Book Review - Dave Grohl: The Storyteller
“What was the last thing the drummer said before getting kicked out of the band? Hey, guys, I wrote a song I think we should play!!”
We all know Dave Grohl. He’s the happy go lucky musician with the big smile that use to sit behind the skins for Nirvana and now leads one of the biggest bands in the world—Foo Fighters. Dave’s existence and rise to fame is chronicled through each chapter in the book The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music. For fans of the bands that he was in, some of these stories may already be familiar to you, especially if you have ever watched past interviews with him, or watched the series Sonic Highways, or the documentary Foo Fighters: Back And Forth. If that’s the case, these chapters fly by because the stories are engrained already in your head.
You might also get a sense that you are on autopilot while reading this book because it’s Dave’s voice that I hear when I’m reading each word. This has only happened one other time while reading books—when I read Anthony Bourdain’s book, Kitchen Confidential. It almost makes it hard to put down.
Having grown up on Nirvana and Foo Fighters music over the last 30 years and remember where I was the moment I heard that Kurt Cobain passed away, it’s easy for fans to feel something while reading this book.
Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters concert, Fenway Park, 2015. Photo by Jason Landry.
The chapters in the book are set chronologically as Grohl recounts many stories, like going to his first punk show, a crazy story about playing drums with his teeth, on tour with his heroes in Scream, being in the right place to meet and play with Iggy Pop, playing drums for Tom Petty on Saturday Night Live, falling off stage and breaking his leg, and the heartbreak of losing Kurt and his best friend Jimmy.
Nirvana fans might be disappointed that there were not more stories about that time in his career. My feelings about this is that they might be too personal and not ones that Grohl really wants to relive. And also, you need to remember, he was only in Nirvana for a few years—he’s been in the Foo Fighters for more than 30 at this point.
Conclusion
“DNA is a miraculous thing.”
As Dave makes note toward the end of the book, “people inspire people.” And it’s true. The most touching aspect about this book was how he includes lengthy passages about his mother and especially his children who inspire him most. Flashbacks to him as a child and how his mom dealt with him are similar to his own experiences now as a father. It makes him more human than rock star—more relatable and heartwarming.