Sound City Studios is a two-building complex in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, which houses sound stages. It was most notable for being the recording studio for albums such as Fleetwood Mac's Rumours and Nirvana's Nevermind. The studio is operated since 1970 by the Skeeter family, with the first album to use the facilities being Neil Young's After the Gold Rush. Until the closure of the recording studios on May 2011, the Sound City was used by artists such as Tom Petty, REO Speedwagon, Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, Johnny Cash, Metallica, and the last band to record there, Everclear.

Dave Grohl has put together a documentary, simply called, Sound City, chronicling the storied history of the legendary Van Nuys, California recording studio. Featuring appearances by such music icons as Mick Fleetwood, Tom Petty, Trent Reznor and more, Grohl has dubbed the project the "Dumb and Dumber of rock docs." On a more serious note,  he described Sound City as "a film about America’s greatest unsung recording studio. Deep in California’s sunburnt San Fernando Valley, tucked away behind the train tracks and dilapidated warehouses, it was the birthplace of legend. Sound City is a film about the truth, the craft, and the integrity of rock 'n' roll."

Grohl was inspired to produce and direct the documentary after he purchased Sound City’s Neve console in 2011 when the studio closed. This particular board had been used in recordings by Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Guns N’ Roses, Rage Against the Machine and, perhaps most famously, Nirvana’s breakthrough 1991 album, Nevermind.

Lee Ving (FEAR) reminisces on his first musical memories for Sound City.