Musicians by nature struggle to lead a healthy lifestyle. There are many tools available for that hard hitting musician. There are many techniques that work for
any industry with some extra physical considerations, such as hours and high energy requirements. But what happens when when a musician is drowning in
grief and sadness over a band mate’s suicide?
Dave Grohl is the perfect example of a positive progressive health and musical career. It’s no secret that Dave struggled emotionally and physically after Kurt
Cobain’s suicide. His death obviously broke up Nirvana. But moreover, he was Dave’s close friend. Dave started on a downward spiral but somehow mustered the
energy to create the first Foo Fighter’s album. This was an exceptional project since Dave performed every instrument, sang every song and produced the entire
album on his own.
He recorded the album as a distraction with no real marketing, describing it as a cathartic experience to recover from the death of Kurt Cobain.
After Grohl completed the recordings, he chose the name “Foo Fighters” for the project to hide his identity, and passed cassette copies of the sessions to personal
friends. When the tapes attracted Capital’s interest, Grohl signed and recruited a full band to perform the songs live. The album was promoted through extensive
tours and six singles, two of which were accompanied by music videos.
Upon its release, Foo Fighters earned positive reviews, praising its songwriting and performances. It was a commercial success, becoming the band’s second-best-
selling album in the United States. It also peaked within the top five of charts of the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Dave spork of his experience stating, “This Is A Call’ is probably the one song that had a different feel. It was a bit more uplifting than the other stuff that I’d written
before. And especially coming after Kurt’s death, ‘This Is A Call’, it was like a renewal or a reawakening where I actually found joy in playing and writing. So it’s
strange because when you’re in that moment and you’re in a period of loss or grief or mourning, it’s like you pick up an instrument and that just spills out. And it
serves this like an exorcism where it feels good because you’re purging a lot of these feelings, but then it’s also a bummer. Every time I pick up a pen or a guitar
and I’d start writing something, it was just depressing. And after a while, I’m like, “Oh God. Is that all I got?” And then ‘This Is A Call’, something like that really...it
just felt okay. Even a song like Good Grief. I think that one might have come later. That one was maybe after Kurt had passed away. I’m sure it was, at least the lyrics
were. But that was meant to represent the joy of sadness in a way, just feeling good about feeling bad.”
In an NME interview, he opened up about the aftermath of Cobain’s death, and how he travelled to the UK to take a break from music.
“After Kurt passed away, there was a period of everyone just hiding from the world and our whole world was turned upside down,” he explained. So there was grief,
there was mourning. We all rallied together. I remember hanging out with Krist Novoselic and the two of us making sure that we were okay. And then I did a little
bit of traveling. I remember going. I took a trip to the UK. I don’t know, I just did a lot of driving around and thinking. And eventually, I started getting calls from
people to ask if I wanted to play drums with them or join another band, and I just didn’t see that happening at the time.”
Grohl added, “You were stuck in that moment. So eventually, I just pulled myself off the couch and thought, ‘Okay, I’ve always loved playing music and I’ve always
loved writing and recording songs for myself. So I feel like I need to do that just for myself.”
Dave chose life and love over depression and loss. He must have had such a fear of dying that he chose to live. He’s gone on to be one the greatest musicians the
world will ever know. His resilience and determination to feel good about himself and his craft overpowered his grief and despair. The rest of the Foo Fighters are no
different. He surrounds himself with positivity and a beautiful family. Dave Grohl is and will always be the epitome of love and passion in a cruel and hard-hitting
rock-n-roll life.