Apparently, Dave Grohl was just one of those freak musicians that had “it” from an early age.
Some artists just get an instrument in their hands and for reasons not quite known, can play it almost instantly. Like they were born to do it.
Grohl was seemingly one of those types, having taught himself to play drums in his teens by listening to his favorite punk and rock records. While his time with punk band Scream pre-Nirvana is well-documented, Grohl was actually in a few other punk bands before that – a brand called Dain Bramage, and a band called Mission Impossible.
Mission Impossible was blaring at full speed in 1985, with Grohl being a young 16-year-old still in high school. The band took influence from many now-legendary punk/hardcore bands from the era, including Bad Brains, VOID, D.R.I., Minor Threat, and Naked Raygun.
Grohl’s admiration for these musical “godfathers” runs deep, once describing his love for Bad Brains with the excitement of a young kid on Christmas morning:
“Bad Brains were just totally fuckin’ incredible. They were the best fuckin’ live band in the world. They were these four hyperactive young black men from Washington DC and they could play the most incredible fuckin’ hardcore, then slip into the most beautiful, graceful reggae. They were just so incredibly talented.”
The Band That Dave Grohl Wants To Play Drums For
Grohl took his talent, energy, and passion for punk, and somehow managed to get good at drums almost immediately after picking up sticks. And thanks to the power of the internet, you can see that firecracker drumming on display thanks to a salvaged analog recording from a Mission Impossible show from ’85.
Filmmaker Scott Crawford, who made the excellent documentary Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, D.C., was around in those early days to witness Grohl’s talent with Mission Impossible firsthand, once recalling:
“Mission Impossible were a phenomenal, albeit short-lived, live band. I went to several of their practices in Virginia and just sat back and watch them go nuts. They were all superb musicians and watching Dave behind the drum kit was always a thrill.”
Check out a young Dave Grohl in beast mode via the video below. If you want to get shots with just Dave, skip to 1:34.