Drummer Cornel Hrisca-Munn was born without arms and with a deformed leg, but he wasn’t gonna let that stop him from dropping this powerhouse viral cover of this Green Day classic. He wasn’t gonna play one of the ballads either. No, he went straight for the hard-hitting, rapid-fire punk rock of “Basket Case” – get ready for your jaw to hit the floor. Fans called Cornel an inspiration for how he never let any barrier get in the way of pursuing his passion for music.
“Basket Case” has such an intense drum part, and watching Cornel barrel around the drum kit on those blistering fills is truly a sight to behold. The Music Man has to say that Cornel not only plays the parts accurately, but really brings a whole lotta groove and swing to the performance. You can really see his love for music come through in his performance, which makes it really inspiring to watch.
Cornel posted his take on “Basket Case” to his YouTube channel, Cornel Hrisca-Munn, where it drew nearly half a million views. Fans were amazed by his playing and added comments such as “Pure talent and skill man. You really make me cry – never stop rocking. YOU ARE AWESOME!” and “I’ve been playing the drums for longer than you’ve been alive, and you are way better than me. Rock on dude.”
Cornel really loves his ‘90s rock, as his most popular upload features another classic from that era, “Everlong” by Foo Fighters. This performance drew 1.7 million views, and it’s easy to understand why. Dave Grohl’s drumming on “Everlong” made it one of the most iconic alt rock drum performances of all time – and it’s not an easy part to play by any means. Those rapid-fire fills and relentless hi-hat 16th notes make it quite challenging, but Cornel is all over it.
Cornel Hrisca-Munn is a Romanian drummer who lives in the UK. His website states that he was born severely deformed and subsequently “taken from” his parents and placed in an orphanage. Aid workers Doreen and Ken Munn adopted him at 18 months of age and brought him to the UK. In the UK, Cornel had his deformed leg amputated and he was fitted with a prosthetic leg. He began playing drums at age 11, and a few years later, he picked up bass guitar as well. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that Cornel found success early when he became a Young Drummer of the Year finalist in 2007. Cornel has produced a number of viral videos on his YouTube channel. He also appeared on Britain’s Got Talent, auditioning in 2015 on Robbie Williams’ “Let Me Entertain” you.