DAVE GROHL
Name: David Eric Grohl
Born: 14 January 1969 Warren, Ohio, USA
David Eric Grohl (b. January 14, 1969, Warren, Ohio) is an American rock
musician and songwriter. Grohl began his music career in the 1980s as the
drummer for several Washington, DC area bands, including the punk rock band
Scream. In 1990 he became the drummer for grunge group Nirvana. Following the
April 1994 death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters.
Grohl was born on January 14, 1969 in Warren, Ohio. His father was a newspaper
journalist, and his mother taught high school English. When Grohl was three, his
family relocated from Ohio to Springfield, Virginia a suburb of Washington, DC.
Grohl's parents divorced when he was six, which he said had little effect on him.
Grohl's mother raised him and his older sister; he told biographer Michael
Azerrad, "She's the most incredible woman in the world".
Grohl formed his first band with a friend at age ten; Grohl would play a one-string
guitar while his friend banged on pots and pans. Grohl began seriously playing
guitar at age 12, and took lessons for several years. He wrote songs about his
friends and his dog and recorded them on a boom box. Grohl grew tired of lessons
and played in neighborhood bands that performed cover songs by The Beatles and
the Rolling Stones.
In 1982, Grohl and his sister spent the summer at his cousin's house, where she
introduced them to punk rock by taking the pair to shows by punk groups. "From
then on we were totally punk," Grohl said. "We went home and bought
Maximumrocknroll and tried to figure it all out." Grohl attended the former
Thomas Jefferson High School as a freshman and sophomore. He was elected vice
president of his freshman class and played punk rock songs over the school
intercom before his morning announcements. During his junior year, Grohl
attended Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria because his marijuana usage was
affecting his grades. At the time, he played guitar in a "bad punk" band called
Freak Baby. Grohl felt the group's drummer was subpar, so he began teaching
himself to play drums by banging on various items in his bedroom. When Freak
Baby kicked out its bass player, Grohl decided to switch to drums. The band
changed its name Mission Impossible, and then Fast, before breaking up. By that
point Grohl had developed an interest in Led Zeppelin, and developed his
drumming style by copying the band's drummer John Bonham. Grohl then joined a
post-punk-influenced hardcore punk band called Dain Bramage.
At the age of seventeen, Grohl scored an audition with local DC favorites Scream
to fill the vacancy left by the departure of drummer Kent Stax. In order to try
out for the audition, Grohl had lied about his age claiming he was 20. To
Grohl's surprise, the band asked him to join. After waffling for a brief period,
Grohl accepted the offer. Grohl dropped out of high school in his junior year;
he said, "I was seventeen and extremely anxious to see the world, so I did it."
Over the next four years, Grohl toured extensively with the band, recording a
couple of live albums and two studio albums, No More Censorship and Fumble, on
which Grohl penned and sang vocals on the song "Gods Look Down".
While playing in Scream, Grohl became a fan of The Melvins and eventually
befriended the band. During a 1990 tour stop on the west coast, The Melvins'
Buzz Osborne took a couple of his friends, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, to
see the band.
A few months later, Scream unexpectedly disbanded following the departure of its
bass player, and Grohl placed a phone call to Osborne for advice. Knowing how
much Cobain and Novoselic liked Grohl's drumming, Osborne gave Novoselic's phone
number to Grohl. Novoselic invited Grohl to Seattle, where Grohl attended
Nirvana's infamous show at the Motor Sports Garage, the one Nirvana show that
featured Dan Peters on drums. (Grohl admitted to Rolling Stone in 2005 that he
spent most of Nirvana's set outside talking to a friend.) Grohl subsequently
auditioned for the band, and soon joined them full-time.
At the time that Grohl joined Nirvana, the band had already recorded several
demos for what would be the follow-up to their debut album Bleach, having spent
time recording with producer Butch Vig in Wisconsin. Initially, the plans were
to release the album on Sub Pop, but the band found itself receiving a great
deal of major label interest based on the demos. Grohl spent the initial months
with Nirvana travelling to various major labels as the band shopped for a deal,
eventually signing with DGC Records. In the spring of 1991, the band entered the
studio to record the album.
