With Nirvana now becoming a distant memory compared to the still-active Foo Fighters, you might expect younger fans to be into the band they’ll still see posters for. But according to Dave Grohl, the kids are all about Nirvana these days, and some fans don’t even realise he was in both bands.
Asked by a Japanese interviewer (via Alternative Nation) if he expected Foo Fighters to last this long when he started the band, Grohl gives an interesting insight into both iconic bands.
“No, when we first started playing, we knew we wanted to be a band, but we couldn’t imagine,” he begins. “It’s funny, there are times where I’ll meet people, they know about the Foo Fighters, but they don’t realize I was in Nirvana.
“But then also, our audience has been around for so long that now parents bring their kids to shows,” he continues. “You would imagine it would be the parents with the Nirvana shirts and the kids with the Foo Fighters, but it’s actually the opposite.
“The parents are wearing Foo shirts, and the kids are wearing Nirvana shirts. Nirvana is like classic rock now to some people.”
Dave Grohl plays a ‘B-side’ by the name of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’
So it seems that, much like Led Zeppelin or The Rolling Stones, Nirvana have well and truly reached that classic iconic stature that sees them being discovered by younger fans who spot the smiley face tee shirt in a store and fall in love – then tag along with their folks to the Foo Fighters gig.
We know Kurt wasn’t huge on consumerism and having Nirvana flogged on merchandise, but if that smiley face has lead a few new fans to the band’s music over the years, we guess the unrelenting merchandising can’t be pure evil.
Meanwhile, for any Foo Fighters fans in Australia (and especially those who missed out on their surprise covers set in Sydney as Chevy Metal last week), the band are on their way to the country for a massive Aussie tour with Weezer early next year. in support of their new album Concrete and Gold.
The album is out this Friday, and Foo Fighters just gave us one last preview with new single ‘The Line’, following on from ‘The Sky Is A Neighbourhood’ and its video clip featuring Dave Grohl’s two daughters.
Considering Justin Timberlake is singing on the new record, it’s not hard to imagine why Foo Fighters’ fanbase might not cross over with Nirvana’s quite as much as you might expect.
