Dave Grohl

At 55 years old, Dave Grohl has this physical status:

David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer.

He has been the founding, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter for Nirvana from late 1990 to early 1994, when Nirvana disbanded following Kurt Cobain's death.

Grohl is also the guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Them Crooked Vultures, and he wrote the lyrics and performed all the instruments for his short-lived side projects Late! Probot and Probot.

He has also performed and appeared with rock band Queens of the Stone Age. Foo Fighters mixed melodic elements with heavier ones in their international success and gained numerous accolades, most notably with four of their albums receiving Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album.

Grohl became a highly respected drummer with Nirvana in 2014 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with bandmates Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic in the company's first year of eligibility.

Grohl was regarded by Ken Micallef, co-author of the book Classic Rock Drummers, as one of the most influential rock musicians of the last 20 years.

Early life

David Eric Grohl was born in Warren, Ohio, on January 14, 1969, the son of educator Virginia Jean (née Hanlon) (1938–2022) and newswriter James Harper Grohl (1938–2014). He is of German, Irish, and Slovak descent. James had served as the special assistant to Senator Robert Taft Jr., in addition to being an award-winning journalist, and was described as "a gifted political observer with the ability to call every major election with uncanny accuracy." Grohl's family immigrated to Springfield, Virginia, when he was a child. His parents divorced when he was seven years old, and his mother raised him until he was eight years old. He began learning to play guitar at the age of 12. He grew bored of lessons and instead taught himself, eventually playing in bands with friends. "I was going to get faster, louder, darker," he said, while his sister, Lisa, who was three years older, was getting seriously into new wave territory. We'd often find ourselves in the middle of Bowie, Siouxsie, and the Banshees."

Grohl and his sister spent the summer at Tracey's house in Evanston, Illinois, where they spent the summer. Tracey introduced them to punk rock by taking them to see shows by a variety of punk bands. In 1982, Naked Raygun at The Cubby Bear in Chicago was his first performance. "We were absolutely punk from the start." Grohl recalled. We went home and bought Maximumrocknroll and tried to figure it all out." He attended Thomas Jefferson High School as a freshman and was named class vice president. He performed bits of songs by punk bands like Circle Jerks and Bad Brains over the school intercom before his morning announcements. Since his cannabis use was lowering his grades, his father decided to transfer to Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria. He stayed there for two years, starting with a repeat of his first year. He moved to Annandale High School for the second year in his second year. He appeared in a variety of local bands, including a stint in a band called Freak Baby, when he was in high school. He learned to play drums during this period. Grohl switched to drums when Freak Baby cut out its bass player and reshuffled its lineup. Mission Impossible, the reformed band rebranded itself.

Grohl said he did not take drumming lessons but instead learned by listening to Rush and punk rock. "I was born in 2112 when I was eight years old, it changed the course of my life." The drums were heard when I first heard them. "It makes me want to become a drummer." Grohl cited John Bonham as his greatest influence during his time as a drummer, and he later had Bonham's three-ring symbol tattooed on his right shoulder. Mission Impossible rebranded themselves Fast before breaking up, after which Grohl joined the hardcore punk band Dain Bramage in December 1985. Dain Bramage was born in March 1987 when Grohl resigned without warning to join Scream and that the I Scream Not Coming Down LP was released. Many of Grohl's early influences were at the 9:30 Club, a music venue in Washington, DC. "I went to the 9:30 Club hundreds of times," he said. I was always excited to get there, but I was also sad when it came to an end. I spent my teen years at the club and saw some shows that changed my life."

Personal life

Jennifer Leigh Youngblood, a photographer from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, married Grohl in 1994. They separated in December 1996 and divorced in 1997. He married Jordyn Blum on August 2, 2003. They live in Los Angeles and have three children, Violet Maye (born April 15, 2006), Harper Willow (born April 17, 2009), and Ophelia Saint (born August 1, 2014).

Grohl was rated as the third richest drummer in the country by a 2012 Stereogum article, behind Ringo Starr and Phil Collins, with a fortune of $260 million at the time.

Grohl revealed in a June 2011 interview that he was going to be deaf in his left ear due to decades of performing on stage. He said he suffers from hearing loss and that it has an effect on both his daily life and life as a musician, while his tinnitus has caused him to read lips for about 20 years, a situation that became more difficult after people began wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite their ability to shield his ears, he refuses to use in-ear monitors because doing so "removes [him] from the natural atmosphere sounds like [he] can't hear [his] bandmates." His ears are "still tuned in to particular frequencies," he said, meaning [he's] still able to pick up on minute sonic information — even down to the tiniest differences between cymbal crashes."

