If you’re a fan of rock bands like Scream, Nirvana, and the Foo Fighters. You should definitely know who Dave Grohl is. If you haven’t, read on to learn more about this amazing musician.
While you’d think most musicians are taught and able to read notes to play. The fact of the matter is, not all do. In fact, Dave Grohl does not read music at all. Instead, he plays by ear and this is a skill only gifted musicians have.
Who is Dave Grohl?
David Eric Grohl was born on January 14, 1969 in Warren, Ohio to Virginia Jean and James Harper Grohl. He spent most of his childhood years in Virginia, Ohio. After his parents’ divorce at the age of 7, he took an interest in music. He enrolled in guitar lessons at the age of 12 but grew tired of the routine and decided to learn on his own instead. (Source: Drummer World)
Contrary to what most may think, he did not start his career in Nirvana. He first started touring as the drummer of Scream, and when the band broke up in the late 80s, he relocated to Seattle. (Source: Drummer World)
By 1990 Grohl joined Nirvana. But he was exclusively a drummer during this time. In an interview with CBS, he tells Anthony Mason “I didn’t like my voice, I didn’t think I was a songwriter, and I was in a band with one of the greatest songwriters of our generation. I didn’t really want to rock the boat.” (Source: CBS News)
After Kurt Cobain’s suicide, Grohl began working on music and playing for other bands. By 1995 he formed the group Foo Fighters that was composed of members from other bands too. By this time Grohl put his drumming days behind and started playing lead guitar and singing. (Source: Drummer World)
Grohl is not only a musician, he also dabbled in TV and Filmmaking. He co-hosted in a couple of shows and even appeared in episodes of The Muppets and Sesame Street. (Source: Loudwire)
He directed and produced the documentary Sound City, which premiered in the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. He also directed the eight-part docuseries; Sonic Highways that premiered on HBO in 2017. His most recent project is What Drives Us that is set to be released on April 30th of this year on Amazon Prime. (Source: Pitchfork)
Getting Personal with Dave Grohl
Grohl married Jennifer Leigh Youngbloodback in 1994. But they finalized their divorced in in 1997. He got married again in 2003 to Jordyn Blum. He and Jordyn have 3 daughters and currently live in Los Angeles, California. (Source: The Guardian)
Grohl has been very opinionated about his advocacies. He has done an anti-drug campaign with the BBC back in 2009 where he said “I have never done cocaine, ever in my life. I have never done heroin, I have never done speed.” (Source: Ultimate Classic Rock)
He is also very supportive of the LGBTQ+ community since the 90s. He has supported the White Knot campaign and has been quoted saying “I believe in love and I believe in equality and I believe in marriage equality. (Source: E! Online)
He is an advocate for gun control, especially after the DC sniper attack. He believes that the United States should be tougher with gun laws. He has grown up around guns having been from in Virginia, but he is willing to give it all up if everyone else would. (Source: Jam! Showbiz)
Summary
Like most great musicians Dave Grohl has changed the lives of many. But there’s definitely more to him than fame and fortune. He is wildly talented, that you wouldn’t even know that he can’t read music.