The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music

by Dave Grohl

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

This book may have never happened if the pandemic didn't force everyone indoors and into isolation for several months. Dave Grohl, the twice-inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member for his work with Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, decided to tell stories about his life and music on social media. From there, the stories on social media began to coalesce into a whole which made a book possible. He has lived through and seen a lot, so these tales run the gamut from the halcyon Nirvana days, up to the present as a Foo Fighter. Clearly, this is a great fan book but it's also an amazing look at the grunge movement and the rock scene from the 80s and beyond.

The #1 New York Times Bestseller * Named one of Variety's Best Music Books of 2021 * Included in Audible's Best of The Year list * A Business Insider Best Memoirs of 2021 * One of NME's Best Music Books of 2021

So, I've written a book.

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. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063076112
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	21,220
File size:	48 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

DAVE GROHL is a 16-time Grammy-winning musician and 2-time Emmy-winning director.

Grohl has been one of the most beloved and respected figures on the international music scene since his recorded debut with Nirvana on 1991's generation-defining Nevermind. Grohl took center stage with Foo Fighters' 1995 self-titled debut, the first album in massive 12-Grammy-winning catalogue that now includes The Colour & The Shape (1997), There Is Nothing Left To Lose (1999), One By One (2002), In Your Honor (2005), Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007), Wasting Light (2011), Sonic Highways (2014), Concrete and Gold (2017) and, most recently, Medicine at Midnight (2021).

Grohl has a well-earned reputation as a prolific collaborator: His various endeavors have included "Cut Me Some Slack,” written and recorded with Paul McCartney and Grohl's Nirvana bandmates Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear; Them Crooked Vultures, formed with Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Queens of the Stone Age's Joshua Homme, late legends David Bowie and Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, as well as Mick Jagger, Neil Young, Elton John, Nine Inch Nails, Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen, to name a few.

In 2013, Grohl made his debut as a feature director/producer with the acclaimed documentary Sound City. Named for the Van Nuys CA studio where Nirvana recorded Nevermind in 1991, which would sell more than 30 million copies and transform the modern musical landscape. Premiering to unanimous raves at Sundance and achieving a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, Sound City focused both on the history of the legendary studio and on the ongoing fight to preserve the human element of music. Hailed by Peter Travers of Rolling Stone as an "exhilarating documentary about what makes life worth living,” by The New York Times as "candy to several generations' worth of rock fans" and NPR as "a celebration of just how unbelievably awesome it is to make rock music for a living," Sound City has since been certified as a Gold Longform Video by the RIAA, while the Sound City—Real To Reel companion album took the 2013 Grammys for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and Best Rock Song (“Cut Me Some Slack”). 

Grohl also directed the eight-part HBO docuseries Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways, which premiered in October 2014 and went on to win two of the four Emmys for which it was nominated (outstanding sound mixing for nonfiction programming and outstanding sound editing for nonfiction programming). Described by Grohl as a love letter to the history of American music, Sonic Highways was comprised of eight one-hour episodes, each chronicling the creation of one song on Foo Fighters’ Sonic Highways album, each written and recorded in a different American musical landmark -- Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. 

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/06/2021

Sixteen-time Grammy-winner Grohl cranks the story of his life to full volume in this exciting debut chronicling his rock ’n’ roll career. Growing up in the 1970s in the suburbs of Springfield, Va.—a “Wonder Bread existence”—Grohl followed the sound of drumming all the way to the stage, from jamming with friends in high school to playing in the D.C. hardcore punk band Scream, joining Kurt Cobain’s Nirvana in 1990, and eventually fronting his band, the Foo Fighters. Grohl’s uninterested in regaling readers with tales of backstage debauchery; instead, he candidly shares his reverence for the enduring power of music. As a teenager, he writes, it became his religion, “the rock stars my saints, and their songs my hymns.” By the time he turned 22, he was traveling the world with Nirvana. After the shock of Cobain’s 1994 suicide subsided, Grohl focused on the Foo Fighters and began touring internationally again, while raising three girls with his wife (“music and family intertwined”). Reflecting on his fame, Grohl writes, “I have never taken a single moment of it for granted.” Paired with his sparkling wit, this humility is what makes Grohl’s soulful story a cut above typical rock memoirs. There isn’t a dull moment here. Agent: Eve Atterman, WME. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Candid, humble and full of stories about big-time stars…music lovers will want to put this one in heavy rotation." — CNN

“As Grohl himself sees it, he’s a McCartney, not a Lennon, and if he’s filling the world with silly love songs, the object of his affection tends to be existence itself.” — Rolling Stone

“The message that burns through “The Storyteller” is to those who watch him onstage now: Deep down, I’m just like you. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, but I obsessed over the same music you do. I’m a fan.”  — Billboard

“Grohl, of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame, demonstrates the good-naturedness he's known for in this heartfelt standout that explores everything from the loss of Kurt Cobain to the road to fatherhood.”  — Audible (Best of the Year list)

“… the world benefits just as much from hearing his inspiring stories told as only one of rock's great stadium rockers turned storyteller can tell them.”  — Forbes

“Both a timestamp of the past and a living example of what can be accomplished through creation. Lovers of chronicled melodic adventures and those seeking artistic inspiration will want to check it out.”  — Parade

“He may be a slight musical genius, but Grohl’s journey from modest, punk-obsessed troublemaker, to drumming in the most popular band of the decade, to launching an enduring solo career that puts his rock and roll ethos at its center, is a truly inspiring tale.”  — Consequence of Sound