Pocketwatch cover
Upon its release, Nevermind exceeded all expectations and became a massive
success, catapulting the band to worldwide stardom. At the same time, Grohl
found himself fighting with his status in the band. While his drumming style was
a significant element in the band's success, Grohl saw himself as just another
in a long line of drummers. In his mind, Nirvana was the band that recorded
Bleach; his arrival had altered that sound dramatically, and, as he saw it, not
necessarily in a positive way. Though Grohl had been writing songs for several
years, he declined to introduce his songs to the band for fear of damaging the
band's chemistry. Instead, Grohl compiled his songs and recorded them himself,
releasing a cassette called Pocketwatch in 1992 on indie label Simple Machines.
Rather than using his own name, Grohl released the cassette under the pseudonym
"Late!".
In the later years of Nirvana, Grohl's songwriting contributions increased. In
Grohl's initial months in Seattle, Cobain overheard him working on a song called
"Color Pictures of a Marigold", and the two ended up jamming on it. Grohl would
later record the song for the Pocketwatch cassette. During the sessions for In
Utero, he decided to re-record the song, and the band released this version as a
b-side on the "Heart-Shaped Box" single, titled simply "Marigold". Earlier, as
the band worked on new material for In Utero, Grohl contributed the main guitar
riff for what ended up becoming "Scentless Apprentice". Cobain conceded in a
late 1993 MTV interview that he initially thought the riff was "kind of
boneheaded", but was gratified at how the song developed (a process captured in
part in a demo on the Nirvana box set With the Lights Out). Cobain noted that he
was excited at the possibility of having Novoselic and Grohl contribute more to
the band's songwriting.
Prior to their 1994 European tour, the band decided to schedule session time at
Robert Lang Studios in Seattle to work on demos. For most of the three-day
session, Cobain was absent, so Novoselic and Grohl worked on demos of their own
songs. The duo completed several of Grohl's songs, including future Foo Fighters
songs "Exhausted", "Big Me", "February Stars", and "Butterflies". On the third
day of the session, Cobain finally arrived, and the band recorded a demo of a
song later named "You Know You're Right". It was the band's final studio
recording.
Name: David Eric Grohl
Born: 14 January 1969 Warren, Ohio, USA
David Eric Grohl (b. January 14, 1969, Warren, Ohio) is an American rock
musician and songwriter. Grohl began his music career in the 1980s as the
drummer for several Washington, DC area bands, including the punk rock band
Scream. In 1990 he became the drummer for grunge group Nirvana. Following the
April 1994 death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters.
Grohl was born on January 14, 1969 in Warren, Ohio. His father was a newspaper
journalist, and his mother taught high school English. When Grohl was three, his
family relocated from Ohio to Springfield, Virginia a suburb of Washington, DC.
Grohl's parents divorced when he was six, which he said had little effect on him.
Grohl's mother raised him and his older sister; he told biographer Michael
Azerrad, "She's the most incredible woman in the world".
Grohl formed his first band with a friend at age ten; Grohl would play a one-string
guitar while his friend banged on pots and pans. Grohl began seriously playing
guitar at age 12, and took lessons for several years. He wrote songs about his
friends and his dog and recorded them on a boom box. Grohl grew tired of lessons
and played in neighborhood bands that performed cover songs by The Beatles and
the Rolling Stones.
In 1982, Grohl and his sister spent the summer at his cousin's house, where she
introduced them to punk rock by taking the pair to shows by punk groups. "From
then on we were totally punk," Grohl said. "We went home and bought
Maximumrocknroll and tried to figure it all out." Grohl attended the former
Thomas Jefferson High School as a freshman and sophomore. He was elected vice
president of his freshman class and played punk rock songs over the school
intercom before his morning announcements. During his junior year, Grohl
attended Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria because his marijuana usage was
affecting his grades. At the time, he played guitar in a "bad punk" band called
Freak Baby. Grohl felt the group's drummer was subpar, so he began teaching
himself to play drums by banging on various items in his bedroom. When Freak
Baby kicked out its bass player, Grohl decided to switch to drums. The band
changed its name Mission Impossible, and then Fast, before breaking up. By that
point Grohl had developed an interest in Led Zeppelin, and developed his
drumming style by copying the band's drummer John Bonham. Grohl then joined a
post-punk-influenced hardcore punk band called Dain Bramage.
