Five seemingly unassuming boys in kilts marched on stage. They may seem not much until their sticks hit their drums.
Nigel, Dylan, Matt, Elias, and Jordan, collectively known as the Hot Scots, joined Lake Howell High School’s Talent Show last 2011 to prove to people that being in a band is not as nerdy as it looks. While the “hot” is subjective and they’re totally not Scots, they got the finesse and a rhythm that’s worthy of a talent show.
With their snare drums already lined up on the stage, the group marched into place one by one.
They were beatboxing to a rhythm as they took their positions, making everyone giggle and howl in anticipation.
At first glance, these boys appear unassuming, together with their mismatched tartans that they probably rented or borrowed from wherever they can find them. If that made them feel like they’re descendants of William Wallace, we’ll never know. But the “hot” part comes when they stuck on their snares to kick off the show.
They introduced themselves through a tight-paced rhythm of sticks hitting sticks and the edges of their snares.
Then the whole drumline comes to life when their cadence quickened like a hundred drums quickly going off in unison. As if it’s not enough to impress their classmates, they even started drumming with one hand while the other kept on spinning the drumstick to the beat.
That would take immense skill of body coordination that most of us could only just dream of having!
But they’re not just skilled with the beat. They also know how to get the crowd going.
As the whole line began receding their drumming, one of them kept on going in full confidence, fully missing his cue, deliberately or as a part of their showmanship.
He even got a small kick to get him back in position, and then the line began roaring the snares once more.
The one guy who missed his cues quickly redeemed himself by showing the crowd how to play drums as he flipped and juggled his drumsticks. If you’re impressed with that, try watching their entire line use their drumsticks as drums.
The storm of frantic drumbeats suddenly comes to a halt and the boys crouch down behind their drums in silence. The audience holds their breath, expecting that this might be the end of their performance.
That is until one of the “Scots” stood up and “Rick Rolled” the entire auditorium.
Rick Rolling is a bait and switch humor where you will send a link that seems to be relevant to the topic only to contain Rick Astley’s iconic 1987 song “Never Gonna Give You Up”. In other words, kids nowadays know this song because of entirely different reasons.
The whole place erupts in laughter mixed with some singing then the boys went back to the drums, revealing that they’re just halfway into the performance.
If you can’t even flip a pancake, watch how these kids toss and flip their drumsticks mid-air while also beating the snares with the other hand.
Their performance ends with a mighty roar of “Hot Scots!” before lifting their kilts to show off their short-covered butts.
The Hot Scots would return the year after that to join the talent show. And while they’re not the original 2011 drumline, their performance is still as good.
Watch the performance that won the 2011 Lake Howell High School Talent Show that definitely puts the “hot” in “Hot Scots”.
SHARE this with your family and friends and see what they did in their high school talent show!
