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Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl Quotes

Musician

Dave Grohl, born on January 14, 1969, is an American musician. He is best known for his role as the drummer for the rock band Nirvana, and later for founding Foo Fighters. Grohl's musical career has been marked by innovation and breakthroughs, with his work having a profound impact on modern rock music.

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All Band People Song Thinking Ifs Records Rocks Knows Albums Want

Famous Dave Grohl Quotes

“There weren't a lot of career opportunities in crazy-fast hardcore punk, so you didn't have a lot of ambition, just the love and passion to play music with your friends.”

Play Passion Opportunity Careers Crazy Ambition Punk Hardcore Love And Passion Career Opportunities

Author:Dave Grohl

“When you have kids, you see life through different eyes. You feel love more deeply and are maybe a little more compassionate. It's inevitable that that would make its way into your songwriting.”

Way Feels Littles Different Eye Kids Inevitable Songwriting Compassionate

Author:Dave Grohl

“Ladies and gentlemen, god bless America - land of the free, home of the brave.”

Home America Land Bravery Brave Gentleman Bless God Bless Ladies And Gentlemen Land Of The Free God Bless America Funny 4th Of July America Land

Author:Dave Grohl

“When you're recording to analog tape, it captures performance and you can't necessarily manipulate that in different ways. It is what it is.”

Way Different Performances Different Ways Capture Tape Manipulate It Is What It Is Analog

Author:Dave Grohl

“All I really had was a suitcase and my drums. So I took them up to Seattle and hoped it would work.”

Afterlife Seattle Suitcases

Author:Dave Grohl

“And later, if I ever felt that I was getting swept away by the craziness of being in a band, well, I'd go back to Virginia.”

Ifs Wells Felt Band Virginia Craziness Swept Away Craziness Of Life

Author:Dave Grohl

“I mean, I never liked being told what to do. It's one of the reasons I dropped out of school.”

Mean Reason School Ikea

Author:Dave Grohl

“I never went to rock concerts when I was a kid. I didn't see any rock & roll bands.”

Kids Rocks Band Concerts Rock Concerts

Author:Dave Grohl

“I'm so not macho. It's crazy. My man cave is so not a man cave.”

Men Crazy Caves Macho

Author:Dave Grohl

“My songwriting is like extending a hand to the listener.”

Hands Songwriting Listeners Extending

Author:Dave Grohl

“I dropped out of high school and I couldn't go to college 'cause I wasn't smart enough, so I'd resigned myself to loading trucks and playing punk rock on the weekends.”

Enough School Causes Rocks College Smart High School Weekend Punk Truck Punk Rock Resigned

Author:Dave Grohl

“Some people record onto tape, and then they pay for the tape, and download those onto a hard drive. Initially in a Pro Tools program. Other people go straight into digital, and use no tape at all.”

People Hard Use Pay Records Program Tools Digital Tape Downloads

Author:Dave Grohl

“I'm not allergic to fashion. I'm just one of those people who when they put on a suit look like they're going to a funeral or to court.”

People Looks Fashion Court Suits Just One Funeral Allergic

Author:Dave Grohl

“There's a band in a garage right now writing songs for an album that will do the same thing 'Nevermind' did some 20 years ago. We don't know who and where, but it will f***ing happen again. All it takes is for that storm to break.”

Knows Writing Years Happens Song Break Right Now Band Years Ago Albums Storm Writing Songs Garage Nevermind

Author:Dave Grohl

“CBGB represents a lot to New York City and to underground rock and to new wave and post-punk and whatever. But, you know, it's like tearing down the Jefferson Memorial or something.”

Knows Cities Rocks New York Wave Posts New York City Punk Memorial Cbgb Jefferson Memorial

Author:Dave Grohl

“CBGB was a wild place, ... The first time I ever played there was in 1987, I think, with my hardcore band, Scream. And I remember the craziest [thing] about that club was you could be in front of the stage and it could be louder than any show you've ever been to in your life. But if you were towards the back of the club at the bar, you could sit and have a conversation with someone. It was the weirdest thing to me.”

Ifs Thinking Firsts Shows Remember Stage Fronts Band Conversation First Time Clubs Bars Scream Hardcore Craziest Wild Places Cbgb

Author:Dave Grohl

“There's nothing better than having a bottle of beer in your hand in the waves.”

