Seattle musician got shot trying to stop gunman — then he got a royally cool surprise from Dave Grohl

SEATTLE — After Seattle heavy metal bassist Darin Wall got shot in the leg earlier this month after a show in Boise, Idaho, he wasn’t expecting to get help from one of rock’s most famous musicians.

But on Sunday, Wall played bass with his band Greyhawk at Seattle’s El Corazon/The Funhouse on a throne owned by Foo Fighters founder and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Grohl famously performed on the throne on the Foo Fighters’ 2015 tour after he broke his leg. And in 2016, Grohl lent the throne to Axl Rose to use during Guns N’ Roses “Not in this Lifetime Tour” when Rose injured his foot.

Wall got shot on Sept. 4 after his band played a show at a Boise venue called The Shredder. According to Wall, a man — later identified as Ethan Byrd — tried to force his way into the venue, even though it was closed at the time, and when the man started pulling out a gun, Wall kicked him on the inside of the leg. As the man fell back, he shot Wall in the leg before running away, said Wall, who added that police got to the scene and arrested the man less than a minute later. Byrd, who, according to Boise police, had also been yelling at other people and brandishing a pistol in the area, was charged with felony aggravated battery, among other charges.

Wall went to the emergency room right after, and says the bullet will have to remain in his leg because it’s too close to his femoral artery to safely operate on, but that he’s healing well.

Wall says the incident started getting posted about on social media and on heavy metal blogs. He talked about it on a radio show in Kamloops, British Columbia, and jokingly said he’d love to play a show soon on Grohl’s throne.

The radio host started a Twitter campaign to try to get Wall the throne, and on Sept. 9, Twisted Sister lead singer Dee Snider tweeted about the event and tagged Grohl.

Soon after, Wall says he got a call from Grohl’s managers, and on Sept. 12, Grohl called him from the MTV Video Music Awards to ask if he wanted the throne.

He accepted. “If Dave Grohl offers you to use a piece of rock ‘n’ roll history, you generally don’t say no,” Wall says.

Grohl shipped the throne to Wall’s South Seattle home, and Wall hauled it to his show soon after.

A GoFundMe set up by a bandmate for Wall’s medical bills has raised more than $15,000. He says he thinks this will cover his bills, and he’s donating anything extra to the Gun Violence Survivors Foundation.

Wall’s next show is at El Corazon/The Funhouse on Nov. 10 and he says, though the bullet’s still in his leg and the throne’s still in his basement, that he thinks he’ll be able to play bass standing up by then.