"We have no idea where this lady came from, what her name is or where she went, but she rocked our faces off!"

After Carl filmed the unknown senior drummer and affectionately dubbed the video 'Grandma Drummer', it instantly became a hit on YouTube:

At the moment of writing, nearly three million people have now seen the Youtube sensation, and wondered who is banging out that perfect rendition of Wipe-Out, the classic drum solo first performed by The Surfari's Ron Wilson back in the ' 60s. Mary's playing on a Gretsch Catalina Birch kit with a 5.5x14 Gretsch Brooklyn snare and Zildjian cymbals.

Identity of mystery drummer revealed
Well now the identity of the viral sensation is no longer a mystery: it's 63-year-old Mary Hvizda of Onalaska, Wisconsin, who had never heard of YouTube until a few days ago. Although Mary really isn't a grandma, she's happily embracing the celebrity status as 'Grandma Drummer'.

Mary started drumming when she was fifteen, inspired by her brother. It didn't take long before she became the drummer of the Chantells, the first all-female rock band in La Crosse, pioneers in a male-dominated industry.

During the next 25 years, she drummed in a dozen other bands, mostly rock and country 'n western.

When Mary's band On the Road Again broke up in 1990, she couldn't find another band to play with and ended her drumming career. She sold her last drum set soon after, but never really lost her love for playing.

Mary Hvizda first walked through their doors of the Coalition Drum Shop a year and a half ago. It was her first performance in a decade. Mary recalls:

"I was like, 'Wow, drumsticks again. It's been a while. I wonder if I still know how to use them'. And I'm hoping I'm ok with them. But regardless of whether I'm good or not or as good as I used to be, it's just neat to be able to do it again."

Carl Johnson has given Mary a free $800 electric drum set for her apartment to practice on. Mary says she will put the drums to good use:

"I appreciate this new set they gave me, and all the calls I'm getting are compliments, and it makes you feel good, because I've been retired for a long time, and I'm 63, so this is a really neat feeling for me, and a very overwhelming surprise."