On his ID card, it says "Cool Man" in Rock & Roll. He is a fan favorite. He's the nice guy in the industry and he's one of the most prominent, great, and talented musicians who leads one of the great bands of our generation. He is Dave Grohl and he was born on January 14, 1969
(Photo: Thomas Frey)
= His full name is David Eric Grohl.
= Dave was born in Ohio, to a teacher mother and a journalist father who divorced when he was 7 years old.
= At the age of 12 he started learning to play the guitar. Very quickly he got tired of teachers, so he continued to teach himself and formed a band with his friends.
= Dave and his sister Lisa, who is three years younger than him, loved music from both ends. He was looking for the weedy, the strong and the dark and she used to dance to the sounds of "new wave" music.
= At age 13, during one summer in the city of Illinois, Tracy, his cousin, changed Dave's life forever. You could say that like in the movies - this was the turning point from which it all started. Tracy took Dave and Lisa to a number of punk rock bands shows and from there falling in love was inevitable. Dave and his sister began researching and learning everything related to the genre.
= During high school, Dave's mother felt that smoking (not cigarettes) was degrading him and decided to move him to another high school. Soon after she moved him all over again, switching between three high schools was not easy for Dave and music was the cure.
(Photo: MICHEL LINSSEN)
= During this period Dave played in several different bands while at the same time teaching himself to play drums as well. Now is the time to reveal that Dave never took a single drum lesson! Sorry, correction a half lesson...
= Dave and his mother used to visit a jazz club near their home every week. At the same club there were very talented jazz players to whom Dave looked up. He greatly appreciated the talent, technique and dynamics of those musicians. One of the most prominent drummers in the club was Lenny Robinson. On one of the occasions they visited the club, Dave gained a lot of courage and asked Lenny to teach him to play drums. Dave managed to organize a Tama set from his bandmates and welcomed Lenny to their home. After Dave demonstrated to Lenny what he knowns, Lenny realized that huge hard work awaited him but Dave realized that his was his last lesson and from there he went on his own.
= Dave always mentioned one character thanks to whom he started playing, a character who deeply influenced him and put the spark in his arms. Neil Peart, the drummer of the band "Rush" who passed away in January 2020, is the one who made Dave turn the drums to his whole world. For those who don't know, when drummers listen to a song, they learn to play it by a certain movement of the body that follows the beat, for example tapping your fingers together or on a surface to learn the beat. Believe it or not but Dave would learn to play the beat by using his teeth !! During one visit to the dentist, the doctor asked Dave why he grinds his teeth, Dave replied that this is how he learns to play and at that moment he played him the song "YYZ" by Rush.
= Dave said that the day he heard Rush's album "2112" his life changed and he decided to follow in the footsteps of Neil Peart and become a drummer.
= Speaking of influences in Dave's life, another character who influenced his development as a drummer is another legendary drummer: John Bonham ("Led Zeppelin"). Dave tattooed on his elbow the symbol of the three rings, which is symbolized John Bonham.
= In his youth he played in the band "Freak Baby" as a guitarist, when at a certain point the members of the band changed and he decided to move drums seat. Later, the band changed its name to "Mission Impossible".
= After leaving "Mission Impossible" and replacing another band on the way, he arrived at the age of 17 straight for auditions for the punk rock band "Scream". He auditioned, dropped out of school and joined the band.
(Photo: Naomi Peterson)
= He spent 4 years with the band and fulfilled his dream as a drummer in a punk band that has performed all over the world. Along the way he released with the band a number of live albums and two studio albums: "No More Censorship" and "Fumble".
= It was a groundbreaking band in the punk and hard rock genres in late 1980s Washington. They combined fast-paced rhythms with political and social texts and a commercial and condescending approach. For Dave it was also a groundbreaking period, he fulfilled his dream, to travel in a van across the US and perform everywhere possible while living as "punk rock" in every possible sense.
= Dave began his acquaintance with the grunge scene during the tour of "Scream", when he became a fan of the band "Melvins" and connected with the singer, guitarist and founder of the band Buzz Osborne.
= When his band "Scream" broke up, he sought Buzz's advice and he referred him to Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic. He picked up the phone, talked with the guys and they invited him to audition in Seattle.
