Dave Grohl: Inducting Rush Into Rock Hall Was ‘One of the Most Special Nights of My Life’
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins had the pleasure of inducting Canadian icons Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Thursday night, and shortly after the ceremony Grohl was still buzzing about the experience. He and Hawkins not only had a chance to give the induction speech, but they also performed a rather memorable version of the '2112 Overture' with the power trio, while decked out in '70s long haired whigs and kimonos.
Grohl told Rolling Stone, "It's terrifying to play your favorite band's song in front of your favorite band. It's one thing to sit in the basement and woodshed '2112,' and its another to stand in front of Rush in a f---ing kimono and a wig and try to use a wah-wah pedal in your platform shoes. It was amazing. Tonight was one of the most special nights of my life."
Grohl's influences are wide and varied, but Rush were certainly one of the key acts in forming his appreciation of music. He recalls, "When I got '2112' when I was eight years old; it f---ing changed the direction of my life. I heard the drums. It made me want to become a drummer. At rehearsals the other day, I had never met Neil Peart before. Alex [Lifeson] and Geddy [Lee] are the nicest people in the world. I was coming to rehearsal and I was meeting Neil for the first time, and this man was as influential as any religion or any hero or any person in someone's life. He said, "So nice to meet you. Can I make you a coffee?" And he made me a coffee, man. And later on that night, I went to dinner and had a couple glasses of wine and I started f---ing crying because my hero made me a f---ing coffee. It was unbelievable, man. So that's kind of how this whole experience has been."
Speaking about the '2112 Overture' performance, the Foo Fighters leader said it was perhaps the best thing they could do. He admits, "I was terrified. What, am I going to sing Geddy Lee? No way I was going to sing a Rush song, and Taylor's a great drummer and can play all those Rush songs, but God, the Rush songs are hard. We came up with the idea to do the instrumental intro to '2112' and they would take over. It was our idea -- 'OK, rather than just do it, we'll f---in' dress in the kimonos they wore on tour.'"
When asked about the possibility of Nirvana entering the Rock Hall next year, Grohl graciously sidestepped the question leaving the spotlight on the night's inductees, adding, "Wow. I didn't even know that. Interesting. Well, hopefully they make us wait as long as Rush did, because did you see all their f---ing fans out there tonight?"