“D tour”: A Rock ‘N Roll Film About Life, Death, and Bodily Functions – Interview with Jim Granato
Posted by Jim Treadway on May 29, 2009 under Coming Soon, Documentary | 
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Jim Granato’s “D tour” makes clear: if you haven’t signed up to be an organ donor, do so after you’ve finished reading this article. Google your state’s name and “organ donation,” download the short form to fill out, and mail it to your state’s DMV.
Granato’s documentary is the story of friend Pat Spurgeon, the talented multi-instrument musician from Bloomington, Indiana who plays drums for Rogue Wave, a band on the rise. In the film, Pat discovers that a degenerative kidney disease is threatening to take him away from the grand stage that he has finally gained access to, and that he has dreamed of playing on ever since graduating college over two decades ago.
“D tour” invites viewers into the world of Spurgeon and his tight-knit, affable bandmates. It reminds viewers of the need for both organ donors and a more sympathetic American healthcare system, of the power of love and friendship, and of the fragility of life and the dreams we find in it before death’s sure but unpredictable arrival.
“D tour” won “Best Documentary” last month at the San Francisco Film Festival, and Vimooz had the chance to discuss the film with its maker Jim Granato.
Q: How did you first meet Pat? What has been your relationship over the years?
JG: I used to see Pat play in a couple of bands in our hometown of Bloomington, Indiana back in the early 90’s. We didn’t know each other back then, but he was something of a well known musician in our little college town scene. It was years later just after I moved to San Francisco in 1996 that I ran into Pat at a local bar. He had just landed there too and after introductions and acknowledging many mutual friends together we became fast friends.
We even recorded some music together and he’s scored music for some of my early short films. I’d say we were pretty tight for many years and then he started to tour a lot with various bands. There was a couple of years there where we didn’t see each other so much. But a couple of years after Rogue Wave had started and Pat’s kidney started to fail I got a call to see if I would be interested in doing a project about his return to dialysis while keeping the dream alive playing and touring with the band.
Q: Have you stared death in the face in your own life? If so, how has it affected you? Even if you haven’t, do you think death itself might still have a pretty powerful impact on your work?
JG: I can’t say I’ve had any close calls with death personally. I did experience losing a couple of friends too soon recently and that certainly had an affect on me. Although I’ve always been a registered organ donor the subject, because of this film, it has certainly gotten me to talk about it more with my family. I think what’s been more of an eye opener is actually talking about these life and death decisions that we hopefully won’t have to make too soon. Our culture doesn’t really deal with death but maybe a film like D tour will open up that door just a little.
Q: Pat says in the film that he never had a backup plan, because he feared he would take it. As you’ve progressed through your own career, how have you navigated your own balance between finding and following your passion vs. having a “backup” plan at the same time as some kind of insurance?
JG: Well, I took a leap a few years ago and quit a steady job that was related to the industry but wasn’t getting me anywhere. I became a freelance editor, camera and sound man and luckily found a niche that worked for me in a city where there’s not really a lot of work. Of course I had a lot of help from my wife who was there to support me when times were extra lean in the beginning, so that was comforting. But I have to admit I didn’t really have a back-up plan either. I guess I could have gone back to waiting tables or bartending which I used to do for years but instead my passion drove me to apply my skills with whatever was available. And in the beginning it was scraps that turned into more interesting work. And then in between somehow I was able to make this film. I didn’t realize it until later, but after my editor and I locked in the scene that starts D tour off with Pat saying “if you have a back-up plan you’ll take it” I realized I subscribed to that too. That scene is a little tribute to all of those folks out there who strive to do what they do despite whatever else is expected.
Q: I read in another interview where you say that when you love something enough, you have to persist with it, even when it gets really risky. Can you describe some of the tougher experiences you’ve had to persevere through in your own journey as a filmmaker?
JG: Interviews! You’re all just twisting my words. No, I’m just kidding there… um, I guess what I meant by that is no matter what you love in life you’ll do anything for it. I suppose that’s a little cliche sounding. But you just can’t give up. Perserverance is a wonderful thing to have as long as you have the energy. And I still wonder how I was able to get through some days. Beacuse when you’re editing a film you’re dealing with deadlines, eating badly, neglecting other things in your life. At the end of a very long day you look back exhausted wondering what the hell just happened. And then you know you’ve got to do it all over again the next day. Its love, passion and support from the people around you.
I guess for me right now the toughest thing is getting my film seen by as many people as possible. I’ve had some incredible screenings and a couple of awards given to me, but I’m not getting into every film festival I apply to. Of course I don’t expect to, but I’m proud of my film and a lot of people seem to really like it, and you start to feel that anything is possible, that after many years of hard work of filming and editing, that at the next stage you’ll get a break. Well, that stage is distribution and I have a feeling that this will be my hardest stage yet. We’ll see how perseverance treats me there.
