Between his propensity to leave waitstaff $1000 tips, and other numerous charitable acts, Dave Grohl has earned a reputation of being “the nicest guy in rock.”
Grohl recently sat down with Planet Rock to discuss the Foo Fighters forthcoming new album, Medicine at Midnight, lead single ‘Shame, Shame’ and his reputation for being a bonafide sweetheart.
During the interview, Grohl was asked how he feels about the “nicest guy in rock” title that has been bestowed upon him, and he answered in the humblest, most Dave Grohl way imaginable.
“Well, first of all, it’s untrue. Because I’ve met a lot of other musicians that are much more kind and generous than I am,” he mused. “Here’s the thing – I’ve always looked at music as a community. When I grew up outside of Washington D.C. and I started playing with bands, it was such a small town that a pop-rock music scene was a really tight-knit group of friends.
“And it was a community where everybody sort-of helped each other – bands would help other bands, some people would have labels and sign their friends’ bands… But it really was like a small community and I really loved that about music.”
He continued, “So ever since I started travelling around playing music, I loved – when I show up to the Reading Festival or Glastonbury or whatever, one of the first things I do is just start knocking on the doors backstage with a bottle of whiskey in my hand.
“Because I just want to fucking hang out with people and celebrate, like, ‘Can you believe it? This is what we do! This is fucking amazing, man, let’s have a drink!’ So, it’s been 25 years of that!
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“I’ve been bellied-up in a bar with most musicians, from the young opening bands to the heroes I grew up listening to. I feel like it is a community of people that should be friends and support each other.
“I’m that guy – I’m the guy that jumps into a pool with his clothes on, that’s me!”
Elsewhere in the interview, Grohl delved into the new sonic territory the Foo Fighters are exploring with Medicine at Midnight. Noting that the album is indebted in groove.
“I thought the one album that we haven’t made yet is sort of a groove-oriented party album,” Grohl revealed. “If you were to hear the rest of the record, a lot of it is rooted in these grooves that come from Sly & The Family Stone, and disco, the two-step-shuffle sort of things.
“As a drummer, I always think about that as a foundation, because that could really create the aesthetic or the vibe of the album. So I thought – a lot of our favourite rock ‘n’ roll bands over the years have that one record that’s a rock ‘n’ roll record that you can really dance to.
Citing The Rolling Stones, ‘Tattoo You,’ and David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance,’ as inspiration, Grohl added: “A lot of our albums are really sort of driving, and sometimes they’re kind of morose, and melancholy, and introspective. I was like, ‘Fuck that, let’s have a party! Let’s make that record where you can bounce around.’
“Foolishly, I thought, ‘This album is going to be the one where the entire stadium sings and dances. This album is designed for large audiences.’
“And we finished the album in February, ready to go; I thought, ‘This is it, this is going to be the biggest thing the band has ever done,’ and then the world shut down!”
Medicine at Midnight will arrive on Friday, February 5th 2021.
Check out Dave Grohl on Planet Rock:
