SKF NOTE: My friend, David, presented me last month a copy of Dave Grohl’s book, “The Storyteller,” for my birthday. It is not a book I would have chosen for myself, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable, informative read.
I earmarked this story to share with my blog readers this story of a lesson Grohl learns from the bassist in one of his early bands, Scream. It’s a good one.
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I was like a wild pony when I first joined Scream, playing as fast and as hard as I could, placing meaningless drum fills at the end of every phrase to impress anyone within earshot.
One day, (bassist) Skeeter sat me down, (and said), “Okay, we’re gonna play one riff, the same riff, for thirty minutes and you’re not going to do one drumroll.”
Easy, I thought.
I sat down behind my kit and he began to play his silky bass line, part reggae, part Motown, and I confidently joined in.
It wasn’t forty-five seconds before I felt the urge to do a drumroll, but he shook his head and warned me not to do it, so I continued on with the groove.
A minute later, I again felt the insatiable need to do a crazy drumroll, almost like a form of musical Tourette’s or holding back a sneeze, but Skeeter just shook his head.
Essentially, Skeeter was breaking the wild pony, training me to respect the simplicity and power of a groove, teaching me to refrain from gratuitous bluster.
After thirty minutes, I was an entirely different drummer. This was perhaps the most valuable musical lesson of my entire life, and I am forever indebted to him for that.
Dave Grohl: The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music, Harper/Collins 2021
Scott K Fish 
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