Steppenwolf, one of the great rock bands in the greatest era of rock, is the subject of a new documentary film by Oliver Schwehm.
Steppenwolf sold more than 28 million records worldwide, released seven gold albums and one platinum album, and had 13 Billboard Hot 100 singles, of which seven were Top 40 hits, including three Top 10 successes: “Born to Be Wild,” “Magic Carpet Ride,” and “Rock Me.” Steppenwolf enjoyed success on a global scale from 1968 to 1972. But they continued to pump out quality albums later, including Rock & Roll Rebels (1987) and Rise & Shine (1990).
The group was founded by singer/rhythm guitarist John Kay, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton, all formerly of the Canadian band the Sparrows, formed in the Yorkville area of Toronto, Canada.
For his documentary, “Born to be Wild: The Story of Steppenwolf,” Schwehm interviewed early band members including Kay, Mars Bonfire, Michael Monarch, and Nick St. Nicholas. It premiered at the Munich Film Festival last year. The Kay and St. Nicholas families had emigrated to Canada from Germany shortly after WWII.
In the wake of the release, Blues Rock Review reached out to John Kay and we were welcomed into a fascinating discussion about the movie, his personal life and his career.
This and previous conversations with the legendary front man revealed him to be an enigmatic, highly intelligent and compassionate individual whose lyrics and private life form an antithesis to the leather-clad, biker gang image so often ascribed to Steppenwolf. Many of the Steppenwolf songs featured socially-conscious lyrics which were even more evident in Kay’s solo efforts, especially the blues-based album, Heretics and Privateers.
When asked for his impression of the movie, Kay said, “I was quite astonished. Oliver went to see Nick (Nick St. Nicholas), who had Super 8 film footage that he had shot during his time with Steppenwolf, which he had not opened or seen since 1972. It was a treasure trove of footage. Oliver, with modern technology, managed to polish it into something that could hold its own against contemporary video. That footage, I, nor Jutta, (John’s wife) had never seen. So half the film was a total surprise to us and we were floored.”
Like all rock bands of that era, Steppenwolf had its ups and downs, having called it quits once before but former member St. Nicholas continued touring under the band name and Kay, who owned the name, was not pleased, to say the least. A court battle confirmed his ownership but he felt the name had been damaged so he headed back out on the road with a new lineup – John Kay & Steppenwolf – to restore its iconic reputation.
Kay said his intense anger toward St. Nicholas, because of what he called “The bogus Wolf period,” had waned. “So, the good thing was that I made peace with Nick before going to Munich. The most enjoyable part, post screening, was that Nick and I were able to be on that stage with Oliver.”
The documentary allowed time to reflect on the good times and successes of the band.
“The film turned out to be much more than I anticipated,” he said.
Kay, who is legally blind, was thrilled that Schwehm had contacted the CNIB (Canadian Institute for the Blind) who had helped him get his first guitar when he was young, and Humberside Collegiate, where he’d attended school.
“Oliver had some really good, creative ideas which found their way into the film, so I was very happy with it,” he said.
Kay spent many, many years restoring the Steppenwolf name to its former glory and when asked about the kind of dedication that took, he replied, “ It was an arduous journey. There was one period where we spent 20 weeks on the road doing six shows a week with 500-mile overnight drives.”
He said the ones who deserve the most credit during those years were the fans because it was they who supported the band and, through word of mouth, restored Steppenwolf’s reputation so that, after a few years, the band had once again grown the show from tiny club gigs to bigger venues and finally back to large theatres.
“We had Wolf world back under our control.”
Asked about what kind of youthful introspection led to his socially-conscious, genuine, humanitarian lyrics that were woven into his compositions throughout his career, he explained:
“I attribute that to two reasons. One was my background, being raised in Germany after the war and learning the history of the horrendous Hitler, Nazi regime, deeply embedded in me a quote which appears outside the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, and it says: ‘Visitor, learn from what happened here. Go home and be vigilant that the ugly face of fascism never arises again.’ “
Both the Krauledat (Kay) and Kassbaum (St. Nicholas) families had escaped from behind the iron curtain to Toronto when they were very young.
Secondly, he said, “I looked at the U.S. as an outsider and things did not fit with the image. I believed in America, in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but when all of a sudden there was a clash between what was presented to what was written in stone resulting in violence and protests in the U.S., I knew something wasn’t quite right.”
During the Newport music festivals of 1964 and ’65, he saw many performers who had something to say about the here and now, including Bob Dylan and the Byrds, who had electrified Dylan’s protest songs.
“I thought to myself: I’m a big fan of the blues, so there’s no reason why Steppenwolf couldn’t do blues-rock instrumental music that, at times, can contain lyrics that are beyond the typical and so several of our songs from our first two albums and the Monster album, which was a political concept album in its entirety, reflected that.”
Kay said the most rewarding part of being a songwriter was hearing back that songs, like Monster, spoke to people, and echoed their thoughts and feelings.
“That was always something that really made you feel that your efforts were worth your time.”
In a self-deprecating reflection, he said, “I think to myself, you’re just a guy who got lucky with a guitar and got a lot of help from similarly talented band members. I’ve had a lot of time to look over my shoulder to see where I’ve been and where I came from and the truth is that I am more lucky than I have sense or talent.”
He then added, “Being honest with yourself, you realize you’re not so great. That’s why you still admire the performers that inspired you to try and follow their path.”
In recent years the Kays have altered their life focus.
“The success of Steppenwolf enabled my wife Jutta and I to take some of our ducats and see the world in different places and meet people who, unlike some of us who have been in search of the spotlight, have dedicated their energies to something greater than themselves and it was quite an inspirational and humbling experience.”
Their travels led to the Kays building a school in Cambodia, followed by the formation of the Maue Kay Foundation (www.mauekay.org).
“We redirected our interest in life to what the Foundation is all about; the protection and preservation of wildlife, wherever it may be. We sold all our music industry-related assets and that gave us money in the bank and time on our hands to do what we really want to do now.”
With those funds now nearly exhausted, John and Jutta must find new avenues of revenue to sustain the Foundation.
Toward that end, they have created a series of informational podcasts on youtube to generate future interest and sponsorship in the Foundation. They are found at Youtube.com/@rstwa.
“We are now in the process of encouraging as many people as we can to visit and click ‘Subscribe,’ because it’s the subscription numbers that will be the deciding factor of eventually having some sponsorship money for the Foundation,” Kay explained.
Unfortunately, fundraising efforts through the podcasts were dealt a setback while dealing with the damage to their home and equipment sustained through the California flooding last year.
Kay said they are getting things back on track and looking forward to adding new episodes to the existing series of podcasts.
“What we’re doing now is to get as many people as possible interested in lending a hand in protecting our living treasures, which are, unfortunately, declining because their living space is being reduced. But there are those amazing people who continue to make a great difference in that battle.”
Asked what thoughts he would like to leave readers with, he said, “I would ask readers to do me a favor and go to my Youtube podcast channel and hit the “Subscribe” button. It would be much appreciated.”
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