Source

Career

Grohl briefly considered joining the shock-rockers Gwar, who were looking for a drummer as a youngster in Washington, D.C. Grohl auditioned with local Washington, D.C., favorites Scream to fill the vacancy left by drummer Kent Stax's departure at the age of 17. Grohl lied about his age in order to be considered for the position, claiming that he was older. To Grohl's surprise, the band begged him to join, so he dropped out of high school in his junior year. "I was 17 and really keen to see the world, so I did it," he said.

Grohl performed on several tour dates over the next four years, including a live album (their performance of May 4, 1990, in Alzey, Germany, on which Grohl penned and performed vocals on the song "Gods Look Down" on which Grohl performed extensively with Scream), which was released by Tobby Holzinger as Your Choice Live Series Vol. 10. Grohl played drums for Iggy Pop at a CD launch party held at the El Mocambo during their 1987 tour stop in Toronto. Following the departure of bassist Skeeter Thompson in 1990, Scream unexpectedly ended midtour.

Grohl became a fan of the Melvins while playing in Scream and eventually befriended them. Melvins guitarist Buzz Osborne brought Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, a member of the band Nirvana, to see Scream during a 1990 tour stop on the West Coast. Grohl called Osborne for assistance following the breakup of Scream. Osborne told Grohl that Nirvana was looking for a drummer and that he gave him the phone numbers of Cobain and Novoselic, who accompanied Grohl to Seattle to audition. Grohl attended the audition and joined the band shortly. "We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer," Novoselic later said. "I remember being in the same room with them and asking, 'What?' Grohl said.

That's Nirvana?

Are you kidding?'

They seemed like psycho lumberjacks on their record cover... I was like, 'What, the little dude and the big motherfucker?' "You're kidding me."

The band had already performed multiple shows for the follow-up to their debut album Bleach when Grohl joined Nirvana, having spent time with producer Butch Vig in Wisconsin. The initial intention was to have the album on Sub Pop, but the band sparked a lot of excitement based on the demos. Grohl spent the first months with Nirvana touring around various labels before committing to a contract and ending up with DGC Records. The band appeared in Nevermind in Los Angeles's 2013 documentary Sound City).

Nevermind (1991) surpassed all expectations and became a global commercial success. Grohl was compiling and recording his own work, which he introduced on a cassette called Pocketwatch in 1992 on indie label Simple Machines. Grohl released the cassette under the pseudonym "Late!" rather than using his own name.

Grohl's songwriting contributions in Nirvana's later years increased. Cobain overheard him while working on a piece called "Color Pictures of a Marigold," and the two artists later collaborated on the project together in Grohl's first months. Grohl would perform the song on the Pocketwatch cassette later. Grohl said in a 2014 episode of Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways that Cobain responded by kissing him on the first hearing of "Alone + Easy Target" that Grohl had recently discovered.

Nirvana revived "Color Pictures of a Marigold" during the session in In Utero and released this version as a B-side on the "Heart-Shaped Box" album, titled simply "Marigold." Grohl also contributed to the main guitar riff on "Scentless Apprentice." In a late 1993 MTV interview, Cobain confessed that he initially thought the riff was "kind of boneheaded," but that he was gratified with how the song progressed (an event portrayed in a demonstration on the Nirvana box set "With the Lights Out). Cobain expressed excitement over the prospect that Novoselic and Grohl would contribute more to the band's songwriting.

The band prearranged session time at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle in order to work on demos ahead of their 1994 European tour. Cobain was unable to attend the bulk of the three-day session, so Novoselic and Grohl performed on demos of their own songs. They performed on several of Grohl's albums, including future Foo Fighters' "Exhausted," "Big Me," "February Stars," and "Butterflies." On the third day, Cobain arrived, and the band performed a rendition of "You Know You're Correct." It was Nirvana's last studio recording; Cobain was discovered dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound at his house on April 8, 1994. Grohl was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10, 2014, as a member of Nirvana two decades ago.

Grohl retreated after Cobain's death in April 1994, and was uncertain what to do. He scheduled studio time at Robert Lang Studios in October 1994 and produced a fifteen-track demo. Grohl played all of the instruments himself, with the exception of a single guitar part on "X-Static" performed by Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs.

