WARREN - The World's Largest Drumsticks got a champagne bath at a steamy unveiling Saturday at the Warren Community Amphitheatre.
The two poplar logs, which measure nearly 23 feet long and weigh 900 pounds each, made their public debut as part of a River Rock at the Amp concert downtown. The drumsticks will remain at the amphitheatre for the summer before moving down Mahoning Avenue to their permanent home as part of David Grohl Alley.
''It fits the alley, it fits the amphitheatre,'' O'Grady said.
Article Photos
Tribune Chronicle / R. Michael Semple
Main Street Warren President Joseph O’Grady, right, pops a bottle of champagne and christens the World’s Largest Drumsticks at the Warren Community Amphitheatre Saturday evening. The sticks eventually will be placed in David Grohl Alley, named for the Foo Fighters’ frontman and Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, a Warren native.
The alley is named for Foo Fighters' frontman and Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, who was born in Warren in 1969. The Grammy Award winning drummer, guitar player and singer attended and performed at the dedication of the alley in 2009.
Grohl wasn't in attendance Saturday, but Mayor Doug Franklin read aloud the full-page ad Grohl placed in the Tribune Chronicle Saturday thanking the community, ''For my very own alley. For the world's largest drumsticks! And for all of your support ... But most of all, for being such a great community. One that makes me proud to say ... I am from Warren, Ohio!''
''Thank you, Dave Grohl,'' Franklin said after reading his words.
Main Street Warren President Joseph O'Grady, who shepherded the project from its inception, thanked many of the people involved, including his girlfriend, Michelle Mymo, whom he credited with the initial idea; and artist and woodcarver Joel Eggert, who carved the massive poplar logs donated by Doll Lumber of Southington.
There were plenty of times in the months leading up to the unveiling that O'Grady didn't believe the project ever would happen. That's the reason one of the sticks is adorned with a quote from O'Grady, "Don't tell me what you can't do. Tell me what you can do.''
The other stick features the name of the band Larry Long Jr. and the Backsliders, who O'Grady called a major financial contributor to the project. Eggert also painted feathers on both drumsticks that resemble the feather tattoos on Grohl's forearms.
''I can't reiterate enough, every time we said we were going to build the world's biggest drumsticks, people said were crazy,'' O'Grady said. ''But we did it.''
A plastic tarp covering the drumsticks during the first two acts Saturday was removed by the assembled dignitaries as the song ''This One Is For You'' (written by O'Grady's son, Michael, and performed by his band, Bittercrush) played over the speakers.
The drumsticks then were christened with champagne before the spray was turned on O'Grady.