The Kings of Leon documentary maker insists the band’s family bond means there are “more great albums” to come.
Stephen Mitchell directed Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon, which gave a behind-the-scenes look at life in the band comprising brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill and their cousin Matthew.
Earlier this month the band released a statement saying they were cancelling their US tour because Caleb was “suffering from vocal issues and exhaustion”. Reports followed that he had been urged to enter rehab after he left the stage during a show in Dallas telling fans he was “gonna vomit” and “drink a beer”.
The band plan to resume the shows in Canada in September, and Stephen has spoken out in support of the rockers. He is confident they won’t have any problems getting back on track after this drama.
"It's a fabric of the band, the roots of the band, they're family, and I think that's a reason that they've been able to find a common ground to stick together and make five albums over, what, eight-plus years?" he explained.
"That's really hard to do. There's not many bands making two albums, let alone five, during that time... they make the great music, but I believe in them and I think the family side of it will be the same reason we end up seeing more great shows and hearing more great albums from them in the future."
The documentary features one particular scene where Caleb doesn’t attempt to hide his use of intoxicating substances. Stephen feels there was no harm in including that sequence in the documentary, as the movie was meant to be revealing.
"No, and for the record, I might have been more drunk and stoned than Caleb during that interview," he laughed when MTV Radio asked if he regretted keeping the scene in the film.
"That was a night he and I sat down, actually it was during the Only By the Night sessions, and after working in the studio all day, he said, 'I want you to come over to the house and let's sit down.' ... I think it was an amazing conversation, and I think there's a lot of the film that, looking back, [I] have regrets about showing this or doing that. We made our decisions a while ago and we're sticking to them and living with them.”
