WARREN - Although they were trying to raise money for the world's largest drumsticks to be placed in Dave Grohl Alley, drums were not the first instrument the Foo Fighters frontman and Warren native brought home from school.
That, his father Jim Grohl said Friday, was a trombone.
He also told the fund-raising group that his son did not have a real drum set for a long time, so he played a set of pillows, which is one of the reasons why he hit the drums so hard when he played with legendary grunge band Nirvana.
Article Photos
Tribune Chronicle / Joe Gorman
Thad Minnick paints a Halloween portrait of Foo Fighters frontman and Warren native Dave Grohl on Friday during a fundraiser for Dave Grohl alley.
''There was no rebound on the pillow,'' Jim Grohl said over a band playing inside the Franklin Street parking deck, where the event was held.
Besides Grohl's father, his uncle Tom and stepmother Renie were also on hand for the fundraiser, which was put on for supporters to raise money to display the drumsticks, which were unveiled this summer at the Warren Community Ampitheatre.
Warren area artist / woodcarver Joel Eggert crafted the sticks from two poplar logs provided by Doll Lumber Co. in Southington. The sticks measure nearly 23 feet long and weigh 900 pounds each.
They are to be added to the alley, which already features colorful artwork on the asphalt and building walls.
The Grohls all said they were very pleased and thankful for the support of Dave Grohl's music career.
''It's wonderful,'' Tom Grohl said.
His son comes from a musical family, Jim Grohl, a former newspaper reporter, said. His grandfather was a classically trained musician and Jim Grohl also played the violin.
Jim Grohl said it's his son's dedication that has keyed his rise to the top of the music world.
''He's only had informal training,'' Grohl said. ''He's lived nothing but music since his early teens.''
At the fundraiser, artwork of Grohl was being auctioned off. Thad Minnick was working on a Halloween-themed painting of Grohl.
''I zombified him,'' Minnick said.
Minnick also worked with artist Aaron Chine on another painting of Grohl that was being auctioned off.
Dan Plant was auctioning off a replica of the guitar Dave Grohl plays onstage that he made out of steel. Plant said he was inspired because of Grohl's upbringing in Warren.
''For him being from Warren, and I'm from Warren, I thought I'd do this,'' Plant said.