= Dave, as we know, passed the audition successfully and joined the band "Nirvana". His first appearance with the band was in October 1990. The band was in the process of searching for a record deal with their debut album, "Bleach", and a number of demo tapes for the next album.
(Photo: ED SIRRS)
= An important point in the history of Nirvana and also of Dave is that contrary to the expected option, that the band would sign with the local record company Sub Pop which led the grunge scene at the time, it actually signed with the big record company "DGC Records". Contrary to what we know from Cobain's approach to success when the band signed the contract, Cobain promised the record company that they were going to be the biggest band in history!!
= And then it happened. In the spring of 1991, the band entered the legendary recording studio "Sound City" and recorded the groundbreaking album of the 90's: "Nevermind".
= Against all expectations, the album was a dizzying international success and turned "Nirvana" into an iconic band.
= The band released another studio album in 1993 called "In Utero". The band has also released a number of live album albums, including the phenomenal album of the historic "MTV Unplugged" appearance.
= Undoubtedly, Dave's period in Nirvana was one of the most influential and formative periods in his formation as a musician. He learned from Kurt how to relate to songs, how to write and how to process them into a final product.
= During the period, in 1992, he wrote and recorded a number of songs into a mini-album / tape called "Pocketwatch" which he released under the name: "Late!". He wrote, played and recorded the entire album on his own.
= During the recordings for the album "In Utero", Dave and Chris became more involved in the writing process. The band decided to record a song that Dave wrote "Color Pictures of a Marigold". The song was not released on the album but was released as a B-Side for the single "Heart Shaped Box" and was called "Marigold".
= The band's last performance was in Munich, March 1994. In April 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head.
= After Kurt's death and the dissolution of "Nirvana", Dave did not know what to do with himself. He received an offer to be the drummer of Tom Petty he even played with him on the Saturday Night Show but he felt that this is not his destiny.
= Eventually Dave decided to embark on a new path and recorded a demo of 15 songs, with the exception of one guitar section, he played all the instruments on the album. Multi-instrumentalist?
= Capitol Records signed Dave to a contract, but he did not want to turn it into a solo career so he recruited more musicians to complete as a band lineup.
= He recruited Pat Smear, who played with him in "Nirvana", bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, who both came from the band "Sunny Day Real Estate".
(Photo: MICK HUTSON)
= The demo was not re-recorded but just went through mastering and came out as the debut album of the band Foo Fighters.
= In 1996 the band preformed their first gig in front of family and friends above the "West Marine" store in Mercer Street, Seattle.
= In 1997, after touring for more than a year, Dave returned home, writing and recording a soundtrack for the movie "Touch". Here, too, Dave played all the instruments. Indeed a multi-instrumentalist!
= That same year, the new band members, who had just performed together, came in to record the second album "The Colour and the Shape". In fact, it was their first album as a band. After the recordings were finished and the band took a short vacation, Dave returned alone to the studio, he listened to the album again and was not satisfied with the drums part. He invited Pat and Nate and re-recorded all the drums parts on the album without William's knowledge. William, who found out about the matter only after the recordings were finished, was very hurt by Dave's behavior and decided to leave the band.
= Just before leaving for the tour, the band was looking for a new drummer. Dave called Taylor Hawkins who was then Alanis Morissette's drummer on her tour, and asked him if he have a recommendation for a drummer. When Taylor applied for the job himself Dave was surprised, but immediately agreed to the offer.
= During the tour for the album, Pat decided he was tired of all the running and madness of a world tour and wanted to leave. Dave recruited Franz Stahl who was with him in the band "Scream", but the collaboration did not last long.
= So back to the album... Despite the success of the first album, this album was the band's breakthrough with hits like "Everlong", "My Hero" and "Monkey Ranch", and it was a huge success. It took 10th place on Billboard chart and even reached higher on many charts in Europe and gave the band its first Grammy nomination. To this day it is the best-selling album of the band.
= In 1999, After a long and exhausting tour, Dave returned to his home in Virginia and decided to start working on the next album. But this time alone, at home alone! Dave decided he was building a recording studio in his house. It was the first studio that Dave built but certainly not the last. He developed a hobby of building studios and later he built two or three more studios.