Hands Wave Beer Bottles

Author:Dave Grohl

“If you're trying to connect to people with music - it's more of an outward process and a lot of times musicians can be very inward.”

People Ifs Trying Process Musician Inward

Author:Dave Grohl

“I don't want to say that most rock bands live these formulaic biography existences - but they kinda do. There's always a divorce. There's always an OD. There's always a bad business manager.”

Want Existence Rocks Band Divorce Managers Biographies Rock Bands Bad Business

Author:Dave Grohl

“When I sit down to interview people, I don't hold questions and I don't know the answers. They're more like conversations that become lessons.”

People Knows Answers Lessons Conversation Interviews

Author:Dave Grohl

“I believe the history of American music is just as important as anything political because it's changed generations of people.”

People Believe Important Political I Believe Generations Changed Music Is American Music

Author:Dave Grohl

“We only do what feels right. If something feels forced or contrived, then we pull back. We remain the Foo Fighters.”

Ifs Feels Fighter Feels Right Foo Fighters

Author:Dave Grohl

“The best time for gum is just before getting onstage. I need a minty-fresh microphone.”

Needs Best Times Microphones Gum

Author:Dave Grohl

“It was supposed to be gross, and now it's gorgeous.”

Supposed To Be Gross Gorgeous

Author:Dave Grohl

“Every band should study Queen at Live Aid. If you really feel like that barrier is gone, you become Freddie Mercury. I consider him the greatest frontman of all time. Like, it's funny? You'd imagine that Freddie was more than human, but... You know how he controlled Wembley Stadium at Live Aid in 1985? He stood up there and did his vocal warm ups with the audience. Something that intimate, where they realize, 'Oh yeah, he's just a f***ing dude.'”

Ifs Knows Feels Should Humans Realizing Audience Know How Gone Study Imagine Band Yeah Warm Aids All Time Queens Intimate Barriers Controlled Imagine That Vocal Stadiums Stood Up Mercury

Author:Dave Grohl

“I'm big on taking the lady out to dinner. We have some candlelight romance every now and then. And our whole family is within a 6-mile radius. It's disgustingly domestic. I'm big on Costco.”

Whole Bigs Romance Dinner Miles Now And Then Whole Family Candlelight Radius Costco

Author:Dave Grohl

“How come drummers leave their drumsticks on the dashboard of their car? So they can park in the handicapped spaces.”

Space Car Parks Drummer Handicapped Dashboards Drumsticks

Author:Dave Grohl

“When I joined Nirvana, I was the fifth or sixth drummer - I don't know if they'd ever had a drummer they were totally happy with. And they were strangers. There was never much of a deeper connection outside of the music.”

Ifs Knows Connections Deeper Stranger Fifth Drummer

Author:Dave Grohl

“You know, Nirvana used to start rehearsals with the three of us just jamming. For, like, a half an hour, just noise and freeform crap - and usually it was crap. But sometimes things would come from it, and some songs on Nevermind came from that, and 'Heart Shaped Box' and stuff on 'In Utero' just happened that way.”

Knows Way Heart Sometimes Used Song Three Stuff Hours Half Happened Boxes Noise Crap Rehearsal Nevermind

Author:Dave Grohl

“I'm kind of claustrophobic... It's not even like enclosed spaces. It's like I hate being stuck in one band, you know? Just being stuck is the biggest drag, for fear that, you know, just that you can't get out.”

Knows Kind Hate Space Band I Hate Stuck Drag Just Being

Author:Dave Grohl

“I once received a cape that was made from the little purple bags that Crown Royal Whisky comes in.”

Littles Made Bags Crowns Royal Purple Capes Whisky

Author:Dave Grohl

“Who's to say what's a good voice and not a good voice?”

Author:Dave Grohl

“I had a Super Grover doll growing up. Super Grover was very clumsy, he wasn't very good-looking. But in his own way he'd always save the day.”

Way Growing Up Growing Very Good Looking Good Dolls Clumsy Grover

Author:Dave Grohl

“You know why Foo Fighters have been a band for 20 years? Because I've never really told anybody what I think of them. The last thing you ever want to do is go to therapy with your band.”

