Dave Grohl recently called himself “the most fucking basic drummer”, saying he ripped off disco his whole career.
And don’t we just love him for it. The cheeky confession is just a reminder of how humble this legend is.
In a chat with Pharrell Williams, the Foo Fighters frontman admits that most of his drumming was ripped off old disco bands like The Gap Band, Cameo and Chic.
Grohl says that during school he wanted to be part of a drumline, but was never able to read music.
When Pharrell praises Grohl for his drumming, Grohl is immediately modest, “dude, stop saying I’m a good drummer because I’m the most basic fucking drummer”.
Yeah, Pharrell’s face to the camera shows what we were all thinking, sure Dave.
But Pharrell’s mind seems truly blown when Grohl highlights the connection between the drums on songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit“, and The Gap Band’s “You Dropped a Bomb on Me“.
Grohl recounts himself admitting to Chic’s drummer Tony Thompson, “Man, I just wanna thank you because, I owe you so much I’ve been ripping you off my whole life”.
Sometimes I get the overwhelming feeling that I need a hug from Dave Grohl.
— Kevin Gilgan (@Gilganizer) June 30, 2021
The main takeaway from the clip is Grohl’s heartwarming humbleness.
He calls his seminal album Nevermind, which sold over 30 million copies globally, “Nevermind, the Nirvana record” – like we could ever forget which band provided the grinding power of that record.
Grohl, the official dad of rock, is one of the music industry’s most loveable figures.
In case you’ve forgotten, he once spotted his surgeon in a crowd and pulled him up on stage to sing “My Hero”.
In 2016, he personally wrote a letter to Cornwall council, in defence of a young, local band who had been banned from practicing due to a noise restriction.
Hell, he was even on Sesame Street.
Pharrell and Grohl’s chat features on the series From Cradle to Stage, which is based on Grohl’s mum Virginia Hanlon Grohl’s book of the same title.
The unscripted series examines the relationship between rock stars and the strong women who raised them, and is available to stream on Paramount+.
