The one band Dave Grohl wants to play drums for
There’s a good chance that Dave Grohl has earned more accolades than any rock star really needs.
He might come off as one of the single most humble men in the music industry, but you can’t forget that this is the same guy that reinvented rock music with the rest of Nirvana, pulled off one of the greatest redemption stories in history with Foo Fighters, and somehow manages to fit in studio time working with some of his best friends just for shits and giggles. Even his least necessary project is well above what most people do on their best day, but there are still things that aren’t checked off his bucket list.
Then again, Grohl had never been ungrateful for the opportunities that he’s had. He was always practical about whatever project he would be doing next, and even when it looked like it could all be over after Nirvana ended, it was all about him rolling with the punches. No one expected much out of that first Foo Fighters cassette, and yet that charm that he has is half the reason why those songs were so catchy when they first came out.
But even by most rockstar standards, the number of musicians that Grohl probably has in his phone is insane. No punk rock kid from Washington DC would have ever dreamed of one day jamming with Paul McCartney or calling John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page onstage in the middle of a show at Wembley Stadium, but it all seems like an average weekend out whenever he puts on a show.
If you were to ask Grohl what the greatest rock and roll band was, it gets a little bit tricky. Led Zeppelin will be in his heart thanks to those few records, but in terms of bands that are still making the best rock and roll to this day, there are few that can really compete with what AC/DC is still doing. And that goes beyond them being a borderline one-trick pony whenever they make a new record.
Sure, they have a sound that works, but if they pull off their one trick so well every time they make a record, there’s no one complaining. Angus Young is still proud to carry on the legacy that he and his brother Malcolm helped build together, but even with Phil Rudd coming in and out of the group, Grohl would still love the opportunity to drum for them any time before they eventually retire.
He was transfixed when he watched If You Want Blood You’ve Got It as a kid, so to take his spot on the drum throne would be the perfect full circle moment for him, saying, “AC/DC. That’s my last one, that’s it. Phil Rudd is back though. If you dive back into their back catalog, that early s**t, there was a little bit more dynamic, then they settled into the groove. That’s the thing. And it’s because of Phil Rudd. It’s AC/DC, but that guy holds the key.”
If anyone was going to try and match what Rudd did, though, they were going to be in for a beating. AC/DC might get a bad rap for being the simplest rock and roll band on the planet, but if you actually try to play their stuff, the pressure is on the drummer to play everything note-perfect. No one comes to one of their shows expecting to hear ‘Let There Be Rock’ played slow, and Grohl might be one of the few drummers on Earth who could ride that groove perfectly.
At the same time, getting Grohl in the band for a tour where Axl Rose is singing backup would end up being one of the funniest sights in the world for everyone in the know. Guns N’ Roses and Nirvana’s feuding days were the stuff of legend, but if there was anyone who could end up putting those issues to rest for good, it was bound to be thunder from down under.
