[ Originally posted on Facebook 1 July 2018; additions below, 1 and 26 January, and 22 February 2021; final (maybe) addition 29 September 2021 ]
[ Addition 29 September 2021 ]
Ok, here’s something to chase those blues away. If you’re having trouble dealing with the world the way it is right now, commend me to a daily watch of this. It’s Yoyo (more about her below) at 8 years old, covering the Stray Cats’ “Rock This Town.” For my money possibly the most life-affirming, most joyous thing on YouTube . . .
British band Led Zeppelin erupted onto the UK scene in 1969.
It combined guitar virtuoso and sought-after session musician Jimmy Page, play-any-instrument composer and orchestral-arranger bassist John Paul Jones, the soaring voice of archetypal blonde-locked, bare-chested strutting frontman Robert Plant, and the titanic yet precisely inventive—almost funky—drumming of John Bonham, still rated by many as the greatest rock drummer ever.
This oldie was privileged to have seen and heard them in their prime (Earls Court, 1975).
Side 1 Track 1 (‘Good Times Bad Times’) of their eponymous debut album set the tone, Bonham doing things with a kick-drum that no-one had heard before and many even now struggle to replicate.
It’s no coincidence that Japan has more than its fair share of child prodigies.
A society in which doing things well is revered, one in which education is a competitive pursuit from an early age, and in which children dutifully knuckle down to it, is well placed to hothouse young talent.
Here then is Yoyoka Soma, all of 8 years old [at the time of writing], ripping Bonzo’s drumming from ‘Good Times Bad Times.’
Her supreme kick-drum mastery is inset bottom left.
But perhaps the best thing is the sheer joy she radiates as she piles her astonishing way through this hard-rock classic.
And okay yes, it’s a long way from copying—however proficient—to original creating.
But here once again is proof positive of the continuing Japanese conviction that if a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing . . . perfectly.
[ Added 1 January 2021 ]
Two bands were pretty much the soundtrack to my adolescence: Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.
Not least among the appeal of both was the mastery of their drummers—John Bonham and Ian Paice respectively—each of whom in their own way defined what rock drumming was and could be.
While Bonham encapsulated all that is titanic and steamroller-majestic, Paice’s quick-hand fluency and more swing-based inventiveness provided the perfect framework for the equally stunning musicianship of then-Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and keyboards maestro Jon Lord.
Bonham didn’t make it much past the crazy 1970s, but Ian Paice is still very much with us, still (!) drumming with Purple, and now enjoying a still further lease of life on YouTube.
Yoyoka (‘Yoyo’) has already covered several Bonham tracks, but never anything by Paice.
Until now.
And as cute kid herself closes in on adolescence, she’s put together a quantum-leap performance with the Deep Purple track ‘Burn.’
And what a performance it is. While her technical mastery has never been in doubt, the notable developments here (still at the tender age of 11) are in her speed and stamina.
All in all, it’s enough to drop any jaw.
For those new to Deep Purple and who can tear their ears away long enough from Yoyo’s magnificent work, listen out too for some timeless soloing by Blackmore and Lord.
Anyway, the point is that all sorts of folk quickly alerted Ian Paice himself to this prodigious performance, and now he’s posted his own reaction video.
So sit forward and revel in the emergence of a modern drumming superstar, in this gentle and generous appreciation by the master himself . . .
[ Another addition, 26 January 2021 ]
Oh dearie dearie me. Just when I thought she’d reached a peak, she’s posted another Deep Purple (i.e. Ian Paice) cover, this time “Speed King” from their early album “In Rock.” And I think it might be even better . . .
Hard to know where to look in amongst all this virtuosity, but worth concentrating one time on her astonishing kick-drum mastery—most of the time it’s her right foot doing the business, but there’s also a second beater, cued in when needed by her left (normally hi-hat) foot. It’s all viewable in the window bottom-left
It’s almost scary just how good she already is. I do so hope she’ll be able to deal with the fame that is sure to be hers before too long, and all the head-turning temptations that go with it.
Bless you Yoyo. Good luck . . .
[ And yet another addition, 22 February 2021 ]
Ok, just one more, last one I promise (maybe). Indulge me . . .
This is ‘Stone Cold Crazy’ by another monster UK band—Queen.
It’s a short yet bracing thrash from their 1974 album ‘Sheer Heart Attack.’
And surprise surprise, Yoyo—here 9 years old and still very much the cute kid—nails it.
Not sure how technically demanding this drum part is (although notice already twin kick-drum pedals, and her quadruplets around the tom-toms are—as always—faultless).
What entrances me about this one though is the enormous fun she’s so obviously having.
And while she aces the song’s speed and complexity with seemingly effortless ease, there’s still spare processing capacity enough for her to mug for the camera and indulge all those endearingly bonkers gestures and expressions.
Sheer Joy Attack . . .
[Added 10 February 2022]
Phenom Yoyoka celebrated her 12th birthday with a session where she plays with a very tight, kick-ass band. You’ll want to head over to her site here to watch some pretty impressive covers.
But I’d be doing Yoyo a disservice if I said she was just a drummer. Truth is she showcases all sorts of other instruments, as in this video: her reworking of the Beatles ‘Here, There and Everywhere.’ Listening to her singing in English in particular is a joy . . .