“There’s always minds blown”: Jack Black names his two favourite drummers
Hidden away towards the back of the stage, drummers are rarely treated with the same rock and roll reverence as six-stringed or singing bandmates. Despite this, those rhythmic beats laid down by drummers have always formed the backbone of the rock and roll sound, going back to the earliest origins of the genre. Today, the musical landscape is awash with countless rock drummers, each with their own distinctive skill and playing style, but one figure rises above the rest in the eyes of Jack Black.
An actor by trade, Black’s career in Hollywood has often maintained a link to his adoration for rock and roll music. From playing an elitist record store clerk in High Fidelity to the rock-obsessed deadbeat teacher in School of Rock, the actor has consistently excelled in projects centred around music. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the Californian has been a rock devotee from a young age, worshipping the likes of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath in particular.
Black’s love of hard rock music came to the forefront during the mid–1990s, when he formed the comedy-rock duo Tenacious D alongside Kyle Gass. Although the band is, by definition, a comedy act, the accompanying music shows clear skill and appreciation for those pioneering hard rock outfits. Thanks to Black’s profile and range of connections, Tenacious D are able to call upon a range of cameo musicians and guests, both on their studio albums and the 2006 film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny.
These cameos are telling of Black’s musical taste, and the dup have repeatedly called upon the talents of one legendary drummer who Black once called “the greatest living drummer.” There are many candidates vying for that title, a forerunner being Rush’s Neil Peart – who was still alive when Black gave that quote. Renowned for his complex and seemingly effortless playing style, Peart laid the foundations for many rock drummers to follow in his wake.
Black has always been a disciple of Peart, once calling his drumming skills “Eerily precise.” Heaping praise onto the late Rush drummer, the actor said, “Everything was just right on the nuggets. I bet if you went in with a computer, Neil Peart would have been on the beat to like an atom. Or at least that’s how it sounds when you’re listening. You’re like, ‘He’s not even human.’”
Despite the seemingly ethereal qualities of Neil Peart, one drummer stands above all the rest in the mind of Jack Black. Putting his distinctive beat the sounds of the grunge revolution during the early 1990s, Dave Grohl’s work with Nirvana cemented him as a legendary drummer. Although, in more recent years, Grohl has swapped his drumkit for a guitar, fronting Foo Fighters, he remains a master behind the sticks.
Famously, Grohl played the role of Satan in Tenacious D’s 2006 film, but the former Nirvana drummer’s involvement with the duo did not stop there. Talking to Spin back in 2018, Black shared, “Every time we make a new album, we ask Dave Grohl if he would be available/interested in throwin’ down on the new Tenacious D record.” Continuing, “And we always assume this is the year that he’s gonna say, ‘Sorry, guys, I’m a little busy.’ But he fuckin’ comes through. Again, he comes through.”
As such, Grohl appears on multiple Tenacious D records, including their eponymous debut. “Unfathomable. I don’t know why, I don’t how, but we got him again,” Black shared, still in disbelief over Grohl’s involvement in the comedy duo. “And he crushes it. He crushes it with thunderskins. Do you give him notes? First you wanna hear what’s he gonna do, and there’s always minds blown. He’s the greatest living drummer; what are you gonna do?”
Tenacious D and Foo Fighters have enjoyed a long and harmonious relationship, largely resulting from Grohl’s blossoming friendship with Black and Gass. Whether or not his comment on Grohl being “the greatest living drummer” rings true or not, the Foo Fighters frontman has certainly left his mark on the sound and energy of Tenacious D.
The comedy-rock outfit is currently on hiatus, following comments made by Kyle Gass onstage in response to the attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump last year. However, it seems likely that the band will eventually return to the stage and that Dave Grohl will continue to support their efforts with his distinctive and energetic drumming style.
