“Sometimes I forget that I’ve aged. My head and my heart seem to play this cruel trick on me, deceiving me with the false illusion of youth by greeting the world every day through the idealistic, mischievous eyes of a rebellious child finding happiness and appreciation in the most basic, simple things.”
You know, I wouldn’t necessarily have called myself a Dave Grohl fan a few weeks ago. Sure, he has created some of the most iconic music of the last few decades, and I love that music as much as the next person. Truly. But right from the introduction of his new book, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music, I was hooked. Sold on this man.
If you’ve ever cranked the volume up to the smashing start of Foo Fighters’ “My Hero” or the nostalgic reverberations of the guitar intro to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” I am confident you will come out the other side of Grohl’s new book calling yourself a fan too, if you weren’t one already. A fan of him not only for his innate talent and the work ethic that precipitated his rise in the music industry, but also a genuine appreciation of him as a specific individual, a human with a big heart and a wild love for life.
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music is a fascinating look inside the life of a true rock star, replete with all the stadium concerts and hard-partying memories you might expect; but also full of surprisingly tender moments with family and friends. The book is a collection carved into five parts, carefully chosen to represent the arc of Grohl’s life thus far, with an intimate tone that makes for a quick and captivating read. An array of black and white photographs dust the smooth white pages. You even get a sneak peek at his thought process for planning out the stories, in his own handwriting, on the book’s endsheets. (This is why paper books are the best books, by the way. The attention to detail in this one is delightful; although it is sure to be popular on audio as well. After all, who wouldn’t want to hear Grohl tell his stories himself!)
Most notably, and likely what you’re here for with a book like this, is the music. Grohl carries readers down memory lane through influences from punk rock to The Beatles to Motorhead, and shares the unbelievable relationships he forged with many of these idols years later—Paul McCartney coming over to dinner, for example. Can you even imagine?! He also distils down the phenomenon that was Nirvana, intimately sharing what it was like to skyrocket to fame so quickly as part of a band that defined a generation, burning brightly before being snuffed out with the overwhelming grief of Kurt Cobain’s death.
Then there’s his personal life, which Grohl shares with transparency, allowing readers a peek at the kind of person he truly is inside. Always feeling a little different from his peers, a bit of an outsider (which was okay by him), Grohl gives insight into the freedom he found out on the road playing music, effectively finding his place in this great wide world. He shares details of the big dreams he had and the hard work he put in over the decades to make them a reality. He even pulls back the curtain on his family life, revealing a deep love and appreciation for his mother juxtaposed against a difficult relationship with his father. From his first heartbreak to the tender moment his first daughter came into the world, Grohl has carefully chosen some of his life’s most impactful moments to reflect upon here.
By the end of the book, you feel like you have gained a new friend, a kindred spirit of sorts. The most important thing to me in a memoir like this is authenticity of voice and Grohl delivers that here in spades. The intent with which he lives his life—the focus on savouring each moment, not taking a single second of this wildly amazing ride for granted—strikes home; it is an ideal that does not feel disingenuous but is simply the core of a pretty amazing man. A phenomenal musician. A natural born storyteller.
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music is available now from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore. Many thanks to Dey Street Books for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
Will you be picking up The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
