Jeremy Allen White’s Bruce Springsteen spends the bulk of his time in Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere brooding over the songs that would become Nebraska in a Colts Neck, New Jersey, rental house. But when he — and the audience — need a joy break, Springsteen fires up his Trans Am, points it southeast to Asbury Park, and hops onstage at his safe space, the Stone Pony, to jam with the house band.
Who just happen to look like an amalgamation of the present-day rock acts Greta Van Fleet and Rival Sons.
That’s not an accident. Dave Cobb, the Grammy-winning producer known for his work with Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, and Brandi Carlile, serves as soundtrack producer of the film and produced Greta Van Fleet’s 2023 Starcatcher album and a string of LPs by Rival Sons, including 2018’s stellar Feral Roots.
Dubbed Cats on a Smooth Surface, the Pony’s house band was in fact a real group, led by frontman Bobby Bandiera, who at one point nearly joined Springsteen’s E Street Band. Their repertoire consisted mostly of early rock and soul covers, like “Twist and Shout” and “Long Tall Sally.” In the film, they’re shown performing Little Richard’s “Lucille” and John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom” with White.
When putting together the Stone Pony band for Deliver Me From Nowhere, producers clearly leaned on Cobb’s connections, casting GVF guitarist Jake Kiszka and bassist Sam Kiszka as the Cats’ guitar and bass player, respectively, and Rival Sons’ singer Jay Buchanan as Bandiera — though he’s listed as “Cats on a Smooth Surface – Lead Singer” in the credits.
“Our journey with this project began through Dave Cobb… Dave’s involvement sparked the connection, and soon he was appointed musical director for the film,” Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka tells Rolling Stone. “I was working with him at his studio, Low Country Sound in Savannah, Georgia, when he shared the project with me. Scott Cooper, the director, was searching for a ‘young, hip rock ‘n’ roll band’ – someone like Greta Van Fleet, he suggested. Dave’s response was immediate: ‘Why not get them?’ And just like that, the pieces fell into place.”
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Buchanan, while depicted as more of a Bob Seger-type figure than the real-life Bandiera, is magnetic onstage, howling and shuffling his way through “Lucille” with White’s Springsteen jamming behind him. (At a recent tribute to John Fogerty in Nashville, Buchanan stole the show with his bare-foot rendition of CCR’s “Fortunate Son.”) The Kiszka brothers, who make up Greta Van Fleet with sibling Josh on vocals and Danny Wagner on drums, strike their best bar-band poses onstage at the Pony, and even have a speaking line outside on the Asbury Park sidewalk following a gig.
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“Working with Jeremy was a captivating adventure on multiple levels,” Jake Kiszka adds. “His ability to embody Bruce Springsteen was a masterclass — he walked the fine line between capturing the essence of the character and infusing it with his own originality.”
Cameos like these in Deliver Me From Nowhere, along with other inspired casting decisions like Marc Maron as studio engineer Chuck Plotkin, Yeah Yeah Yeahs drummer Brian Chase as E Street’s Max Weinberg, and label impresario Jimmy Iovine as himself (that’s Iovine’s real voice screaming at Jon Landau over the phone) are a treat for rock fans. Or at least those who are particularly eagle-eyed.