= Without a contract, a record company, or a management company, without any outside interference, the three went down to the basement of Dave's house and started working on the third album. A friendship and creative collaboration were forged between the three, the relationship that created an amazing album, with the name reflecting the reality of the moment "There Is Nothing Left to Lose".
= The album was a great success and gave the band their first win at the Grammy ceremony, a win that continued with the following albums as well. The band went on tour in the US and Europe and had already become one of the biggest bands in the rock world. During the tour and at the same time the band was starting to work on the fourth album, Taylor was hospitalized due to an overdose of heroin and lay on the floor for two weeks. This event shook Dave and affected him badly, While Taylor was recovering at home, Dave accepted the offer of Josh Homme and joined the band "Queens of the Stone Age" with whom he recorded the album "Songs for the Deaf".
= The combination of bad recordings for the fourth album that initiated ugly relations between the band members together with the pleasure that Dave rediscovered when performing and recording with "Queens of the Stone Age" made him fed up and lose interest in his mother band. He abandoned the recordings completely and concentrated on other projects.
= In the same year (2001) he recorded the role of the drums on the debut album of the band "Tenacious D" and also participated in the filming of the movie and the clip "The Pick of Destiny" in which he played the character of the devil.
= Foo Fighters members returned for a number of shows and rediscovered the spark and enthusiasm. This instilled in them the desire to record the fourth album again and indeed it was re-recorded from beginning to end and was called "One By One".
= In November 2002, Dave reached a historic moment when he replaced himself three times at the head of the "Billboard Modern Rock" chart. Nirvana's song "You Know You're Right" was replaced by the Foos' "All My Life", which in turn was replaced by Queens of the Stone Age "No One Knows". Dave performed at the top of the charts for 17 weeks with three different bands.
= He recorded the role of the drums on the second album of the band "Killing Joke".
= During 2004 Dave moved his studio from Virginia to "Studio 606" which he built himself in Los Angeles.
= That same year Dave set up a project called "Probot". Dave called it "A death metal Supernatural". This is a metal album that Dave recorded with various artists and singers from the metal world that he admired, musicians such as: Kim Thayil, Max Cavalera, Lemmy, King Diamond, Jack Black and many more.
= A year later the band released their fifth album, "In Your Honor", a double album that included an acoustic album and an electric album.
= In 2007 the band released their sixth album: "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace".
= In 2009 the band released a Compilation album. The album was perceived by Dave as something wrong that reflected a will, as if the band had finished its journey. He was sure that the band would have many more albums to release in the future and indeed it was.
= The band's seventh album is called "Wasting Light" and was released in 2011. This is the band's first album to reach number one in the charts. For us it's one of the band's best albums, if not the best of them all.
= Dave fulfilled another dream when he and the Foos' were the ones who "inducted" the band "Rush" into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013.
= That same year he released the documentary "Sound City" which tells the story of the acquisition of the mythological analog console that was used to record masterpieces like "Nevermind" in Sound City Studios, and was installed in Dave's home studio "Studio 606". Later, the film accompanies the recording of the album "Sound City - From Real To Reel" along with a large part of the great artists who were privileged to record masterful albums on the same console.
= In 2014, the band released their eighth album, "Sonic Highways", which told the story of music in a number of different cities in the United States.
= In June 2015, during a performance in Sweden, Dave fell off the stage and broke his leg. The Foos' canceled part of the tour but since they wanted to avoid canceling it all, Dave built a "Game of Thrones" style chair and performed with it later in the tour.
(Photo: C FLANIGAN)
= The same chair was loaned to Axl Rose after he also broke his leg and he performed with Dave's chair in part of the Guns & Roses tour.
= In December 2015, Dave participated in an episode of "The Muppets". In a hysterical moment in the episode, Dave held a drumming battle with "Animal", the drummer of "The Muppets".
= The band's ninth album, called "Concrete and Gold", was released in September 2017.
(Photo: Brantley Gutierrez)
= In August 2018, Dave released an instrumental piece called "Play", about 22 minutes long, in which he played all the instruments. The music video was accompanied by a documentary.
= In February 2020, he participated, along with his daughters, in the 50th anniversary celebrations of the kids show "Sesame Street".
= In the city of Warren, Ohio, there is an alley named after him: "David Grohl Alley".
