Born David Eric Grohl on January 14, 1969, in Warren, Ohio,
Dave Grohl is one of the world’s finest musicians. First as a drummer in
Nirvana and then as the frontman for the Foo Fighters, now onto drumming with supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, Dave Grohl has become
one of the leading figures in rock today. He has played a role in 4 bands and has
worked with over 10 other artists from Eddie Vedder to Paul McCartney to Neil Young. He has won over 10 Grammys with said bands,
and was awarded with the title ‘God-Like Genius’ at the NME awards and is noted as the "Nicest Man In Rock," which is an undestatement. Amongst this, Dave Grohl has produced some of
rock’s most popular, timeless classics.
Grohl’s interest in music emerged early. He started out playing guitar belonging to his parents, and played it
until he broke all strings. Shortly, Grohl became interested in the drums, and
played with his mother’s pots and pans as a pretend set. By the age of ten, Grohl formed his first
band, the H. G. Hancock Band. Not long after,
he was introduced to punk rock by one of his cousins. In high school, he played
in a string of punk bands and got involved in soft drugs. After dropping out in his junior year, he
joined the Washington, D.C.-based hardcore band, Scream. He was given the
position as drummer. Grohl appeared on
three of the group’s albums and toured with them several times.
During one tour, Grohl met up with members of The Melvins, a
highly influential punk band. It was backstage at a Melvins concert that he saw
Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic from Nirvana for the first time in 1990. Grohl
did not talk to his future band mates that night; but thanks to Buzz Osborne of
the Melvins, he did get to audition for Nirvana later that year. Grohl travelled
to Seattle, hoping to become Nirvana’s new drummer. As soon as he played for
them, both Cobain and Novoselic thought he would be perfect for their band.
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| Scream |
After joining the group, soon the major labels became
interested in Nirvana, offering contracts with large advances. They ended up
signing with Geffen Records. Their first release with them, 1991’s
Nevermind,
became a huge hit, driven by the single, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit.' While Kurt
handled most of the song writing duties, all three band members had worked on
this track, which combined elements of punk, metal, and pop. To this day,
Nevermind is described to be one
of the most influential albums of all time, shining light on the Grunge scene
in the ‘90s.
In nearly a year’s time, Nevermind sold more than 4 million
copies. Nirvana, with raw, emotional
sound, helped launch what was called the Grunge Movement, which often captured
feelings of alienation and frustration. They paved the way for other bands,
such as Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, to become well-known national acts. The
pressures that came with all of that success weighed heavily on the group.
The band made one more studio album together, In Utero. Rolling Stone Magazine called it “brilliant,
corrosive, enraged and thoughtful, most of them all at once.” While Cobain
handled the lyrics, Novoselic and Grohl helped write the music for the album. Still Cobain was increasingly distant and
became more depressed. He attempted suicide by taking a drug overdose in March
1994 in Rome while on a break during the band’s European tour. On April 5,
1994, Cobain committed suicide in his Seattle home.
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| Nirvana |
After Nirvana, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters. Initially, he
was the entire band for its 1995 self-titled debut album, playing most of the
instruments, singing the vocals, and using songs he had written while still
with Nirvana. His dedication and passion
towards music was poured into the record, as an attempt to move on from
Nirvana, and to escape from the mourning state he was in since Cobain’s
death. The recording earned positive
reviews and spawned two modern rock hits, 'This Is A Call' and 'I’ll Stick
Around.' When it came time to tour,
Grohl brought along bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith and Germs, and late-coming Nirvana guitarist, Pat Smear.
The first Foo Fighters album as a band, The Colour and the
Shape, came out in 1997. By this time, Goldsmith had quit and was replaced by
Taylor Hawkins. The album made it to the top ten of the album charts and
featured such tracks as “Monkey Wrench,” “Everlong,” and “My Hero.” Repeating
this feat with There Is Nothing Left to Lose, the Foo Fighters won their first Grammy
Award for Best Rock Album. The album had one breakaway single in “Learn to
Fly,” and the video for the song won the group their first Grammy Award for
Best Short Form Music Video. In 2002, One By One came out and blew everyone out of the park with all-time classics, "All My Life" and "Times Like These." Their follow-up album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, came out in
the fall of 2007 and did not recieve great reviews but still provided us with Foo fans favourite, "The Pretender." The band went on an extensive tour to promote the record. In 2011 the band released Wasting Light. The album went on to win 5 Grammys including
Best Rock Song and Best Rock Album.
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| Foo Fighters |
In the 17 years of making music with Foo Fighters, Grohl has
managed to gather 10 Grammys, 5 of which at one ceremony. Grohl’s contribution to music can be seen not
only through Nirvana and Foo Fighters, but with Queens of the Stone Age’s album
Songs for the Deaf, Queens of the Stone Age's most famous album. He also worked alongside Tenacious D, Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Tom Petty, Pearl Jam, Buzz Osbourne, Paul McCartney, Cage the Elephant, Jon Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin and the even most peculiar P. Diddy.
Outside of music, Grohl is a devoted father and husband. He
has been married to Jordyn Blum since 2003. The couple have two children
together, daughters Violet and Harper Willow. In recent years, Grohl has had his own alley in his hometown Warren, Ohio named after him, recieved two 500lb drumsticks and is ready to release his new documentary, Sound City Studios. It is no doubt that Dave Grohl’s contribution to music is beyond
admirable, providing us listeners with record-breaking, generation-leading,
amazing music. Grohl is keeping rock
alive, straight-edge and timeless, and I don’t think he’ll ever stop. Well, I sure as hell hope he doesn't.
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| Family Man: Grohl with wife Jordyn & daughters Violet and a shy Harper Willow |
