Dave Grohl: From Nirvana to Foo Fighters

When I was a kid, I listened to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and I never really thought much of it (blasphemy for most music buffs, I know). I just don’t like grunge rock. However when my brother started listening to a band called the Foo Fighters, I instantly loved their song “Monkey Wrench,” and from there I was hooked.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that Foo Fighter frontman, Dave Grohl, was once the drummer for Nirvana. I was shocked because their musical styles are totally different. Plus, Grohl plays guitar and sings for the Foo Fighters (rarely does he drum for them). I found all this out before we had access to Google, therefore, I had no idea how he learned to play until recently.

Grohl, when he first started with Nirvana, was very intimidated by Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain’s songs. Grohl would take a guitar with him on tour (because he knew how to play before Nirvana started) and write a few of his own songs. However, he never played them for anyone, and didn’t let on that he could write songs. A time or two, Grohl would go to a studio and record some tracks of his under the pseudonym “Late”!

In 1994, after the unfortunate suicide of Cobain, Grohl had offers for drumming gigs with a lot of different bands (including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). However, Grohl wanted to be unconventional; he wanted to do something that no one was expecting him to do. So, he put together about 15 of the 40 songs he had made and recorded an album he called “Foo Fighters” (taken from the name the soldiers gave unidentified flying objects in WWII). After recording the album, Grohl began to circulate it around for feedback. The tape caught fire, and Grohl decided to form a band. He got former Sunny Day Real Estate bassist, Nate Mendel, and drummer, William Goldsmith to join him. Lastly, Grohl acquired Pat Smear (former touring rhythm guitarist for Nirvana) and Foo Fighters was born.

Three of the songs from Foo Fighters’ first album became singles, and the band took off from there. Foo Fighters has had international tours, songs on the Billboard Top 100, made seven successful albums and are still touring (whenever they feel like it that is).

The band had it’s twenty-year anniversary in 2004, and it doesn’t seem as though they are done making music (which is fine by me, because I love it). So, we will definitely continue to look forward to what the Foo Fighters have to offer.