David Grohl

Early life

David Eric Grohl was born in Warren, Ohio, the son of Virginia Jean (née Hanlon), a teacher, and James Harper Grohl, at the time a newswriter He has Slovak, German, and Irish ancestry. When he was a child, Grohl’s family moved from Warren, to Springfield, Virginia. When Grohl was seven, his parents divorced, and he subsequently grew up with his mother.

At the age of twelve, Grohl began learning to play guitar. He grew tired of lessons and instead taught himself, and he eventually began playing in bands with friends. A year later, Grohl and his sister spent the summer in Evanston, Illinois, at their cousin Tracy’s house. Tracy introduced them to punk rock by taking the pair to shows by a variety of punk bands. His first concert was Naked Raygun at The Cubby Bear in Chicago in 1982 when he was 13 years old. “From then on we were totally punk,” Grohl recalled. “We went home and bought Maximumrocknroll and tried to figure it all out”.

In Virginia, Grohl attended Thomas Jefferson High School as a freshman. He was elected vice president of his freshman class and in that capacity would manage to play bits of songs by punk bands like Circle Jerks and Bad Brains over the school intercom before his morning announcements. Grohl’s mother decided that he should transfer to Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria because his cannabis use was affecting his grades. He stayed there two years, beginning with a repeat of first year. After his second year, he transferred yet again, to Annandale High School.

While in high school, Grohl played in several local bands, including a stint as guitarist in a band called Freak Baby. It was during this period that Grohl taught himself to play drums. When Freak Baby kicked out its bass player, Grohl decided to switch to drums, and the reconstituted band renamed themselves Mission Impossible. During his developing years as a drummer, Grohl cited John Bonham as his greatest influence, and eventually had Bonham’s three-circle logo tattooed on his wrist. Mission Impossible later rebranded themselves Fast before breaking up, after which Grohl joined the post-punk-influenced hardcore punk band Dain Bramage.

Many of Grohl’s early influences were gained at the 9:30 club, a live music venue in Washington D.C.: “I went to the 9:30 club hundreds of times. I was always so excited to get there, and I was always bummed when it closed. I spent my teenage years at the club and saw some shows that changed my life.”

Grohl in an interview with The Guardian, “They don’t understand that when I was 15 and had Zen Arcade, that’s when I decided that I loved this music. For me to do anything else for the sole reason of doing something different would be so contrived.”

Mini Bio
Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters front-man, will always be remembered as the drummer for Nirvana. But, drumming for a great band such as Nirvana is not Dave’s only claim in the world of music. Dave’s musical career began at age 15 as the guitarist and later as the drummer for a punk band called “Freak Baby”. A year later, he was behind the drums for “Mission Impossible” and later that summer drumming for “Dain Bramage”. Another year down the road, an opportunity to drum with one of his favorite punk bands, “Scream”, was just too great to pass up. This leads us to 1990 when “Scream” seemed to be coming to an end and “Nirvana” was in need of a drummer. While recording and touring with “Nirvana”, Dave continued to write lyrics and music that he would record during breaks with “Nirvana”. After the tragic end of “Nirvana”, Dave eventually turned to his music to create Foo Fighters. While playing guitar and singing with Foo Fighters is his main job, you can also find Dave channeling his musical genius throughout the world of rock. Dave has drummed for “Queens Of The Stone Age” and “Killing Joke”. He has also recorded and guest performed with his buddies “Tenacious D”. All the while recording for his own hardcore project, “Probot”.

IMDb Mini Biography By: J.Clay
Foo Fighters website