Watch Dave Grohl Praise Nine-Year-Old Drum Prodigy After ‘The Pretender’ Performance
For those who believe, as Whitney Houston once sang, that the children are our future, you'll definitely want to check out nine-year-old Yoyoka Soma. The Japanese drum prodigy has appeared on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime talk show in past, and returned to perform the Foo Fighters' "The Pretender" with a surprise cameo by Dave Grohl.
During the interview segment, Yoyoka's interpreter told Ellen that the young musician started playing the drums when she was just two-year-old, but admitted with a laugh, "She doesn't read music because she's lazy."
Yoyoka shared her admiration of Grohl and loves his "heavy groove" behind the kit. She later took the stage on the daytime talk show to perform the high energy Foo Fighters song "The Pretender," receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.
Then Grohl turned up via a video taped message specifically telling Yoyoka, "I've seen you play 'The Pretender' before and you're amazing. So keep it up because the world needs more drummers." Watch the segment in full below.
Grohl has taken an active role in trying to inspire the next generation of musicians. Just last year he released his epic multi-instrument "Play" jam and documentary, which not only put a spotlight on his lifelong dedication to music but also focused on children and their dedication to practice as they learned to play within a band setting.
“Watching my kids start to play music and learn to sing or play drums, it brings me back to the time when I was their age listening to albums, learning from listening," said Grohl at the time. "When I take my kids to the place where they take their lessons, I see these rooms full of children that are really pushing themselves to figure this out. And even now, I’m still trying to figure it out ... it’s not something that you ever truly master. You’re always chasing the next challenge, and you’re always trying to find a way to improve on what you’ve learned."
Foo Fighters are currently between albums, with Grohl reportedly working on another project at the moment. However, that's not keeping them from the road, with dates booked in New Orleans and at Sonic Temple this month, a brief European tour in June, more European dates in August and a handful of festival appearances carrying over into the fall. See all their scheduled stops here.
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