I felt that here we are telling the story of a guy and his band over a period of 30 years. What are they doing? They’re making music. Well, how can we really do a definitive work about this band without showing the result of what they were doing? In some cases, I felt the performances warranted being seen from beginning to end because that’s part of what Tom is. The songs aren’t just great, he’s a terrific performer.

When you see him singing or the band playing their instruments, you’re interested because you get to know them. “Oh look, it’s Benmont, he’s really playing up a storm.” Or Mike, who’s so cool he hardly makes any expressions, listen to what he’s doing. It’s like if you’re making a film about a great filmmaker and you say he’s a great filmmaker, you have to show some sequences. You gotta let them run sometimes so you can see what you’re dealing with. That’s how I felt.

You couldn’t really make a movie about a man and his music without showing a lot of the music. If you like rock and roll, I don’t see how you can resist it. I really wanted it to be comprehensive, the full monty.