Foo Fighters finally meets 'Rockin 1000' organiser Fabio Zaffagnini

Foo Fighters and Fabio Zaffagnini, the organiser of “Rockin 1000,” finally met face-to-face at the Washington Park Community Center in Walla Walla, Washington on Aug. 15. Their meeting came after the band’s frontman, Dave Grohl, accepted Zaffagnini’s request to have Foo Fighters play in Cesena, Italy.

From the photos shared by Alternative Nation, it appears the meeting between Foo Fighters and Zaffagnini went extremely well. In one candid photo , Grohl could be seen gesturing with his hands while laughing and talking with the Italian man along with the rest of the band members. Another picture shows Fabio with the Foo Fighters and some of the crew.

The “Rockin 1000,” on its official YouTube channel, also shared a video of Zaffagnini’s arrival at the Walla Walla Regional Airport on Aug. 14. Fabio and his female companion were greeted by members of Foo Fighters’ crew upon their arrival. A local, who recognised Zaffagnini, also shook his hand and complimented him on his efforts in organising a group of 1000 musicians play Foo Fighters classic hit “Learn to Fly.”

“That was awesome, man, that was really awesome,” the man could be heard telling Fabio.

The video was what Zaffagnini described on the “Rocking 1000’s”official website as his “crazy idea” to convince Foo Fighters to play in Cesena, Italy after their last performance in the city on Dec. 1, 1997. A total of 1000 musicians had gathered at Cesena’s Hippodrome Park on July 26 to play “Learn to Fly.” The video has gained over 22 million views as of this writing.

In a previous interview with Alternative Nation, Zaffagnini said he was inspired to organise the musical stunt after watching Jack Black’s “School of Rock.”

“One of my favorite films is 'School of Rock,' and many years ago I a saw a DVD bonus feature where Jack Black asks Led Zeppelin's permission to use ‘Immigrant Song’ for the film. In the very end he says that if you really want to obtain something, you have to be ready to plead, and it works better when there’s 1000 people behind you,” Zaffagnini told Alternative Nation.

As to why “Rockin 1000” chose to play “Learn to Fly” among Foo Fighters’ many songs, Zaffagnini said the song has a quiet rhythm that is perfect to play. It reportedly also has no solos and no vocal virtuosity needed, so the musicians found it easy to play.

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Source:YouTube/ Rockin' 1000

Source:YouTube/ Foo Fighters