Foo Fighters – Led Zep Tribute

I posted the other performances from the Kennedy Center this morning, here’s the one I couldn’t find thanks to @johnwillingham1…

Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl switched back to the drum kit for their rendition of ‘Rock and Roll’ and let drummer Taylor Hawkins take lead vocals. Here’s why (via WaPo):

After the ceremony, Grohl told me that the decision was made at band practice just a few days earlier. The Virginia-raised 43-year-old remembers asking himself: “‘Can I sing Zep? I can drum Zep.’” So he traded Hawkins a microphone for two sticks. A few days later in Washington, the band took the Kennedy Center stage for a dress rehearsal without telling anyone about the swap. “The producer said, ‘Are those your starting positions?’” says Grohl. “And we said, ‘Yuuuuup.’”

On John Bonham’s influence on him as a drummer: “I was completely obsessed with John Bonham. So much so, that I knew that I would never be technically able to do what he did. But I wanted to see if I could crack open his instinct and see why he did the things that he did. Because, as any musician or producer will tell you, John Bonham’s feel was legendary. Just the way that he held down a back beat was something that no one had ever heard. And no one has been able to recreate since.”

OK, here’s the tape:

Awesome.

See Also:

Kennedy Center Led Zeppelin Tribute (Video) (TRB)