“The title “The Storyteller” fits perfectly. The book is filled with plainspoken, conversational prose that ably pulls readers into each tale, no matter how linear or digressive. The pages fly by, the memoir having the feel of a series of chats over drinks with a friend who just happens to have worked with nearly every notable mainstream and indie-rock musician of the last few decades.”  — Pittsburg Post-Gazette

Grohl candidly shares his reverence for the enduring power of music. . . Reflecting on his fame, Grohl writes, “I have never taken a single moment of it for granted.” Paired with his sparkling wit, this humility is what makes Grohl’s soulful story a cut above typical rock memoirs. There isn’t a dull moment here. — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Grohl bares his soul and shares his passion in this must-read memoir, which will resonate with music lovers and his fans.”  — Library Journal (starred review)

Kinetic… Grohl writes with equal fervor about his path from “that guy from Nirvana” to the leader of the uberfamous Foo Fighters and his parenting experiences. An exciting read for fans and a remarkable perspective on the last 30 years of rock music.” — Booklist

From the Publisher

Grohl, of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame, demonstrates the good-naturedness he's known for in this heartfelt standout that explores everything from the loss of Kurt Cobain to the road to fatherhood.” 

Audible (Best of the Year list)

The title “The Storyteller” fits perfectly. The book is filled with plainspoken, conversational prose that ably pulls readers into each tale, no matter how linear or digressive. The pages fly by, the memoir having the feel of a series of chats over drinks with a friend who just happens to have worked with nearly every notable mainstream and indie-rock musician of the last few decades.” 

Pittsburg Post-Gazette

The message that burns through “The Storyteller” is to those who watch him onstage now: Deep down, I’m just like you. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, but I obsessed over the same music you do. I’m a fan.” 

Billboard

Both a timestamp of the past and a living example of what can be accomplished through creation. Lovers of chronicled melodic adventures and those seeking artistic inspiration will want to check it out.” 

Parade

He may be a slight musical genius, but Grohl’s journey from modest, punk-obsessed troublemaker, to drumming in the most popular band of the decade, to launching an enduring solo career that puts his rock and roll ethos at its center, is a truly inspiring tale.” 

Consequence of Sound

"Candid, humble and full of stories about big-time stars…music lovers will want to put this one in heavy rotation."

CNN

As Grohl himself sees it, he’s a McCartney, not a Lennon, and if he’s filling the world with silly love songs, the object of his affection tends to be existence itself.

Rolling Stone

… the world benefits just as much from hearing his inspiring stories told as only one of rock's great stadium rockers turned storyteller can tell them.” 

Forbes

Kinetic… Grohl writes with equal fervor about his path from “that guy from Nirvana” to the leader of the uberfamous Foo Fighters and his parenting experiences. An exciting read for fans and a remarkable perspective on the last 30 years of rock music.

Booklist

Kinetic… Grohl writes with equal fervor about his path from “that guy from Nirvana” to the leader of the uberfamous Foo Fighters and his parenting experiences. An exciting read for fans and a remarkable perspective on the last 30 years of rock music.

Booklist

★ 10/01/2021

Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Grohl joyfully recounts his life in this memoir. Growing up in Virginia, Grohl taught himself to play drums by ear. He left school to tour with the group Scream, then joined Nirvana and struggled with its monumental success. The lifelong nonconformist found himself adored by Nirvana's mainstream audiences while dealing the band's "awkward dysfunction." After Nirvana's breakup, Grohl started the Foo Fighters, then formed the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, with Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones. In nostalgic, often humorous anecdotes, he recalls meeting the musicians who inspired him: jamming with Iggy Pop, drumming for Tom Petty on Saturday Night Live, sharing bedtime story duties with Joan Jett. Grohl seems most proud of his role as father, and his loving stories of parenthood are sprinkled throughout the book. VERDICT Grohl bares his soul and shares his passion in this must-read memoir, which will resonate with music lovers and his fans.—Lisa Henry, Kirkwood P.L., MO

Library Journal

2021-08-17
The Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman shares anecdotes from his (mostly) charmed life in rock ’n’ roll.

Grohl’s memoir is thick with name-drops, but not for the sake of gossip or even revelatory detail. (Fans likely won’t learn anything about Kurt Cobain they didn’t already know, except perhaps his choice for cheap sustenance in the band’s pre-fame days, a canned-tuna-on-toast concoction dubbed “shit on a shingle.”) Rather, Grohl’s name-drops are of the “can you believe I get to do this for a living” variety: backing Tom Petty and Iggy Pop, meeting musical heroes from Little Richard to Joan Jett, singing “Blackbird” at the Oscars, performing at the White House, and filling arenas all over the world. As the book’s entertaining early pages reveal, Grohl was an unlikely candidate for global stardom. An accident-prone kid and unschooled drummer raised in a middle-class suburb of Washington, D.C., he caught the punk bug at a Naked Raygun show in Chicago, later dropping out of high school to join Scream. Though Scream was only moderately popular, Grohl thought he'd reached the mountaintop, so Nirvana’s massive fame, followed by Cobain’s suicide, was seriously disorienting. Still, the author is upbeat even when talking about lean or tense moments, like when his body finally pushed back against his five-pot-a-day coffee habit. Grohl is good company, but the gee-whiz tone as well as the clichés (hanging out with the members of metal band Pantera is “not for the faint of heart”) make the book feel like a missed opportunity. Grohl survived a massive band’s collapse and leads another hugely successful act in a genre that’s no longer dominant. Rather than exploring that, he’s largely content to celebrate his good fortune. Perhaps when he finally hangs it up, he will dig more deeply into his unique career.

A high-spirited yet surface-level glimpse into the life of one of the planet’s last rock stars.

Kirkus Reviews