Gary Spivack Talks About His Upcoming Doc ‘Long Live Rock…Celebrate The Chaos’

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 – Gary Spivack

Many will know Gary Spivack as the EVP of Talent And Curation at Danny Wimmer Presents, which produces some of the U.S.’s most beloved rock festivals. 

If there is one man who knows about large-scale live rock shows, it is Spivack, so who more fitting, then, to produce the upcoming documentary, “Long Live Rock … Celebrate The Chaos.” With director Jonathan McHugh at the helm, Spivack describes the film as “a love letter to the hard rock culture, lifestyle, fans and bands.” The documentary is slated for release on March 12, but the filmmakers will host a special Q&A with surprise guests on March 11. Spivack took some time to discuss his big screen debut ahead of the release.

Pollstar: So what made you want to get into producing a documentary?

Gary Spivack: Festival producers have been hit up for years about filming at one of our festivals. But I have always felt like a straight-ahead live concert is just kind of boring after awhile, in the film context. There was just no interest [on our part] to just to film a festival. But Jonathan McHugh, who has been a dear friend and colleague for years, when we booked Metallica in 2017 he got a crew to shoot it and then grabbed some fans at the festival and started following them around. A story arc started to developed around these fans, about how they would convene as a family/community at these rock festivals throughout the country: Louder Than Live, Aftershock, Welcome To Rockville. It became their destination, as opposed to someone who goes to Cabo, they go to rock festivals and let their hair down, lose themselves in it. There became this big family of fans that follow these festivals around. So Jonathan McHugh really captured the fandom of this hard rock culture that is so beloved but so often misunderstood.

So would you agree that livestreaming is not close to a substitute for the live show?

Without a doubt I’m an advocate for livestreaming, PPV, watching performances on your home TV or laptop. If it brings needed income to an artist, I am all about it. But sorry, there is nothing like being at a live event, you can’t smell it, you can’t feel it, you can’t taste it. There is something missing when you’re not there, you’ve got to be there and I think this film really helps to crystalize that.

How long have you been working on this project? 

We started filming in 2017, one of the key interviews we set up was with Chris Cornell, and the day before we were doing the interview with him he tragically took his own life. Now, a lot of the great parts of these interviews with the artists are them talking about the loss of Chris, and Chester Bennington, Vinnie Paul, Scott Weiland. That became an important part of the story, the loss of these rock stars live Weiland. That led to delving into depression and substance abuse, the toll it takes on rock stars and rock fans. At the same time we wanted to capture how music can help heal and how this music/genre can help bring people together.

That was not originally going to be a part of “Long Live Rock,” but that’s the power of making a documentary, how things take a turn. A story arc you didn’t think of in the beginning can become a pivotal part of the movie.

So you are just a producer on this project, it is in no way affiliated with your role at DWP?

Correct, I am just a producer with a close friend and peer, Jonathan McHugh, who has been in the business for decades. We partnered up on it and found a wonderful distribution company, Abramorama, who have been incredible so far. We are so excited that this movie is going to see the light of day and it really couldn’t come at a better time. I think people are clamoring, so hungry for that live rock experience, and I think this really captures that. 

But I will say we were fortunate that DWP was wonderful about letting the camera crew shoot at Louder Than Life in Kentucky and Aftershock in California. The crowd energy and mayhem, the chaos at those festivals, are second to none.

So what were you doing as producer of this film?

My role was procuring talent on both sides, bands and fans. I’d gotten to know some of these fans just by seeing their faces, they would just pop up out of nowhere, and not asking for anything. They were just fans that became like family members you would see at these festivals every season. I told Jonathan: “Those are the people you need to interview and follow around, get their backstory.” Because that’s just so real and honest. They are a capsule, they are a great metaphor for the hundreds of thousands of rock fans that we engage. That could have been anybody in the crowd. So I worked with the bands and fans, with everything from radio stations, record labels, managers, really just spreading the word about “Long Live Rock.” 

What are some of the unique challenges of producing, compared to your work booking festivals?

I found a lot of similarities between curating and booking a multistage, multi-band festival and booking and talking about talent to be part of a film. The best relationship, to me, in this business, is when both sides can benefit. We are making a movie that can help the genre, the format. You as a band to get you more visibility. Be part of this, help wave the flag of this truly beloved but often misunderstood genre. 

Look at the nominations for the rock category in the Grammys. It has been hijacked by bands that would never play these American rock festivals. That’s not a bad thing. There is a metal category. But what about a straight-up hard rock category for Korn, Godsmack, Papa Roach, Shinedown, there’s no place for them at the Grammys, just like there no place for them at major festivals like Coachella or Bonnaroo. They don’t book these type of bands. So here is a chance for you to wave the hard rock flag and spread the gospel. In the meantime, it gets you and your band some visibility, so it’s a win-win. It’s kind of like at a festival, instead of playing to 10,000 people, here is a chance to play for 40,000 people.

Did you learn more about rock audiences through this project?

I think it just cemented what my instincts were telling me. When you put a bunch of these great rock bands together, in a good location with the right ticket price, the masses come. It’s not gonna get the cover of Rolling Stone, these bands are not going to be a TikTok sensation, but that’s sort of the essence of rock’n’roll. 
It’s the other side of the tracks, it’s the kids on the grassy knoll, not the cool, preppy jocks at the lunch table. That’s the essence of rock and this movie solidifies that. 

I love the outsider, I love the underdog and that’s what putting on these festivals cements the instinct of that. Gene Simmons is wrong, rock isn’t dead, its just not alive on TikTok, yet. We just don’t subscribe to that idea that rock is dead or dying. It may not be the most handsome or prettiest in the classroom, but there’s a lot of us in that classroom.  

What was the moment that made you fall in love with Rock ‘n’ Roll?

It really was U2 at the US festival. Day 3. War wasn’t even out yet, just Boy and October. My friends and I just knew a little bit about this band called U2, but you wouldn’t be talking to me right now if it wasn’t for that show. Also I very much long for a Rage Against The Machine show, I will be at their very next show, wherever it is. 

And the first show I saw that really had the chaos and energy of real rock ‘n’ roll bombastic moment was Jane’s Addiction at the John Anson Ford Theater in 1989. If U2 was the game changer, that one blew my doors down.