From a young age, Dave Grohl knew what was going to be important in his life. Without a doubt, music was his reason for being. So much so that it is music that has taken the main place in his life. From Nirvana to Foo Fighters, the famed drummer turned singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In his autobiography my whole storywho says he is obsessed with music, tells his candid story from his humble beginnings to his glory days through tragic moments.
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There was no question about Dave Grohn letting someone else write his own story. “That would probably have been too easy,” suggests the famous drummer. And then the pandemic was the perfect time for him to roll up his sleeves by embarking on this project he’s been simmering for a few years. A gigantic job that didn’t scare him, after all, Ohio native Dave Grohl has worked hard all his life and never allowed himself to rest for years. This emerges from his autobiography The Storyteller, which was published in the original version last year and is now also available in French. His whole story is imbued with humility with a good dose of madness and a touch of humor that allowed him to weather the difficult times that littered his career. His first blow comes at the age of six when he sees that his parents are divorced. He will then move to his mother in Virginia.
Lover of music, certainly, but also in love with words, choose those that make him vibrate, those that resemble him. That’s what he does when the 53-year-old musician writes his own songs.
shadow and light
A former punk scumbag from Washington, he often describes himself in his book. That’s because he hasn’t forgotten his less glorious past, nor his humble beginnings playing in arenas for fun in front of young people. Aware that the role of the drummer is a secondary position, a worker in the shadows that does not give glory but gives pride of place to the singers who find themselves in the limelight, but for him who did not seek fame but simply wanted to live his passion to the fullest, it didn’t matter. But that’s how he described his early career, when his daughter Harper Willow, who was just eight, expressed an interest in playing the drums. Which made him smile as he recognized himself in her.
Dave Grohl joined Screan at the age of 17 and left college to do what he calls punk tours. He played for fun with no real expectations until he received a call to join Nirvana as a drummer in the early 1990s. He has been loyal to his band since its inception and preferred to turn down the offer, but his mother Virginia insists and urges him to to join the group in Seattle. He will contribute to the composition of the hit album Nevermind, which is one of the best-selling albums in the world with 30 million copies. The drummer had never expected such success.
There will be fame, crowded stadiums, fan euphoria, but there will also be the death of Kurt Cobain, the singer, guitarist and founder of Nirvana, who took his own life in all its glory by killing himself lap. It will then mean the end for Nirvana in 1994.
“It’s difficult to get out of a situation like that unscathed,” admits the author, adding that such great fame can easily be destabilizing.
A second wind
After the group’s collapse and a depressive episode, far from wanting to stop, Dave Grohl creates the group Foo Fighters.
He will experience several successes and also some setbacks, most notably at a concert in Sweden in 2015. Right at the beginning of the show he will fall from the top of the stage and break his leg. In front of a wild audience, he wishes with his usual determination to continue his show. He will come back on stage with a crutch, then sitting on a chair he will manage to finish his performance before going to the hospital where he will have an operation.
Dave Grohl also shares great moments in his book, including the chance to meet and even work with the likes of Paul McCartney, David Bowie and Mick Jagger.
In addition to his career as an artist, we also learn the importance he attaches to the people close to him, in particular his three daughters, his mother Virginia and his second wife Jordyn Blum. It was its pillars that kept it from collapsing.
In 2011, Dave Grohl received the NME Godlike Genius Award. He is the first American drummer to receive this award, which recognizes the best musicians in the world.
Dave Grohl
my whole story
HarperCollins Publishing
384 pages