To paraphrase Vim Fuego, the inept guitarist at the centre of Channel 4’s classic heavy rock comedy series Bad News, Neal Peart didn’t compose the classic YYZ until he was 28… but Kalonica Nicx could play it when she was only 12. And that really says something.
Kalonica hails from the Indonesian town of Bandung, the the capital of West Java province and a city perhaps most famous for its tropical Art Deco architecture. And she plays drums. In fact, she’s been playing drums for six years, and she’s pretty good. Good enough to play Rush’s instrumental while beaming giddily.
It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty damn good, and with idols like Dream Theater drummer Mike Mangini and former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, she’s obviously setting her targets high.
Kalonica also plays organ for the youth choir in her local Catholic church, as well as playing guitar and writing her own music…and people are beginning to notice: In 2015 she was the winner of the international Hit Like A Woman drum contest, and last year picked up an award from cymbal makers Zildjan.
We can’t wait to see what she comes up with when she’s 28.
Bonus YYZ Videos
1. Someone playing a rather squelchy version of YYZ using only his hands.
2. Two men playing a cover of YYZ that’s so faithful to the original we don’t know whether to applaud the breath-taking aplomb with which the project is tackled, or doubt their sanity for its rather pointless brilliance.
Rush's YYZ finally gets a vocal in mysterious Milkshake mash-up
