Film opens in theaters in August
Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, KISS’ Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett and others will appear in the upcoming documentary about Creem magazine. The 1970s rock magazine was known as “America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine,” and was based in Detroit when it launched in 1969 by Barry Kramer and Tony Reay, and celebrates the irreverent, wild-child publication out of Detroit.
“Creem magazine was our Facebook. It was our social media,” MC5’s Wayne Kramer — who also scored the film — shares in the trailer.
“Capturing the messy upheaval of the ’70s just as rock was re-inventing itself, the film explores CREEM Magazine’s humble beginnings in post-riot Detroit, follows its upward trajectory from underground paper to national powerhouse, then bears witness to its imminent demise following the tragic and untimely deaths of its visionary publisher, Barry Kramer, and its most famous alum and genius clown prince, Lester Bangs, a year later. Fifty years after publishing its first issue, ‘America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine’ remains a seditious spirit in music and culture,” the film’s synopsis says.
Scott Crawford directed Creem: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine that opens in August. It will be distributed by Greenwich Entertainment, an independent film distribution company specializing in distinctive, theatrical-quality narrative and documentary features. JJ Kramer — co-founder and publisher Barry Kramer’s son — and Jaan Uhelszki — who was part of the original magazine — are producers.
