To commemorate the release of their tenth record, Medicine At Midnight, each member of Foo Fighters has taken a turn in hosting their own Apple Music radio show.
The latest instalment of the Medicine At Midnight Radio Show saw the legendary Fooeys frontman flex his presenting chops. During the special, Dave Grohl delved into everything from his formative years cutting his teeth in Nirvana, the devastating passing of Kurt Cobain, and his musical path with Foo Fighters.
Grohl joined the Nirvana ranks in 1991, contributing drums to their landmark breakthrough record Nevermind. Reflecting on the experience of transcending from budding musician to bona fide rockstar, Grohl mused “[we] were still in our van and we were just watching this happen in front of us”.
“The shows were getting bigger,” he explains. “The crowds were getting bigger. The crowds outside of the shows were bigger than the crowds inside the shows. We could see that something was happening, but we really never expected that it would turn out to be as big as it was. I don’t think any of us expected that.”
Nevermind projected Nirvana to the highest echelons of music fame, cementing the bands status as poster boys for Generation X and the grunge movement.
Elsewhere in the special, Dave Grohl went on to detail his experience coming to terms with the loss of Kurt Cobain, who he considers to be “the greatest songwriter of our generation.”
“It was an incredibly challenging experience and ultimately one of the greatest heartbreaks of my life that Nirvana isn’t still here today making music,” Grohl admitted. “Whether it would be called Nirvana or something else. It is one of my life’s greatest heartbreaks that Kurt isn’t still here to write more amazing songs because it’s pretty clear that he was blessed with a gift.”
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He continued, “I think it’s safe to say that he was the greatest songwriter of our generation. I’m very proud to say that I got to be his drummer and play those songs every night.”
Check out ‘In Bloom’ by Nirvana
Grohl went on to detail how he approached starting the Foo Fighters. Acknowledging that following the dissolution of Nirvana, he was overwhelmed by loss and projected into a state of uncertainty.
“I didn’t necessarily want to just go join another band,” Dave shared. “I was in mourning and just the thought of sitting down at a drum set or playing music, it just made me very sad. It was even difficult just to turn on the radio.”
He continued, “I kind of blocked it all out for a while, but my whole life I’d been recording songs on my own, by myself, where I play all of the instruments and I kept it a secret. I was so insecure that I didn’t want anyone to hear it. I didn’t like the songs. I didn’t like the lyrics. I didn’t like my voice, but I felt like it was necessary as some sort of creative exercise or outlet. Even when I was in Nirvana, I had a studio in my basement.”
“Music had been saving my life, my whole life and it’s what I needed,” Dave added.
Foo Fighters released Medicine At Midnight on February 5th — ahead of the release of the record, we sat down with the band and asked them to talk us through the album track-by-track, you can read that here.
