Dave Grohl Reveals Surprising ‘80s Inspiration for Nirvana ‘Nevermind’ Drum Kit

Dave Grohl has revealed the surprising '80s inspiration behind one of his early drum kits that eventually was used on Nirvana's classic Nevermind album.

In a video featuring Grohl and later sent to drummer David Uosikkinen, the former Nirvana drummer-turned-Foo Fighters frontman confessed that it was Uosikkinen's 1980s era stint with The Hooters that inspired him to pick up one of his first drum kits. In fact, that drum kit stuck with him through his time playing on Nirvana's Nevermind album.

How Did This Revelation Come About?

The video was shared on Uosikkenen's socials with the longtime Hooters drummer confirming, "I saw the Foo Fighters tonight in Sayville. They were unbelievably rocking. Got to spend a little time with Dave Grohl and Ilan Rubin. What an amazing show. This video that Ilan sent me blew my mind, I had no idea."

Apparently during the chat that took place, Grohl had not connected the dots on Uosikkinen's past association with The Hooters and decided to share his confession after new Foo Fighters drummer Ilan Rubin had clued him in.

What Did Dave Grohl Say?

"Hey David, I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to have this conversation," starts Grohl. "But Ilan just informed me that you played drums in The Hooters. You have to know when that video with you playing that yellow drum kit that was on MTV, I was maybe like 15 or 16 years old and I bought a yellow drumset because you looked so cool."

"I had that drum set forever," continued Grohl. "That's the drum set I used to make Nirvana's Nevermind. So I'm thinking that if it weren't for you and your awesome video, then Nevermind would've sounded like shit."

What Type of Drums Did Dave Grohl Use on NIrvana's Nevermind?

In a drum kit rundown from Live Nirvana, drum technicians Barrett Jones and Mike Dalke shared Grohl's equipment guide over the course of his time in Nirvana.

It's revealed that Grohl played a Tama Granstar kit in 1990-1991 and that it had a "silky yellow finish." This was reportedly Grohl's kit until he demolished it during an October 1991 performance at Chicago's Cabaret Metro.

About The Hooters and the Yellow Drum Kit

The Hooters formed in 1980 in Philadelphia featuring co-vocalists Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman, with Uosikkinen among the early members as well. Their 1983 debut album, Amore, was released independently and didn't really catch fire, but Bazilian and Hyman were asked soon after to write for a then unknown Cyndi Lauper for her debut album She's So Unusual. The success from that outside venture then helped in the group getting signed to Columbia.

Their 1985 major label debut Nervous Night was their big breakthrough, spawning four big singles. Though the video for lead single "All You Zombies" doesn't appear to have Uosikkinen playing the yellow drum kit, it is visible in the videos for "And We Danced," "Day By Day" and the live performance of "Where Do the Children Go," all which were played heavily on MTV over the course of the albums' run.

The drum kit carried over to a new album cycle as well as the yellow kit is visible in the clips for "Johnny B," "Satellite" and "Karla With a K" from their follow-up album One Way Home in 1987.