David “Dave” Eric Grohl is a multi-talented musician and songwriter, known for his membership in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters. Over the past 30 years Grohl’s career has evolved and helped shape present-day rock music. Grohl is a hard musician to define. His career took off as Nirvana’s drummer, and it seemed at first that drumming would always be what defined him. His incredible songwriting, as well as his self-taught guitar skills, led him to expand beyond drumming to become the founder and frontman for the Foo Fighters.
Grohl got his start in punk, having been exposed to it for the first time at 13 while visiting his cousin in Ohio. Focusing on school was a huge challenge for him, and his true passion was in the music scene. He taught himself guitar, and spent all of his free time going to punk shows and playing with his band, Freak Baby. When the band shuffled their lineup Grohl decided to pick up drums.
The hardcore band Scream was holding auditions for a drummer, and a 17-year-old Grohl lied about his age and won a spot. He immediately dropped out of high school, incredibly excited to tour and explore the world. He was knocked off balance when Scream unexpectedly broke up mid-tour, and he sought help from his friend Buzz Osborne. Osborne connected him with Nirvana, who were looking for a drummer. Grohl’s drumming style is heavy and powerful. His background in punk influenced his loud, in-your-face technique. Cobain loved it, and Grohl got the job.
When Nirvana released Nevermind everything changed. The grunge movement suddenly exploded, spreading the Seattle sound around the world. Grohl had been quietly struggling with his identity as a musician, writing music privately but not sharing it with his bandmates Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic. He had immense respect for Cobain, and felt that he would only disrupt him if he tried to contribute. His role in the band increased when they worked on their third and final album, In Utero. In 1994, just as he began to have a greater artistic influence in the band, Cobain committed suicide.
Cobain’s death ended Nirvana. Grohl was at an impasse. Would he move on as a drummer for various bands, or forge his own path? He appeared briefly with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, as well as several other groups, but what he really wanted was to play his own music. He hit the studio with much of what he’d been writing during his years with Nirvana, playing almost every instrument himself on the recordings.
While Grohl had recorded so much of his new music as a one-man project, he did not want to embark on a solo career. “Foo Fighters” came from an obsession with all things alien, and the phrase referred to UFOs spotted by pilots during World War II. While his initial plan was to release his music under the pseudonym, he instead decided to formally put together a band.
The Foo Fighters saw success almost immediately. They have won 10 Grammys, including four Best Rock Albums. They’re one of the most popular rock bands in the world, producing chart topping albums and touring the world to this day. Nirvana was immortalized in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, the first year they were eligible. Grohl remains proud of his work with Nirvana, and is quick to credit Cobain for shaping his songwriting technique. Grohl was an integral part of the development of today’s popular music, and his influence will continue to be felt for years to come.