Teenage drummer Kai Neukermans had already counted on the beat for many songs, his drumsticks led to fierce covers of bands such as Black Sabbath and Queens of the Stone Age.
But this time it was not his younger brother and a friend on guitar, bass and microphone. Sitting on the drums, the 18-year-old from Mill Valley stared back at none other than Eddie Vedder and the rest of the popular grunge band Pearl Jam. Plus a crowd of fans at the nearly 20,000-seat Oakland Arena.
“Everyone, this is Kai; Kai, this is everyone!” shouted frontman Vedder to the cheering crowd.
Four seconds from Neukermans, and they were gone. He led them to an explosive rendition of “Mind Your Manners” from the group’s 2013 album “Lightning Bolt”. Vedder leaned over and screamed into the microphone, slurped from a bottle of red wine and clenched his fist as the crowd sang along.
Neukermans had missed a statistical test to arrive at this moment.
Turn back about 24 hours to get to the unlikely chain of events that led this Tamalpais High School senior to share Friday night’s stage with one of the most steadfast bands still getting a kick out of Seattle’s grunge movement.
Neukermans is not just any teenage drummer; he’s one-third of the hard-charging teen rock group The Alive, a band that “launched in 2018 between surf and skate sessions,” as their web bio explains. They have played major stages, from the BottleRock Napa Valley main stage to Lollapalooza Chile and Boardmasters in England. His 14-year-old brother, Manoa Neukermans, plays bass, and their friend Bastian Evans, 17, from Laguna Beach, Orange County, plays guitar and vocals.
Neukermans and his brother had just seen Pearl Jam perform in Los Angeles – the band was in town for a recording session. During Pearl Jam’s first show in Oakland on Thursday, Neukermans and his family began receiving text messages from friends who saw the band perform. Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron did not perform because he tested positive for the coronavirus.
They urged him to sacrifice himself as a replacement for Friday night’s show.
“It was a last-minute thing, and I didn’t think it would work,” Neukermans said.
But he took the risk.
Neukermans had met Vedder’s daughter Olivia Vedder in 2018 at Ohana Fest, founded by her surf-loving father and held on the beach at Dana Point in Orange County. So Neukermans sent her a text message. She responded that evening and said she would ask.
On Friday morning Neukermans went to school. Around lunchtime he heard that they wanted to see a video of him playing the drums.
Neukermans left school for his last two terms – with the permission of his parents, Stefaan and Alexandre Neukermans – and drove to Green Room Music in Pacifica. He put “Mind Your Manners” on repeat in a rehearsal room and started drumming. Again and again and again.
Neukermans’ band, The Alive, is strongly influenced by the heavy sound of Seattle grunge. He likes the classic configuration of drums, bass and guitar, saying that “music in today’s world is falling apart” because of an over-reliance on electronic sounds.
“I really like the energy, and I just get a kick out of it when I listen to it,” said Neukermans. “And I want other people to get excited about that music.”
He sent Olivia Vedder a video of him playing about the track. Within the hour he was in touch with a manager who told him to come to the stadium. Pearl Jam had urged longtime collaborators Josh Klinghoffer, formerly with Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Oakland musician Richard Stuverud to cover most of the night for Cameron. Neukermans would play one song halfway through the first set.
He arrived at the stadium around 6 p.m., took a corona test and started rehearsing with Pearl Jam.
He was struck by their skill, but above all by their joy. “They had so much fun,” he said.
Neukermans said his heart skipped a beat when Vedder introduced him to the audience, saying he’d seen the Alive perform and was impressed with “how hard they can play.”
Vedder told Neukermans to feel comfortable. The curly-haired teen wearing a Rage Against the Machine t-shirt walked onto the stage and sat behind an orange Ludwig Vistalite drum kit.
“You lead the band, brother,” Vedder said.
And he did.
Julie Johnson (she/her) is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: julie.johnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @juliejohnson