Q: What tends to be the hardest part about making a documentary? What was the hardest part about making “D tour”?
JG: The hardest thing about making a documentary, especially if your subject’s story is still unraveling while you shoot, is just that. Where will the story go? And for how long? What is the ending? D tour took three years to make from the first thing shot to locking picture. That wasn’t very long. Many documentaries take many years to make and you really have to ask yourself are you committed? Because that commitment can become challenging. There’s a lot of pressure out there to deliver or to finish something. Especially for young filmmakers who are in a hurry. I suppose you can film your subjects forever, and go wherever life takes them, but commitment will pay off once all the pieces are in front of you and you know how to answer the questions you constantly ask yourself.
The hardest thing about D tour for me was dealing with a story about my good friend who was doing something dangerous. I mean I didn’t get up to work everyday biting my nails over Pat, but I wondered from time to time what if something goes terribly wrong? How will I deal with that? The guy is my friend but I’m also the committed filmmaker who needs to do just that. Make a film. If your subject is that close its sort of a double edge sword because you handle everything with ultimate care and then sometimes you make decisions that may not reflect the relationship you have with that person, but rather the relationship the filmmaker has with the film. There were things that came up in our story that none of us involved ever thought could happen. And there I was walking a delicate line between friend and filmmaker. All things considering I think it all worked out in the end. I haven’t lost any friends because of this project.
Q: What tends to be the most rewarding part about making a documentary? What was the most rewarding part about making “D tour”?
JG: For me it was rewarding just to see it finished. To see all these scenes you spend months building up then dwindle down to a structured comprehensive form is quite exhilarating. When making D tour I always knew I had something special. Here I was making a film about a good friend of mine who I also respect highly as a musician and was dealing with a very serious health issue his way. I loved the challenge of putting these two very different elements together: rock doc and medical story. It sounds crazy but it works, and that’s because underneath it all there’s a real human story that everyone can relate to. Once the film was done I was proud, but not until audiences got to experience it and then come up to me after the show and tell me how much it meant to them is incredible.
Q: What might you hope your viewers take away from “D tour”?
JG: I hope people will be able to have a conversation with friends and family about some of the things in the film mainly organ donation. I suppose that’s our biggest cause that we obviously root for, but we never try to deliver it with an iron fist. We just want to open the door a little bit. Folks will find their way in.
Q: What’s your all-time favorite documentary?
JG: Hmmmm. That’s always the toughest question. Well, I really like the Maysles brothers Gimmie Shelter a lot because you talk about setting out to film one thing and ending up with another. Originally that film was supposed to be a document about the first US Stones tour in a few years happening in 1969. Then came Altamont. As it turned out it became the ultimate zeitgeist film for America’s counterculture. That film not only has great music performances in it but delivers a powerful portrait that take a whole generation of utopian hopefuls and reveals the ugly dark side of it all. The end of the 60’s indeed.
Q: Has documentary filmmaking changed significantly over the past couple decades?
JG: Well, I’m no expert on this but yes, there are a lot more people making documentaries than ever. And the obvious reason is that the equipment is much more accessible. Video is cheap compared to film and people can approach it with more ease than film. For better or for worse there are a million more docs out there than twenty years ago.
All of those shots were pulled from my personal library of stock footage. In addition to documentaries I make narrative and experimental films. I’ve always been a shooter to some extent and have acquired a large collection of moving images. Different things that move me one way or another. Some are abstract and others are more natural. I think one of my favorite scenes in D tour is where Pat is talking about getting to where he is. He strolls through a pawn shop fiddling around with different instruments, pacing the store. That was shot by me over ten years ago. A mere camera test that I shot when Pat and I were hitting places like that always looking for deals. With me it was cameras, and with him instruments. I was so glad to dig that film up and put it to use as a powerful scene.
Q: What were the hardest creative decisions to make as you put the documentary together?
JG: I think one of the things that was hard creatively was how much music to include and if it would ever step all over the story or vice-versa. To elaborate, the idea was always to include live performances from a benefit concert given for Pat and interweave these music moments with scenes from Pat’s story. As the story got bigger and bigger with more twists and turns I had to be careful what to choose from the music and how much of the performance to allow. Because this was so unique I wasn’t sure how well it would work with audiences. As it turns out many of the songs performed in the film compliment the scene that either comes just before, after or sometimes during the performance. Obviously films use music all the time to describe a mood or feeling but in this case you got to see the music and the power of performance. The very thing that drives our protaginist.
Q: What would be your ideal subject for a documentary today?
JG: Someone that has an interesting story to tell and that isn’t afraid to tell it their way. Sound familiar?
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