pearcy and Warren DeMartini (Ratt), Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), and Lindsey Buckinham, Stevie Nicks, and Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac). Watch the Sound City website for more information.

Enjoy!

The third part of the Cry Baby rockumentary delves into the guts of the wah-wah pedal to show how inconsistencies in the electronics and the general unreliability and unpredictability of the device over long-term use, coupled with overuse of the effect and a change in musical direction, caused the once obligatory piece of guitar gear to fall out of favor and fashion. But watch as Jim Dunlop inherits the brand, the parts, and the production, and how with a little love and attention, along with advances in electronics and upgrades to the pedal, brings the Cry Baby back from the edge of extinction.

Enjoy!

Now we’re getting to the meat of things and frankly, the part of the Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World rockumentary that I was most looking forward to—the guitarist interviews. This segment takes a look at some of the earliest artists that used the Cry Baby wah pedal in a way that made folks sit up and take notice—Eric Clapton with Cream, Frank Zappa, and most notably Jimi Hendrix with the legendary “Voodoo Child: Slight Return.” We also get to see musicians, journalists, and industry guys talk about their favorite wah-wah moments and how they fit into the changing musical landscapes of rock and funk.

Much to my surprise, the best part of this segment are the funk players Melvin “Wah-Wah Watson” Ragin, who has a funk pedigree a mile long, and Charles “Skip” Pitts, the Stax Records A-list session player most known for his wah-wah work on Isaac Hayes’ “Theme from Shaft.” Those guys are hilarious.

Enjoy!

Here’s part 1 of the rockumentary Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World, covering the origin of the Cry Baby and Vox wah pedals. Parts 2 through 4 are set to be unveiled throughout February and into early March, with the full film scheduled for a March 7 release.

Enjoy!

A rockumentary devoted to a single guitar pedal?! Yep.

Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World tells the story of the wah wah effect pedal, from its invention in 1966 to the present day. Musicians, engineers, and historians discuss the impact of the pedal on popular music and demonstrate the various ways it has been used, as well as how its evolution has improved the ability of artists to express themselves musically. The film features interviews with Brad Plunkett, the inventor of the pedal, plus many other musical luminaries such as Ben Fong-Torres, Eddie Van Halen, Slash, Buddy Guy, Art Thompson, Eddie Kramer, Kirk Hammett, Dweezil Zappa, and Jim Dunlop. These professionals explain how a musical novelty transcended convention and has become timelessly woven into the fabric of modern pop-culture.