Unable to tour due to the pandemic, Dave Grohl kept busy during the early months of quarantine by publishing short stories from his life to an Instagram page dubbed “Dave’s True Stories”. His tales recounted a 4th of July fireworks display gone horribly wrong; a wild story involving Pantera and a strip club; and the time he got to jam with Prince. Now, Grohl intends to compile these stories and more in his first published book.
Entitled Dave Grohl: The Storyteller and set for release on October 5th, the 304-page book is described by Grohl as “a collection of memories of a life lived loud. From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone. Turn it up!”
In a plot synopsis published on Amazon, Grohl further teased what fans can expect:
“Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities (‘It’s a piece of cake! Just do 4 hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!’) I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I’ve recorded and can’t wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child.
This certainly doesn’t mean that I’m quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it’s like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement.
Pre-orders for Dave Grohl: The Storyteller are now ongoing. As a preview, Grohl has shared an audio recording of him reading a passage from the book, in which he shares a formative memory of recording into a Realistic CTR-71 cassette recorder as a teenager.
Earlier this year, Foo Fighters reignited their 25th anniversary celebration by releasing Medicine at Midnight, and have since confirmed a headlining appearance at Bonnaroo for September. The band is also awaiting the results of this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class as they are one of 16 finalists.
