There are countless shining rock and roll relics in the dirtiest corners of the dustiest garages or storage lockers. With the 20th century’s proliferation of recording equipment, capturing monumental moments of musical evolution was even easier to achieve. However, such was the duality of the physical and throwaway nature of said recording equipment that there are likely reels of tape left abandoned. Here, we look back at a rare audio recording of Dave Grohl drumming on a track by punk band Mission Impossible which emerged online recently.
The track, entitled ‘Now I’m Alone’, pre-dates Grohl’s work with Nirvana, which was originally recorded in his hometown in 1985. It’s a stunning reminder of the powerhouse punk drummer the musician is at his core.
Having previously proclaimed love for bands like Bad Brains and the hardcore scene, it feels validating to hear that in his formative years, he practised what he preached and was just as pulverising on the drums as you would hope.
Growing up in Washington, DC, Grohl played the drums in a string of different punk bands as a teenager, some of which were documented by filmmaker Scott Crawford who released his documentary Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, D.C., back in 2014.
Crawford, discussing the punk scene of the time, told Rolling Stone: “Mission Impossible were a phenomenal, albeit short-lived, live band,” before adding: “I went to several of their practices in Virginia and just sat back and watch them go nuts. They were all superb musicians and watching Dave behind the drum kit was always a thrill.”
‘Now I’m Alone’ is a track taken from that time and features Grohl on drums. While he will always be remembered for his work with Nirvana and his turn in front of the microphone for Foo Fighters continues his legacy today, there’s a joy in hearing this relic brought back to the fore.
Here it is:
