XIV: The Real Bringer of the Thunder

“Cheesy as it may seem on paper, but like a thunder god, he definitely rocked the path I walk through, but also like a guardian angel, but he definitely saved my life and changed it forever.”

Those are the lines I might tell you if you were to ask me to describe Dave Grohl in one sentence. And some of you might wonder, “who is Dave Grohl?” 

Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. Photo: Retna.

Well, I can tell you all day about how he was the fifth and most well-known drummer of Nirvana (with Kurt Cobain on vocals/guitar and Krist Novoselic on bass), and that he was one-third of the force that made Nevermind, which kicked Michael Jackson’s Bad album out of the top of the charts and changed rock music and music overall in the 1990s. I can tell you that the drum intro on the classic song “Smells Like Teen Spirit”… that’s Dave Grohl channeling a punk monster version of John Bonham (Led Zeppelin).

I can tell you that those breakthrough by the band propelled them to a whirlwind of touring, fame, money, blessings and controversies… which tragically ended by Kurt’s suicide in 1994 that lead to the end of Nirvana. And then I can tell you that he was one of the friends that was really affected by the said tragedy, and that lead to his long break from music for some soul-searching.

I can tell you day that after that soul-searching, with the help of a postcard that would motivate him to finally shrug of the funk, he finally started moving on from the tragedy and recorded all of his “secret” demos he has acquired all over the years of being in Nirvana, which became the first album and birth of American alternative rock band Foo Fighters. He was still involved in the drum aspect of the songs, but now he is the primary songwriter, vocalist and rhythm guitarist.

The current Foo Fighters lineup: Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins and Pat Smear. Photo: Dean Chalkley/NME.

I can tell you that despite of the tragedy, he was able to move on, and with that, he found success on his own band, Foo Fighters. With the combined talents of drummer Taylor Hawkins, guitarists Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, and bassist Nate Mendel, they have went on bag multiple Grammy nominations and victories, among other awards, for their memorable music videos, and their fun, moving rock singles and albums made of melody and dissonance.

Dave Grohl being the life of the party of the Foo Fighters' Milton Keynes Bowl, UK gig in 2011. Photo: Danny North/NME.

I can also tell you that the Foo Fighters have acquired a massive following worldwide, and they have went on from selling out small clubs to selling out stadiums all over the world, and still going back to those small clubs every once in a while. And their rock shows nowadays go up to 3 hours, which is so impressive even if they are in their early 40s already. Those 3-hour rock shows definitely put the younger and even bands of their own level to shame.

Aside from all of those things, and also from Dave Grohl being on such projects like Them Crooked Vultures (Grohl on drums, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age/Kyuss on vocals and guitars, and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on bass/keyboard/whatever-musical-instrument-you-can-think-of), his collaborations with Paul McCartney of The Beatles, Tenacious D, Slash, among other famous people… despite of all of those things, his fans (some of them whom I were able to talk to) have been telling how wonderful and how approachable he is in real life, and that he is still that simple-looking guy who really loves music, (especially 80s hardcore punk), a warm hug, a fried chicken, some champagne, or just a cold beer, and he is “just fortunate enough” to making a living out of playing music.

And my appreciation of the guy went a long way, for I was just a casual fan of the Foo Fighters in 2002. “All My Life” definitely became that key to the unlocking of my inner angry freak who goes wild to rock music, but it was only when I first heard “The Pretender” that really got me into listening to all of their albums. That song not only became my favorite song of all time, that song made the Foo Fighters my favorite band of all time.

And during my shitty first half of 2010 where everyone seems far away from me (and I take the blame because I was such a total bastard), with Foo Fighters’ In Your Honor double album on the loop, I got acquainted with all the Foos interviews and magazine scans I can get my hands on the Web. And with “Times Like These”, “Best of You”, “Everlong”, “Another Round”, “Walk” and “The Pretender” leading the pack of my favorite Foo Fighters songs, the more I got to know Dave Grohl through the interviews and fan encounter stories, the more I realize the ultimate role model that I have been looking for, and the more serious my want for pursuing music endeavors became (and music has been my frustration for so long now). And cheesy as it may seem on paper, but like a thunder god, he definitely rocked the path I walk through, but also like a guardian angel, but he definitely saved my life and changed it forever.

But wait a minute… about that pack of favorite Foo songs: do I even have a Foo Fighters song that I hate?

Dave: 2011's NME Godlike Genius. Photo: Dean Chalkley/NME.

If it were not for Dave Grohl, I might be somewhere out there, trying hard to look for an alternate happy though, which may seem so hard for that old me. Hell, if it were not for Dave Grohl, I would not be here writing this lengthy, flowery post dedicated to him. I’m really glad that I got into this whole Foo Fighters fandom and into the real bringer of the thunder. Oh, how I wish I can share the same nickname.

Here is to 43 years of Dave Grohl living on planet Earth, and here is to 43 more years to the nicest guy in rock music ever. Belated happy birthday, David Eric Grohl! I wish him all that his nice and best in the world!

And oh, I got the photos from NME’s 30 Favourite Photos of Dave Grohl. All of the credits are to them except noted.