Podcast interview with Dave Grohl, guitarist, songwriter, and actor, of the band Foo Fighters. Interviewed by Terry Gross, on the January 4, 2008 broadcast of Fresh Air. Dave Grohl, founder, leader and primary song writer of the Foo Fighters, talks about their evolution and his role in the band Nirvana. Previously, Grohl was a drummer for the grunge band Nirvana, after the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, he started Foo Fighters. The band’s latest album (their sixth), Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace, has been nominated for a Grammy as album of the year. Grohl doesn’t play drums for the band due to the fact that one of the band members, Taylor Hawkins, is a phenomenal drummer.
Their new album (their sixth) includes a song he wrote in tribute to miners trapped in a mine collapse in Australia. One man died but two survived and when the men were trapped, they requested an iPod with their last album of Foo Fighter songs sent down to them. Grohl heard about the request, and was very moved that he could help them. He sent them a note, and then later met with one of the miners. From this incidence he was inspired to write a track that he included on the new CD titled, “Ballad of the Beacon Field Miners.” This is interesting to me because it relates to my own work and emphasizes that inspiration for art can come from many places, you just have to take the time, think about it and put it to paper.
Grohl was questioned about how he started the Foo Fighters after Kurt Cobain’s death, he mentioned that he had to find out what his sound was compared to what Nirvana’s sound was. He stated that Kurt was a gifted songwriter, whose songs were really simple and direct, “almost like nursery rhymes but with distortion washing all over them.” Grohl loved being drummer for the band but after touring he would go down to his basement and record music of his own. Said that when your in a band and it’s working well, the last thing you want to do is “pollute that process” in regards to bringing in his own songs. After Kurt died, he stopped playing music for awhile and it was hard for him to listen to music because it meant celebration and life to him, not death. Later he realized that it was part of the healing process.
Later, Grohl discusses the Nirvana song, Smells Like Teen Spirit. When they were rehearsing this song in a barn in Washington, Kurt came in with an idea for a melody, and the band began to jam and the song happened by just releasing and getting away from the world. Grohl stated that fame wasn’t a bad thing because the band didn’t have to change what they do to make it happen. When discussing Cobain in regards to his heroin habit, Grohl stated that someone addicted to heroin can be really hard to reach. Mentioned that when on stage, Kurt would often dive into his drum set and later found out that Kurt would do this when he thought the drummer was not playing well. The interview moves onto a song that Grohl wrote when he was in Nirvana, a song that was about Cobain. The inspiration for the song came about when he moved to Seattle to join the band from his happy home in Virginia. He came to a new town not knowing anyone and was in a band with two strangers and he missed home. At night while Kurt was asleep, Grohl would write “quiet acoustic songs” and the song “Friend of a Friend,” is about the two people he joined the band with. In discussing Kurt’s songwriting skills, Grohl mentioned that every night Kurt would go into a locked, quiet room and write in a journal – stated that this gave him ideas for many of his songs, adding that he was very prolific – that the time that he had to himself every night was entirely his own – he would write for hours every night. This emphasizes for me the importance of practicing daily your chosen craft so that you can master it. One of Grohl’s favorite songs on the new CD, is “Home” – it is the one that makes him most proud, he says, “as a musician you want to tap into the thing inside of you so that it makes sense.”
Their new album (their sixth) includes a song he wrote in tribute to miners trapped in a mine collapse in Australia. One man died but two survived and when the men were trapped, they requested an iPod with their last album of Foo Fighter songs sent down to them. Grohl heard about the request, and was very moved that he could help them. He sent them a note, and then later met with one of the miners. From this incidence he was inspired to write a track that he included on the new CD titled, “Ballad of the Beacon Field Miners.” This is interesting to me because it relates to my own work and emphasizes that inspiration for art can come from many places, you just have to take the time, think about it and put it to paper.
Grohl was questioned about how he started the Foo Fighters after Kurt Cobain’s death, he mentioned that he had to find out what his sound was compared to what Nirvana’s sound was. He stated that Kurt was a gifted songwriter, whose songs were really simple and direct, “almost like nursery rhymes but with distortion washing all over them.” Grohl loved being drummer for the band but after touring he would go down to his basement and record music of his own. Said that when your in a band and it’s working well, the last thing you want to do is “pollute that process” in regards to bringing in his own songs. After Kurt died, he stopped playing music for awhile and it was hard for him to listen to music because it meant celebration and life to him, not death. Later he realized that it was part of the healing process.
Later, Grohl discusses the Nirvana song, Smells Like Teen Spirit. When they were rehearsing this song in a barn in Washington, Kurt came in with an idea for a melody, and the band began to jam and the song happened by just releasing and getting away from the world. Grohl stated that fame wasn’t a bad thing because the band didn’t have to change what they do to make it happen. When discussing Cobain in regards to his heroin habit, Grohl stated that someone addicted to heroin can be really hard to reach. Mentioned that when on stage, Kurt would often dive into his drum set and later found out that Kurt would do this when he thought the drummer was not playing well. The interview moves onto a song that Grohl wrote when he was in Nirvana, a song that was about Cobain. The inspiration for the song came about when he moved to Seattle to join the band from his happy home in Virginia. He came to a new town not knowing anyone and was in a band with two strangers and he missed home. At night while Kurt was asleep, Grohl would write “quiet acoustic songs” and the song “Friend of a Friend,” is about the two people he joined the band with. In discussing Kurt’s songwriting skills, Grohl mentioned that every night Kurt would go into a locked, quiet room and write in a journal – stated that this gave him ideas for many of his songs, adding that he was very prolific – that the time that he had to himself every night was entirely his own – he would write for hours every night. This emphasizes for me the importance of practicing daily your chosen craft so that you can master it. One of Grohl’s favorite songs on the new CD, is “Home” – it is the one that makes him most proud, he says, “as a musician you want to tap into the thing inside of you so that it makes sense.”
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