Steppenwolf: New Documentary Film

[Bucka001]

A new documentary on Steppenwolf that recently made the rounds in Europe to great acclaim, is now set to for its N American debut in NYC on November 16 at the IFC Center as part of the 'Doc NYC' film festival. BORN TO BE WILD: THE STORY OF STEPPENWOLF

Trailer below. As well as several old band members, the film features interviews with Alice Cooper, Cameron Crowe, Taj Majhal, Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys), Dale Crover (Melvins), Klaus Meine (Scorpions), and Bob Ezrin (producer Pink Floyd, Kiss, Taylor Swift, Peter Gabriel, etc)

(Honestly, even though they were immensely successful in their late 60s/early 70s heyday, I never thought they fit into the whole 'Woodstock' love/community vibe and were perennial outsiders... I was probably right)

[progmatist]

...(Honestly, even though they were immensely successful in their late 60s/early 70s heyday, I never thought they fit into the whole 'Woodstock' love/community vibe and were perennial outsiders... I was probably right)

Born to be Wild is associated with bikers. It was the assault committed by Hell's Angels, hired as security at Altamont which brought the 60s peace and love movement to a screeching halt. That and the Manson family murders.

[ronmac]

Apparently, Nick St. Nicholas had a bunch of concert footage that they used for this and it helped put it over the top.

I'm on the mailing list. this came out a week or so ago:

Greetings Everyone: "For the past few months Wolfpack Fanclub members have been getting snippets of information through the fanclub newsletters and eblasts about the Film “Born to be Wild – Eine Band Namens (a Band named) Steppenwolf” which had its World Premiere at the Munich Film Festival in July. Shortly thereafter the film played in over 90 movie theaters throughout Germany. The film is now making its way to other European cities and to the US, with its North American Premiere taking place at 9pm on Saturday, November 16 at the DOC NYC Festival’s IFC Center in Manhattan, NY. Charlie Wolf will add details as to where & when other screenings are scheduled following my introduction. But first I’d like to tell you how this film came to be. Five years ago, German Film Director Oliver Schwehm contacted me and ask if I was interested in - and willing to give my consent to - the making of the film. I agreed to participate, both on camera as well as providing photographs and items from my archives. During the filming of various Steppenwolf related participants: Jutta Maue-Kay, Shawn Kay, Michael Monarch and Mars Bonfire, he discovered that Nick St. Nicholas had a treasure trove of Film footage that Nick shot during his time in Steppenwolf. Oliver then added this important footage to great effect. Without this footage, the film would not be half the film it is. Oliver did an astonishing job of melding newly shot & discovered footage into a compelling story. Nick & I re-united as friends in Munich and have stayed in touch since then. We are both looking forward to being part of the Premiere in NY, as are Jutta, our daughter Shawn - who are both in the film - and Charlie Wolf. Currently the 11-16-24 NYC scheduled screening is the approximately 100 minutes long German version, which is partly in English and partly in German with English subtitles. However, Oliver and the Production team are trying to finish editing the all English ‘International’ version by Nov 16, fingers crossed. By the way: Nick will also attend the screening, at the “Minneapolis Sound Unseen” Film Festival on November 17th. Well, that’s all for me, I’ll let Charlie take it from here. Stay Wild John Kay

Plans are in the works to list all of the screening dates at steppenwolf.com (where we used to post concert dates). I will advise when this has been accomplished. In the meantime all of the dates that are known are listed below. If you can't make the November 16th viewing in NYC, starting on Sunday, November 17th, you can purchase tickets online and view it at home. (see info below)

Here is an updated viewing schedule as we know it:

Friday, October 25th, Carrer d'Aribau, Barcelona, Spain
Friday, November 1st: Carrer d'Aribau, Barcelona, Spain
Saturday, November 2nd: docknrollfestival, Finsbury Park Pickurehouse, London, England
Saturday, November 16th - IFC Center, New York City

(With a special appearance by John Kay & Nick St. Nicholas)
Sunday, November 17th, Sound Unseen Film Festival, Minneapolis, MN (With a special appearance by Nick St. Nicholas)

February 2025 - Torino, Italy