Hollins Center Study

In a profession filled with greed, self-absorption, and excess, rock star and two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dave Grohl is a rarity.

He’s nice. Really nice. And joyful, positive, and grateful. His new memoir The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music is a great read that reflects his personality to a tee.

Rather than a life story from A to Z, The Storyteller is a collection of memorable experiences and moments from Grohl’s life. Moments like jamming one night with Prince and the day Paul McCartney came to dinner and ended up writing a song with his daughter on the family piano. Famous faces weave in and out of the book, but the overall themes center on his love of music and family and the importance of following your dreams.

Grohl grew up in suburban Springfield, Virginia and it’s there that his obsession with music began. From practicing drums on pillows, through his meteoric rise as the drummer of Nirvana, to his role today as front man of the Foo Fighters, Grohl shows us that dreams can come true and life as a rock star is definitely “all it’s cracked up to be.”

Discussing the early death of Nirvana founder Kurt Cobain, Grohl describes it as one of the hardest times of his life. After Cobain’s suicide, he found himself lost and adrift. He traveled to Ireland to escape the pain and while there, drove down a road in the middle of nowhere and stumbled upon a hitchhiker wearing a Cobain t-shirt. It was, he says, a sign that it was time to start again. Shortly after, in 1994, he started The Foo Fighters.

Ever the optimist, Grohl, 52, still feels the same way about music that he did as a 10 -year- old. His boyish enthusiasm for it - and life - shines through on every page. Along with music, family keeps him grounded. He is the proud dad to girls Violet, Harper and Ophelia. He once flew through sixteen time zones just to make it home for the daughter-daddy dance at school. His oldest, Violet, 16, is a singer who often joins The Foo Fighters on stage. Harper, the middle child, is following her dad’s footsteps as a drummer.

If you’re looking for a salacious rock and roll memoir, The Storyteller will probably disappoint. It’s a warm, heartfelt look at music from the sunniest rock star alive.

As a companion to The Storyteller, don’t miss From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars, written by Dave’s mother Virginia Grohl (also available through RVL). In exclusive interviews with the mothers of Dr. Dre, Amy Winehouse, Miranda Lambert, Adam Levine, Michael Stipe, Kelly Clarkson, and more, Virginia asks the questions only a mother can answer. What’s it like to raise a music star? Did you worry about the excesses of life on the road? How did you encourage them to follow their dreams? Interspersed with snippets of her life with Dave Grohl, Virginia’s book is a must read for music lovers.

- Susan Williams, Library Assistant

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