HOW TO GROW A BAND

A film by Mark Meatto

Featuring:
Chris Thile & Punch Brothers, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and former Nickel Creek Band Member Sara Watkins among others.

USA/UK • 2011 • 88 Minutes • Color
Exhibition Format: HDcam, Digibeta, DVD, Blu-Ray

26 year-old Chris Thile is at a crossroads. His marriage has ended and his platinum-selling band, Nickel Creek, has gone on “indefinite hiatus.” But Thile, a perfectionist prodigy who has defied expectations since he picked up the mandolin at age five, has a plan.

Step 1: Write a 45-minute, four-movement elegy to your failed marriage
             to be played by a traditional bluegrass quintet.

Step 2: Recruit the only musicians around talented enough to play it
            and crazy enough to sign on.

Step 3: Make a record, launch an international tour and brace yourself.

Filmed with uncommon access, HOW TO GROW A BAND explores the birth and evolution of the Punch Brothers: the tensions between individual talents and group identity, between art and commerce, and between innocence and wisdom.

Elton John
“They’re astonishing, @#!*@ brilliant. The best jam band I’ve ever seen.
I want to make a record with them.”

T Bone Burnett
“Chris Thile is a once in a century musician.”

Vijith Assar, The Village Voice
“One of the greatest young bands in the country.”

Columbia Tribune
“Five of the brightest young musicians on the planet.”

Chris Thile, widely regarded as one of the most inventive musicians of his generation, is credited with helping elevate the mandolin from a relatively simple folk and bluegrass instrument to one brilliantly incorporated into the finest jazz improvisation and classical performance. For more than 15 years, Thile played in the wildly popular band Nickel Creek, with whom he released three albums, selling a combined 2 million records, was awarded a Grammy in 2002, and sold out concerts worldwide.

As a soloist he has released four albums, and recently collaborated with legendary artists Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer on the genre-defying The Goat Rodeo Sessions (Sony Masterworks) which debuted in October 2011 at #1 simultaneously on Billboard’s Classical, Classical Crossover and Bluegrass charts, and at #18 on Billboard’s Top 200. He has also collaborated with a pantheon of bluegrass innovators including Béla Fleck, Dolly Parton, the Dixie Chicks, Jerry Douglas, and Sam Bush.

Punch Brothers most recent album, Who’s Feeling Young Now, was released on February 14 at #1 on the Bluegrass charts, #5 on the Folk chart, #19 on the Rock chart and an amazing #76 on the “Top 200”.