Grohl wondered if his future would be in drumming for other bands. Grohl appeared on Saturday Night Live for a brief period of time with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He declined the opportunity to play Petty's permanent drummer. During Pearl Jam's March 1995 Australian tour, Grohl was also rumored as a potential replacement for Pearl Jam drummer Dave Abbruzzese and appeared with the band for a song or two at three shows. However, Pearl Jam had already decided on ex-Red Hot Chili Pepper drummer Jack Irons by then, and Grohl had other solo plans.

Grohl's demo attracted attention from major stores. Gary Gersh, the former president of Capitol Records, enticed Grohl to sign with the company. Grohl did not want the effort to begin as a solo venture, so he recruited former Germs and touring Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear and two others from the recently disbanded Sunny Day Real Estate, William Goldsmith (drums), and Nate Mendel (bass). He and Novoselic decided against Novoselic joining; Grohl said it would have been "natural" for them to work together again, but it may have been difficult for the other band members and put more pressure on Grohl. Grohl's demo was mixed by Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock and was released in July 1995 as Foo Fighters' self-titled debut album rather than re-record the album. The band stepped into the studio and recorded a cover of Gary Numan's "Down in the Park" during a break between tours. Grohl and his then-wife Jennifer Youngblood appeared on The X-Files' third-season episode "Pusher" in February 1996.

Grohl returned home and began working on the soundtrack to the 1997 film Touch after touring for the self-titled album for more than a year. Grohl played all of the instruments and vocals himself, except for vocals from Veruca Salt singer Louise Post, keyboards by Barrett Jones (who also co-produced the album) on one track, keyboards by Barrett Jones (who also co-produced the album), and guitar and guitar by X's John Doe on "This Loving Thing (Lynn's Song). Grohl finished the album in two weeks and joined Foo Fighters immediately to work on their sequel.

Tensions between Grohl and drummer William Goldsmith exploded during the first session of Foo Fighters' second album. "I've had me do 96 takes of a single song, and I've had to do thirteen hours' worth of takes on another one," Goldsmith says. ... All I did wasn't right for him or anyone else. Grohl was also believed to drum on the record by Goldsmith, a Capitol and producer who was Gil Norton. Grohl took a copy of the rough mixes and was dissatisfied with the results. He wrote and recorded "Walking After You" and the hit single "Everlong" alone in a Washington, D.C. studio. Grohl moved the band, without Goldsmith's knowledge, to Los Angeles to re-record the majority of the album with Grohl on drums. Goldsmith announced his departure from the band after the sessions were complete. Grohl said later that he regretted that "there were a few reasons it didn't work out," Grohl said, "but there was also a part of me that wasn't finished playing the drums."

The second Foo Fighters album, The Color and the Shape, was released in May 1997 and cemented Foo Fighters as a staple of rock radio. "Everlong," "My Hero," and "Monkey Wrench" were among the hit singles, including "Everlong." Taylor Hawkins, a former Alanis Morissette drummer, appeared on drums prior to the album's release. Following a lifetime of touring, Smear left the band in September, citing a desire to relax. Smear was replaced by Franz Stahl of Grohl as his former Scream bandmate. Stahl was fired prior to the release of Foo Fighters' third album, but touring guitarist Chris Shiflett was brought on to replace him by touring guitarist Chris Shiflett, who later became a full fledged player on One by One.

Grohl's life of non-stop touring and travel with Foo Fighters has continued. He lived in Seattle and Los Angeles until returning to Alexandria, Virginia, during his infrequent pauses. It was there that he converted his basement into a recording studio, where the 1999 album There Is Nothing Left to Lose was recorded. Following the resignation of Capitol and former President Gary Gersh, it was recorded. Grohl described the recording experience as "intoxicating at times" because the band members were left entirely to their own devices. "One of the benefits of finishing the song before we had a new name was that it was purely our creation." It was complete and not visible outside of tampering."

The band recruited Queen guitarist Brian May to play some guitar on a cover of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar," a song Foo Fighters never released as a B-side. In 2001, the two bands' friendship culminated in Grohl and Taylor Hawkins being asked to induct Queen into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Grohl and Hawkins performed "Tie Your Mother Down" on May and Queen drummer Roger Taylor, with Grohl singing for Freddie Mercury. May later performed guitar on the album "Tired of You" as well as on an unreleased Foo Fighters song titled "Knucklehead."