= Dave has participated 14 times in the famous show "Saturday Night Live", more than any other musician.
= The Foos' were the band that was invited by David Letterman to appear on his last ever show "Late Show with David Letterman", before retiring.
= After the burst of the corona virus, Dave found himself very bored in his house . Apparently it was a "trigger" strong enough which pushed the creativity who began to flow into his veins and spill out of his ears. He began to create non-stop in different forms and in different areas, pay attention to the following points...
= In the summer of 2020 he responded to the challenge of Nandi Bushell, a 10-year-old drummer, and the two began a drumming battle in sequels that took place on a "battlefield" through the various social medias. The viral event ended up with Nandi taking the stage at one of the Foos' shows.
= In 2020 he joined the Jewish producer and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin for a sessions in honor of Hanukkah Jewish holiday, during which 8 songs by Jewish artists were released day after day, in each Hanukkah candle. In 2021 they again collaborated on the Hanukkah project with other songs.
= In February 2021, the band released their tenth album "Medicine At Midnight".
= In March 2021 Dave collaborated with Mick Jagger and released with him the song "Eazy Sleazy" in which he plays bass guitar and drums.
= In April 2021 Dave decided to share with the world the story of the Red Van, Dave claimed that the red van with which the band initially toured throughout the US is an essential and formative element in the formation of any band. He directed a documentary called "What Drives Us" which review the topic of the Red Van.
= In May 2021 the Foo Fighters were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame!!
= For Record Store Day on July 17, 2021, the band decided to bring back the disco to the dance floor and released the album "Hail Satin" under the pseudonym Dee Gees. The band released an album full of covers for the Bee Gees' great songs.
= The Corona virus probably did Dave only good, he started posting more things on social media, he created collaborations with artists like the Hanukkah sessions, he started sharing stories from the past and in October 2021 he published his first book. Yes, yes, Dave Grohl has released a book called "Dave Grohl - The Storyteller", the book gather his lifelong stories with music.
= In February 2022 the band's first Hollywood movie called "Studio 666" was released. The film is directed by BJ McDonnell and written by Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes, based on a story written by Dave himself. The film is a horror film in which all the band members and other actors play.
= A month after the release of the movie, the album of the imaginary band from the movie "Dream Widow" was released, the entire album was written and recorded by Dave with the help of guitarist Jim Rota who plays the first five songs of the album and keyboardists Oliver Roman and Rami Jaffee.
= At that time Dave participated in the famous YouTube show "Hot Ones" where he revealed impressive abilities of eating spicy food.
= On March 25, 2022, Taylor was found lifeless in a hotel in Bogotá, where he was supposed to perform with the "Foo Fighters" and he is only 50 years old. Dave loses a bandmate for the second time when this time he loses his closest friend, his soulmate. Dave channeled the immense tragedy, heavy loss and heavy grief into music. He initiated two massive tribute events to his beloved friend. Two shows that took place in Los Angeles and London were held for more than five hours and included huge and historical artists who are friends of the band and especially of Taylor.
= In January 2023, along with the New Year's greeting, the band issued a statement that it thanks all its families, friends and fans for their support during the difficult period and, as the band was created to celebrate life and cause happiness, it will continue its activities. Immediately afterwards, dates were announced in which the band would appear with a new drummer, whose identity is currently unknown.
= In May 2023 the band revealed its new drummer!! The band released a comical video in which they are seen in a rehearsal room "as if" waiting for their new drummer. A number of famous drummers such as Chad Smith, Tommy Lee and Danny Carey enter the room with ridiculous claims (food delivery, blocked parking, dog shower) and immediately leave, until the camera reveals Josh Freese sitting on the drums all this time waiting for his new friends to start playing. The video continues to a "rehearsal" called "Preparing Music For Concerts" in which the band plays a setlist for the first time in its new line-up.
= In June 2023, the band releases its first album after Taylor's death, the album "But Here We Are". The album was produced by Greg Kurstin and the band with Dave recording all the drums parts on the album. This is undoubtedly a lament album, both in terms of sound and lyrics, Dave reflects in the songs the feelings that he and the band experienced following Taylor's death but also what he himself experienced following the death of his mother Virginia.