Modern Drummer has a new feature on their website called “Drum Gods” where they re-print older interviews and basically do a profile of the chosen drummer(s). The first installment is on Dave Grohl, they re-visit the first interview they ever conducted with him in 1992. In it, he offers plenty of insightful tips and knowledge on drumming and the way he approaches it.

Some choice excerpts are…

“The drums have to propel everything.” That’s an important element. Whether the drums stand out to people or not isn’t what’s really important. That it sounds like a big bomb going off is.” He also believed that louder is usually better, often hitting two toms or two cymbals at once and focusing his energy on powerful playing with less notes. However, he also understands how to use dynamics and does so very effectively.

Regarding “Bass Drum Technique”

Grohl’s bass drum technique is all about optimum transfer of power: “I don’t put my heel down when I play my kick drum, I kind of pounce on it with the ball of my foot. That way I can hit harder and put more weight into it. Also, by sitting very low—I sit as low as possible—I can put a lot more weight into it because I’m pushing forward.”

These are great tips but I thought the most profound excerpt was this…

Dave believes it’s very important for drummers to think like songwriters, “Composition and songwriting should be just as important to a drummer as they are to a singer,” he went on. “There are hooks in songwriting, those moments that catch you and stick in your brain. Drumming should be the same way.”

Overall a very insightful read. I’ve always been a huge fan of Dave Grohl as you can probably tell by this site, but I’ve never seen this interview before. Also, it doesn’t mention anything about the specifics of his kit at the time, but I know he was a Tama drums and Zildjian Cymbals endorsee and that his Nirvana-era kits were an Artstar Customs.

Source.