Special benefit screening for the Maue Kay Foundation, Saturday, August 23, 2025 at 7 PM, at Santa Barbara’s historic Lobero Theatre

Earl Minnis and John Kay will present the West Coast premiere of Born To Be Wild: The Story of Steppenwolf on Saturday, August 23, 2025 at 7 PM, a special benefit screening for the Maue Kay Foundation. This new documentary takes viewers from war-torn Germany to the working-class streets of Toronto and LA, where the legendary band Steppenwolf rises to international fame. Straddling the border between mainstream and psychedelic underground, their song “Born to Be Wild” opened the cult film Easy Rider and became an anthem for an entire generation. Steppenwolf’s new, hard sound stabbed the heart of the “Summer of Love” and ended the hippie era. It’s no coincidence that they were the very first band to use the word “heavy metal” in their lyrics.

But what few people know is that the band’s center of gravity was two German immigrant children, who first met in Toronto before moving on to California together. Singer John Kay (born Joachim-Fritz Krauledat) was a war refugee from East Prussia. Bassist Nick St. Nicholas (born Karl Klaus Kassbaum) came from a respected Hanseatic family. Featuring Steppenwolf members John Kay, Nick St. Nicholas, Michael Monarch, and artists Mars Bonfire, Alice Cooper, Taj Mahal, Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous), Klaus Meine (Scorpions), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys), Dale Crover (Melvins), and Bob Ezrin (producer of Kiss, Pink Floyd, and Taylor Swift, among others), the film also has a lot to offer musically, featuring over a dozen original Steppenwolf songs.

Supported by an intensely loyal following, John Kay and Steppenwolf continued to record and tour internationally until 2018, which marked the band’s 50th anniversary and their last year of touring. In 2004, John and his wife Jutta created the Maue Kay Foundation. The nonprofit charitable foundation supports individuals and organizations engaged in the protection of wildlife, the environment, and human rights. After becoming increasingly occupied with their foundation, they sold their music business-related assets in 2010 and have devoted their time and energy to the foundation’s mission and projects ever since.

Tickets for Born To Be Wild: The Story of Steppenwolf are on sale now at Lobero.org and at the Lobero Box Office 805.963.0761. $75 – Premium Seating (Premium ticket includes preferred seating location and an exclusive post-show meet & greet reception in the Lobero Courtyard with complimentary drinks and light bites, immediately after the show.), $30 – Section A. (Ticket prices include a per ticket Lobero Facility Fee; other fees may also apply.)