“Life’s too short”: Dave Grohl’s one golden rule to live by

While all rock stars are rock enthusiasts – or at least should be – Dave Grohl seems to be the most humble and reverent. Like the musical Keanu Reeves, the Foo Fighters frontman never shies from applauding his fellow musicians, whether it’s The Beatles or an unknown teenage band in Washington trying to make their first mark on the world.

From the days of his youth, keeping his parents awake as he drummed along to Led Zeppelin albums, Grohl dreamt of becoming a rock star. When he joined Nirvana to replace Chad Channing in the run-up to Nevermind, he achieved just this but was seemingly never blinded by fame and fortune.

It is difficult to say how much the hardship of Kurt Cobain’s 1994 death influenced Grohl’s down-to-earth, humble demeanour. What we can be certain of, however, is that the tragedy had an irrevocable impact on the young musician’s life, most evidently in encouraging him to re-establish his career as a singer and songwriter in Foo Fighters.

Speaking to the NME in a past interview, Grohl reflected on his eureka moment while mourning Cobain’s death. “That was a funny time with me musically because I just didn’t really want to hear any music,” he said. “Then I realised, ‘Oh wait, it’s music that’s going to heal me. What am I doing? I should be listening to music. I should be making music that will make me feel better.’ And it did.”

Over time, Grohl worked exceedingly hard to reconstruct his career, battling against stressors in his personal life. In 2022, he once again endured unspeakable tragedy when Taylor Hawkins, his longstanding drummer in Foo Fighters, passed away during a tour stop in Colombia.

The endurance of pain is a fact of life, and it isn’t distributed equally. During such times, it is nigh on impossible to divine a positive, yet, as Grohl has shown, hardship and resolve create the perfect environment for wisdom. People who have had to deal with certain issues are usually best equipped to offer counsel and support to those enduring similar woes.

When Grohl looked to form the Foo Fighters in late 1994, he received an outpouring of support from fellow musicians, including Tom Petty, who offered him a place to drum in his band, The Heartbreakers. In a recent interview with Fearne Cotton, