Who knew Dave Grohl could write? Books, I mean. Certainly the man can pen a song or two…just ask any of the number of successful projects he’s been a part of over the years. This is a bit different though. At almost 400 pages, this novels spans the wild years of his life, both personally and professionally. It’s a peak behind the curtain.
And while his life hasn’t been quite as insane as Anthony Kiedis’, Grohl has still seen things I don’t ever plan to in my lifetime. Most of the memoir dips back and forth between growing up and the present day. My sister read this well before I ever got around to it and she felt the jumps were confusing, but I didn’t find them to be at all. He spends a lot of the beginning of the book describing how music came into his life, whether it was from friends, his mom, SNL, or countless other ways, it was neat to see that he has an appreciation for just about everything, but it’s his downright love of such eclectic artists that’s really endearing.
It also sounds like he’s just a seriously nice guy. Sure, he’s had a bit of fun in his life, but what would you expect from a kid who got his GED so he could go out and tour with a band as a young teen? He’s lived the bottom of the barrel in these early bands, but he ultimately learned a lot, and I think those experiences really shaped him into not taking things for granted. Now, I say all of that and then towards the end of the book he details how he chartered a private plane from Australia to the US and back in less than 48 hours all for the sake of his kid’s father-daughter dance, but hey, I guess if you’ve got the funds you might as well spend them every once in a while.
In fact, that act was how he’s managed to balance his demanding work life with his personal life. It sounds like he’s always taken care of those he’s loved in his life, especially his mother and wife and kids, but also some really close friends. His kids are described as the light of his life, and now more than ever we are seeing them start to shimmy their way into his world. If this book highlighted anything for me, it was the amount of loss Grohl has experienced in his time on earth. Granted, he’s got almost twenty years on me, but the intense tragedy of some of these losses are something I hope to never experience in my lifetime. Of course he covers the loss of Kurt Cobain, but also his close friend Jimmy, and at the end, his mother.
I shudder to think of how little time passed between the release of this memoir and the sudden death of Foo Fighters’ drummer and Grohl’s best friend/soul mate, Taylor Hawkins. Grohl has accomplished a lot in his life, but I wouldn’t say that any of it came easy. He worked really hard and rolled with the punches, and it appears he’s going to have to keep that momentum until the end. I only hope we’re lucky enough that endures it for a lot longer. Anyway, this was an interesting read, and I’m glad I finally got around to checking it out. Any fans of Grohl and his multiple projects over the years would certainly be entertained.