Dave Grohl can now add author to his long list of accomplishments. The Foo Fighters frontman / Nirvana drummer will be releasing his first memoir, ‘The Storyteller,’ on October 5th through Dey Street Books.
‘The Storyteller’ is a compilation of tales from Grohl’s storied life and career. According to Grohl’s synopsis of the book in an announcement video (transcribed on Amazon), the book gives him “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 [a] 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.”
“There is a common thread that runs throughout everything that I do: storytelling,” relates Grohl in a press release (as reported by Blabbermouth). “Whether in song, documentary film or on the page, I have always felt compelled to share moments from my life. This inclination is a huge part of what excites me creatively but also as a human being.”
The idea for the book came as Grohl began telling his stories on Instagram during the pandemic. “In March 2020, realizing that my day job with the Foo Fighters was going to go on hold, I started an Instagram account (@davestruestories) and decided to focus all of my creative energy on writing some of my stories down, something I love doing but I’ve never really had the time for. I soon found that the reward I felt every time I posted a story was the same as the feeling I get when playing a song to an audience, so I kept on writing. The response from readers was a soul-filling as any applause in an arena. So, I took stock of all the experiences I’ve had in my life-incredible, difficult, funny and emotional-and decided it was time to finally put them into words.”
“Now with the amazing people at Dey Street Books,” he continues, “I’m excited and honored to announce ‘The Storyteller’, a collection of memories of a life lived loud. From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone. Turn it up!”
“From the second I saw Dave’s first post on Instagram, I knew I was going to publish his book,” adds Carrie Thornton, VP and editorial director of Dey Street. “Well, to be honest, I’ve been hoping to publish Dave Grohl’s book since I became a book editor. I’m a Gen-Xer. I’m from Virginia just like Dave. We grew up listening to a lot of the same music. I’ve always admired his Puckish personality and his awesome musicianship. It turns out that he can write with as much energy and passion as he performs. Plus, he’s a spectacular human who cares deeply about his mom, his family, his bandmates, music, art and the world. All of that passion comes through in his stories and in ‘The Storyteller’. I am a lucky editor indeed, but mostly because I get to read the book first.”
Alongside Dey Street Books, ‘The Storyteller’ will be published internationally by Simon & Schuster in the U.K. and Commonwealth, Bazar in Finland, Ullstein in Germany, A.W. Bruna in Holland and Rizzoli in Italy.
The Foo Fighters released their latest album, Medicine At Midnight, in February 2021. It peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.
An 11-minute audio excerpt from ‘The Storyteller’ can be heard on the Foo Fighters YouTube page. The book is available for pre-order now.
