If entertainment writing hadn’t panned out, I like to think I’d have pursued a career in music. My only real experience, however, was a brief (and admittedly shaky) run as the second-chair violinist in my grade school orchestra—an honor that was mine by virtue of my more talented musical predecessor transferring schools. My musical acumen was only thanks to my color-coordinating sheet music so I knew where to put my fingers.
Music has always fascinated me, making it my fourth favorite passion after gaming, anime, and wrestling. I particularly enjoy unexpected collaborations like Imagine Dragons getting carried by Japanese songstress Ado on their “Take Me To The Beach” remix, Prince’s showstopping guitar solo cover of the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” and spontaneous live duets where Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell sang “Crawling In My Skin,” breathing new life into an already timeless bop. Recently, I’ve become obsessed with a YouTube channel that motivates viewers to discover their inner musician by featuring rock legends who lead by example with improvisational flair.
While doom-scrolling my For You Page on TikTok, I stumbled upon highlight reels for a YouTube channel called Drumeo. Drumeo is an online drumming school aimed at turning curious beginners into confident musicians who wouldn’t blink if asked to tackle late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins’ deceptively tricky “Everlong” part. What captivated me about Drumeo wasn’t its drumming lessons, but segments where legendary performers listen to popular songs for the first time with the drums removed and improvise how they would accompany them. These segments are essentially musical fan fiction, testing each artist’s musical instinct and giving me, a music sicko, new covers to obsess over. In that spirit, I’m going to share three of my favorite of these segments in sequential order of how hard they fuck musically.
John Stamos playing Papa Roach’s “Last Resort”
Somehow, in all of Stamos’ 61 years of jamming out, including with The Beach Boys, he’s never listened to Papa Roach’s “Last Resort.” Watching him stop and start, inching his way into the chaos of the track, is strangely exhilarating. He feels out which of the many drums I won’t even pretend to know would best carry the weight of the beat, building the skeleton that’ll support the raucous emo rock anthem. After a thorough listen and a few curious jabs at the rhythm, his back-and-forth with the song turns almost jazz-like in its spontaneity and interpretive interjections. The groove he arrives at, after confirming it’s a heavy metal track, winds up breathing an even more briskly paced drum line that gives the song a whole new dimension that’s fascinating to listen to.
The Police’s Stewart Copeland playing Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin’”
My second favorite in Drumeo’s For The First Time series is Stewart Copeland, who humbly and confidently tries to play Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin’.” After swigging his drumstick in his coffee (we listen and we don’t judge) and jokingly saying, “I don’t know shit about any songs,” Copeland absolutely nails the metal track, plunging headfirst into his version of its drumline. His take, surprisingly, sounds like a live performance of the song, enhanced with some flourishes and embellishments, showing Copeland's flair for adding a playful energy.
Before watching this video, I’ll admit that I had never heard of Copeland. To me, The Police were just a homogeneous, monolithic musical entity without any distinguishable humans making up its parts. But after watching this, I’m obsessed with Uncle Stew Daddy’s energy and candor. I was especially tickled by him saying, “I like those guys [Limp Bizkit] in concept. I’m not that familiar with their music.” Like that’s the most polite and funny way to say “bless your heart” about a band while giving them kudos. And yes, I’ll be adding that phrase into my lexicon. Thank you very much, Mr. Copeland.
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith playing Bring Me The Horizon’s “Can You Feel My Heart”
My absolute favorite video in this series is Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith being given the herculean task of improvising a drum line to Bring Me The Horizon’s banger “Can You Feel My Heart.” Words almost fail me to describe what it's like watching him, deep in his musical flow state like a man possessed, immediately delivering the most fitting drum accompaniment for the song. This performance straight up blows the original song out of the water. Smith’s version of “Can You Feel My Heart” damn near made me want to jump off of my couch and rip my shirt clean from its lapel with how masterfully he handles shaping its beat. What’s more, he even dared to suggest that his approach might not have been the right one for the song at all. Be so serious.
While all of the above might not be enough to convince me to enroll in Drumeo’s online academy (I’m more of a bass guy; problematic, I know), I understand why it serves as the channel’s leading example of what they offer to prospective musicians. I’m just happy to find covers I didn’t know I needed and learn more about the personalities behind some of the bands in my music rotation.