Foo Fighters returned to the studio to record their fourth album near the end of 2001. Grohl accepted an invitation to join Queens of the Stone Age and assisted them in recording their 2002 album Songs for the Deaf after four months in the studio, with the sessions concluded. In the video for the song "No One Knows," Groohl can be seen drumming for the band.) Grohl recalled the other band members to completely re-record their album in Virginia after a short tour through North America, Britain, and Japan with the band, who had been revitalized by the effort. One by One, the group's fourth album, was released. Grohl admitted to not liking the album in another 2005 Rolling Stone interview, but the other seven songs were fine, and the remaining seven I never played again in my life." We rushed into it, and we rushed out of it.

Grohl crossed history by renaming himself on the Billboard modern rock chart when "You Know You're Right" by Nirvana was replaced by Foo Fighters' "All My Life" by Nirvana on November 23, 2002. After a one-week break, "All My Life" dropped to the top of the charts, with "No One Knows" by Queens of the Stone Age taking the top spot. Grohl was ranked No. 1 on the Modern rock charts for 17 of 18 weeks as a member of three separate organizations between October 26, 2002 and March 1, 2003.

In 2005, Grohl and Foo Fighters' fifth album In Your Honor debuted on June 14, 2005. The band spent almost a year in Grohl's home-based Virginia studio to Studio 606, which is located in a warehouse near Los Angeles, before starting work on the album. The album, which featured collaborations with Led Zeppelin, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, and Norah Jones, was a departure from previous efforts and featured only one rock and one acoustic album.

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Foo Fighters' sixth studio album, was released on September 25, 2007. It was released during a three-month cycle from March 2007 to June 2007, and it was preceded by the first single "The Pretender" on September 17. On December 3, 2007, the second single, "Long Road to Ruin," was released, followed by the third single, "Let It Die," on June 24, 2008.

Foo Fighters unveiled their first Greatest Hits collection, which featured 16 tracks, including a never-before-released acoustic version of "Everlong" and two new tracks "Wheels" and "Word Forward," which were designed by Nevermind's producer Butch Vigil on November 3, 2009, a newly released acoustic version of "Everlong" and two new tracks "Wheels" and "Word Forward." According to Grohl, the Greatest Hits are too early and "may appear to be like an obituary." He does not believe they have written their best hits yet.

Wasting Light, Foo Fighters' seventh studio album, was released on April 12, 2011. It was the band's first album to reach No. 1 on the charts. In the United States, there is a lonesome one. Despite rumors of a hiatus, Grohl announced in January 2013 that the band had completed writing material for their sequel to Wasting Light.

Grohl and members of Foo Fighters also appear as a cover band "Chevy Metal" at a county fair in Thousand Oaks, California, as they did in May 2015.

Foo Fighters' eighth studio album, Sonic Highways, debuted in the United States on November 10, 2014. The album features eight songs, each inspired by Grohl's cultural history and culture.

Grohl fell off the stage on June 12, 2015, breaking his leg. He left the show for a short time and rejoined it with a cast. The band then called off the remainder of its European tour. Grohl created a huge "elevated throne" that would allow him to perform on stage with a broken leg to save the band's forthcoming North American tour. On July 4, the throne was unveiled at a concert in Washington, D.C., where Grohl used the stage's video cameras to display the crowd video of him falling from the stage in Gothenburg, as well as X-rays of his broken leg. Foo Fighters unveiled new tour merchandise on July 4, which rebranded the band's North American tour as the Broken Leg Tour, kicking off the show on July 4th. Since Rose broke his foot, Grohl lent his throne to Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses in 2016. After Wall was shot in the leg, he lent it to Darin Wall, a member of the Seattle metal band Greyhawk, in 2021.

Grohl's personal response to Fabio Zaffagnini, Marco Sabiu, and the 1,000 participants of the "Rockin' 1000" project in Cesena, Italy, on July 31, 2015. "Italian, Not Left to Lose" was the Foo Fighters' song "Learn to Fly" from their 1999 album "All Right to Lose." I hope [Foo Fighters] will see you soon" a note, "I promise [Foo Fighters] will see you soon." Foo Fighters performed in Cesena, where Grohl welcomed several "Rockin' 1000" members onto the stage to perform with the band on November 3.

Foo Fighters' ninth studio album Concrete and Gold, the band's second album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, debuted on September 15, 2017. Grohl announced that the band will be taking a break after the Concrete and Gold Tour. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Foo Fighters studio album Medicine at Midnight, the tenth Foo Fighters studio album, Medicine at Midnight, was postponed until late. It was announced on February 5, 2021, and it debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. Following Hawkins' death on March 25, 2022, the Medicine at Midnight tour was postponed.

Source