At the age of seventeen, Grohl scored an audition with local DC favorites Scream
to fill the vacancy left by the departure of drummer Kent Stax. In order to try
out for the audition, Grohl had lied about his age claiming he was 20. To
Grohl's surprise, the band asked him to join. After waffling for a brief period,
Grohl accepted the offer. Grohl dropped out of high school in his junior year;
he said, "I was seventeen and extremely anxious to see the world, so I did it."
Over the next four years, Grohl toured extensively with the band, recording a
couple of live albums and two studio albums, No More Censorship and Fumble, on
which Grohl penned and sang vocals on the song "Gods Look Down".
While playing in Scream, Grohl became a fan of The Melvins and eventually
befriended the band. During a 1990 tour stop on the west coast, The Melvins'
Buzz Osborne took a couple of his friends, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, to
see the band.
A few months later, Scream unexpectedly disbanded following the departure of its
bass player, and Grohl placed a phone call to Osborne for advice. Knowing how
much Cobain and Novoselic liked Grohl's drumming, Osborne gave Novoselic's phone
number to Grohl. Novoselic invited Grohl to Seattle, where Grohl attended
Nirvana's infamous show at the Motor Sports Garage, the one Nirvana show that
featured Dan Peters on drums. (Grohl admitted to Rolling Stone in 2005 that he
spent most of Nirvana's set outside talking to a friend.) Grohl subsequently
auditioned for the band, and soon joined them full-time.
At the time that Grohl joined Nirvana, the band had already recorded several
demos for what would be the follow-up to their debut album Bleach, having spent
time recording with producer Butch Vig in Wisconsin. Initially, the plans were
to release the album on Sub Pop, but the band found itself receiving a great
deal of major label interest based on the demos. Grohl spent the initial months
with Nirvana travelling to various major labels as the band shopped for a deal,
eventually signing with DGC Records. In the spring of 1991, the band entered the
studio to record the album.
Pocketwatch cover
Upon its release, Nevermind exceeded all expectations and became a massive
success, catapulting the band to worldwide stardom. At the same time, Grohl
found himself fighting with his status in the band. While his drumming style was
a significant element in the band's success, Grohl saw himself as just another
in a long line of drummers. In his mind, Nirvana was the band that recorded
Bleach; his arrival had altered that sound dramatically, and, as he saw it, not
necessarily in a positive way. Though Grohl had been writing songs for several
years, he declined to introduce his songs to the band for fear of damaging the
band's chemistry. Instead, Grohl compiled his songs and recorded them himself,
releasing a cassette called Pocketwatch in 1992 on indie label Simple Machines.
Rather than using his own name, Grohl released the cassette under the pseudonym
"Late!".
In the later years of Nirvana, Grohl's songwriting contributions increased. In
Grohl's initial months in Seattle, Cobain overheard him working on a song called
"Color Pictures of a Marigold", and the two ended up jamming on it. Grohl would
later record the song for the Pocketwatch cassette. During the sessions for In
Utero, he decided to re-record the song, and the band released this version as a
b-side on the "Heart-Shaped Box" single, titled simply "Marigold". Earlier, as
the band worked on new material for In Utero, Grohl contributed the main guitar
riff for what ended up becoming "Scentless Apprentice". Cobain conceded in a
late 1993 MTV interview that he initially thought the riff was "kind of
boneheaded", but was gratified at how the song developed (a process captured in
part in a demo on the Nirvana box set With the Lights Out). Cobain noted that he
was excited at the possibility of having Novoselic and Grohl contribute more to
the band's songwriting.
Prior to their 1994 European tour, the band decided to schedule session time at
Robert Lang Studios in Seattle to work on demos. For most of the three-day
session, Cobain was absent, so Novoselic and Grohl worked on demos of their own
songs. The duo completed several of Grohl's songs, including future Foo Fighters
songs "Exhausted", "Big Me", "February Stars", and "Butterflies". On the third
day of the session, Cobain finally arrived, and the band recorded a demo of a
song later named "You Know You're Right". It was the band's final studio
recording.