Philadelphia musician Pat Finnerty is a big Dave Grohl fan. You could even say he’s obsessed.
Finnerty hosted the nine-hour “Grohl-A-Thon” on Instagram Live with the express intent of reaching Grohl himself. The goal was to get the Foo Fighters frontman to sing on Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” — a punchline to a long-running joke for Finnerty, who’s hosted socially distant rooftop concerts during the pandemic, all featuring a cardboard cutout of Grohl. “Everywhere I went, Grohl came with me,” Finnerty told Rolling Stone.
His commitment paid off. As the “Grohl-A-Thon” rolled along, featuring guest appearances by the likes of Jon Wurster and director Ben Berman, it gained some viral traction and eventually Finnerty received a video request from actor Andrew Sikking, who was attending a dinner party at Grohl’s house that night.
Eventually, Finnerty was connected to a phone facing a drum set, and who sat down but Dave Grohl himself. The ploy worked, and Finnerty got to spend 20 minutes with his idol, who ended up singing the “I want my MTV” line from “Money for Nothing” to an ecstatic audience now watching on Instagram. “That’s it? That’s all you wanted?” exclaimed Grohl, who went on to play drums on the song, as well as stick around to chat for a while.
To end his impromptu interview/hang, Finnerty asked: “Is it good to be Grohl?”
“Oh yeah, it’s the f**kin’ best,” Grohl said. “There was no way I was not going to call in. Just so you could take a f**king nap.”
Indeed it has been a positive quarantine for Grohl. When he hasn’t kept fans entertained with stories from his past, he’s dropped in to surprise and serenade front-line nurses, continuing his MO of being an upbeat presence even in dark times.
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Check out Grohl’s appearance on the “Grohl-A-Thon” below.
