There is a common joke about me that I do not have a heart. Feelings? Gross.
So then explain to me, why did I get teary three times in the first chapter of Dave Grohl’s new book?
The 16-time Grammy-winning musician and two-time Emmy-winning director is adding author to his resume. The same songwriting skills that have put Grohl in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice!) are now in book form in “The Storyteller.” Released today, “The Storyteller” traces Grohl’s life from childhood to parenthood, from Scream to Foo, and all the times in between with amazing clarity.
We have previously declared 2021 as Year of The Foo, but in 2020, Grohl was home like the rest of us. While we gained the COVID 19, he began writing. After a piece for The Atlantic about missing live music went viral, Grohl created his Instagram @davestruestories to share his stories with fans.
“There is a common thread that runs throughout everything that I do: storytelling. Whether in song, documentary film or on the page, I have always felt compelled to share moments from my life. This inclination is a huge part of what excites me creatively but also as a human being. In March 2020, realizing that my day job with the Foo Fighters was going to go on hold, I started an Instagram account (@davestruestories) and decided to focus all of my creative energy on writing some of my stories down, something I love doing but I’ve never really had the time for. I soon found that the reward I felt every time I posted a story was the same as the feeling I get when playing a song to an audience, so I kept on writing. The response from readers was a soul-filling as any applause in an arena. So, I took stock of all the experiences I’ve had in my life-incredible, difficult, funny and emotional-and decided it was time to finally put them into words,” Grohl says.
Let’s be honest; not all rock stars can captivate us with their stories – if they even remember them! But Grohl describes his life so well; it feels like you are experiencing it with him. Hearing punk music for the first time, broke and crashing on a friend’s floor, stepping in to play drums for Iggy Pop, the absolute bananas of life when Nirvana took off. Many of us know where we were that horrible day in April 1994 when we learned of Kurt Cobain’s death. Now, you can experience it through Grohl’s perspective.
DAVE GROHL: The Storyteller
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But why did I get teary right away? Grohl’s love for his children is… ugh. All the feels. Throughout the book, so many moments grabbed my heart. The absolute love he has for his mom? Catching my breath. Describing the birth of his first daughter? Sobbing. The pride of a father watching their child perform music in front of people? Happy tears.
If that all sounds too mushy, fear not as there are plenty of rock and roll stories that don’t induce tears. Ok, his gnarly leg break during a concert about made me vomit.
DAVE GROHL on His Thrown | PHOTO by GREEN-EYED BLONDE PHOTOGRAPHY
But the days of being a young musician, traveling the world, getting into some dangerous scrapes (Drugs in Amsterdam? Check! DUI and jail? Check!) are all recalled in vivid detail.
Carson Daly is catching up with 16-time Grammy winner Dave Grohl about his new memoir, “The Storyteller,” that details his younger years outside Washington, D.C., drumming for Nirvana, creating the @foofighters and more. pic.twitter.com/DU0xnYmnKY
The overnight insanity that was Nirvana. “In just forty days, we had gone from three disheveled young me with nothing to lose to three disheveled young men with a gold record. And this was just the beginning.” Nirvana alone would be a mesmerizing story, but Foo Fighters too? Grohl has lived more than most of us could dare to dream, so to actually hear about it from him is amazing.
DAVE GROHL with FOO FIGHTERS | PHOTO by GREEN-EYED BLONDE PHOTOGRAPHY
Go grab your copy of “The Storyteller” and prepare to spend hours absorbed into it. Grohl is doing a small book tour now, but at the end of the month, Foo Fighters head back out on the road. They also have that little Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction to attend…
