Documentary details life of rocker Joe Grushecky

The Pittsburgh musician, known for his friendship with Bruce Springsteen, is a special-education teacher by day.

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

For decades, rock singer-songwriter Joe Grushecky has been telling honest stories of the working man.

Now it’s time to hear Joe’s story.

The Pittsburgh-based musician, known for his longtime friendship with Bruce Springsteen, is the subject of the new feature-length documentary film “A Good Life: The Joe Grushecky Story.” The film is the directorial debut from Ohio filmmakers Steve Caniff and Jim Justice.

“The reason we chose to do Joe Grushecky for our first documentary was because, like most modern-day Grushecky fans, we came to know his music through Bruce Springsteen,” said Caniff, who lives in Columbus. “Bruce produced Joe’s 1995 album ‘American Babylon.’

“It’s a very powerful record both musically and lyrically, and I really enjoyed it. I saw a piece on CNN about Joe and was surprised to find out that he was a special-education school teacher. That really intrigued me. To be on stage in front of 30,000 people jamming with The Boss at night, and then the next morning being back at school teaching special-needs kids. To me, it had the makings of a great story.”

“I think it’s a human interest story,” Grushecky said. “You have my teaching. I teach special-needs children, and worked in a mental institution and really difficult places, so it’s kind of an interesting story.”

A blue-collar musician with a knack for delivering truthfully crafted snapshots of everyday living and everyday dying, Grushecky has spent his lifetime as a working-class hero of the Steel City. It’s no secret the singer-guitarist dreams of taking his music to the national scene: He often refers to himself and his backing group, The Houserockers, as one of the world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll bands.

More so, Grushecky isn’t coy about why he agreed to become the subject of a documentary, which was filmed on and off again over a two-year span.

“I hope it’ll expand my audience and more people get turned on to the music and the story of the band, The Houserockers,” Grushecky said. “We’ve been pretty intertwined here in Pittsburgh in the same music scene since the late ’70s.

“So, we’re pretty much the fabric of the city, everybody knows us here, but hopefully more people outside of the city will be turned on to the music.”

Grushecky said the entire event was one learning experience after another. Private about his personal life, the musician eventually opened up as a friendship grew between himself and the documentarians. Still, seeing his story on the silver screen was decidedly foreign to Grushecky. 

“It throws you a bit,” Grushecky said. “You sit there thinking, ‘Oh man, I look stupid. I wish I wouldn’t have said this.’ But then I started trying to look at it more objectively. It’s a pretty good film, and I think it stands up pretty good.”

“The experience of making the movie was quite interesting,” Caniff said. “Neither me or my partner had any experience in making a movie. We funded the thing 100 percent out of our pockets and learned the craft of filmmaking as we went along.”

At 85 minutes in length, “A Good Life: The Joe Grushecky Story” features Grushecky interviews interspersed with concert footage. There are also interviews with Springsteen, Booker T. and the MGs guitarist/music producer Steve Cropper and various Pittsburgh residents associated with Grushecky’s day job as a teacher or night profession as a rock ’n’ roller.

Already the film won the Best Documentary category at the 2007 Colony Film Festival in Marietta. “A Good Life: The Joe Grushecky Story,” which is being submitted to many more film festivals in 2008, makes its Pittsburgh premiere at 8 tonight at the Southside Works Cinema. No word yet on a Youngstown showing.

Grushecky, who is scheduled to perform Friday at Michael O’Malley’s Irish Pub in Austintown, said the message he’s taking away from the movie isn’t cut and dried.

“I don’t know, it’s kind of hard for me to say,” Grushecky said. “I seem to think that maybe success can be defined in different ways. And also I guess just pursuing your dream.”

When asked whether it’s pursuing a dream or achieving a dream, he laughed, “A little bit of both.”

XThe “A Good Life: The Joe Grushecky Story” DVD can be purchased at www.flatbrokeproductions.com.