Thinking Knows Want Years Has Beens Lasts Band Fighter Therapy Foo Fighters

Author:Dave Grohl

“At 13 years old, I realized I could start my own band. I could write my own song, I could record my own record. I could start my own label. I could release my own record. I could book my own shows. I could write and publish my own fanzine. I could silk-screen my own T-shirt. I could do this all myself.”

Writing Years Book Shows Song My Own Records Band Screens I Realized Release Labels Shirts T Shirt Publish Silk

Author:Dave Grohl

“I have crazy claustrophobic dreams, weird elevator dreams where the elevator closes in and all of a sudden I am lying down - oh my God, it's a casket. Just freaky stuff like that.”

Dream Lying Stuff Crazy Elevators Freaky Caskets Lying Down

Author:Dave Grohl

“Whenever I say I made a record in the garage, people just assume that I have, like, a Lear jet parked in there or something. But really there's old luggage, a couple of bikes. It's big enough to put one minivan in. That's it. No dartboard. I'm so not macho.”

People Made Enough Bigs Records Couple Assuming Bike Jet Garage Macho Lear Luggage Minivans

Author:Dave Grohl

“A lot of the records you buy, there's nothing you can hold in your hand, it's all 1′s and 0′s, this digital cloud floating in the ether, but with analog albums, you can hold it in your hand.”

Hands Records Clouds Albums Digital Floating Analog

Author:Dave Grohl

“I think my biggest musical hero growing up was probably Ian MacKaye he set a great example for all of us local musicians. Still to this day I see him as the best example of a right-on musician.”

Thinking Stills Growing Up Growing Example Hero Musician Musical Locals This Day

Author:Dave Grohl

“There's something about pulling out a real tape from a shelf and looking at it and knowing that 'Everlong' is on it, or 'Best of You' is on it, and it's really special.”

Real Knowing Special Tape Pulling Shelves

Author:Dave Grohl

“'Some Kind Of Monster' is such a nightmare for any musician to watch because you're watching a band be honest to each other. Not a good idea, man!”

Men Kind Ideas Watches Honest Band Musician Monsters Being Honest Nightmare Good Ideas

Author:Dave Grohl

“I know a lot of people who wouldn't be comfortable with everything that comes with being in a band as big as Nirvana. The thing that I don't understand is not appreciating that simple gift of being able to play music.”

People Knows Play Bigs Able Simple Band Comfortable Appreciate

Author:Dave Grohl

“I was at a New Year's Eve party, and someone asked me how was my year, and I said, 'I honestly think 2011 was the best year of my entire life,' and I actually meant it.”

Thinking Years Said Party Honestly New Year New Years Eve Best Year

Author:Dave Grohl

“'In Utero' was the first time I'd made an album that reached into the dark side. I remember the conflict and the uncertainty. I remember all those things when I hear 'Pennyroyal Tea.'”

Firsts Made Remember Sides Dark Conflict First Time Albums Tea Uncertainty Dark Side

Author:Dave Grohl

“When digital technology started becoming the norm, you've got 50, 60, 70 years of recordings on tapes that are just deteriorating. Like, a two-inch reel of recording tape won't last forever. It dissolves. It will disappear.”

Years Two Lasts Technology Forever Becoming Disappear Digital Inches Tape Norm Deteriorating Digital Technology

Author:Dave Grohl

“Chicago gave me more music than any other city in America.”

America Cities Chicago

Author:Dave Grohl

“Joining a band without ever having really met the people before, you just want to be musically powerful.”

People Want Powerful Mets Band Joining

Author:Dave Grohl

“I owe everything to Nirvana. But I can't let that overshadow the future. For the first few years, I didn't even want to talk about Nirvana. Partly because it was just painful to talk about losing Kurt but also because I wanted the Foo Fighters to mean something.”

Want Years Firsts Mean I Can Wanted Losing Painful Fighter Foo Fighters

Author:Dave Grohl

“From the time that 'Nevermind' came out in September of 1991 to the time that Nirvana was over, it was really just a few years, and a lot happened in those few years.”

Years Happened Over It September Nevermind

Author:Dave Grohl

“I love being a drummer but I love being a musician in general and I love the Foo fighters.”

Love Is Musician Fighter Drummer Foo Fighters

Author:Dave Grohl

About the Author

Born: January 14, 1969
Known for: Musician
Quotes: 211

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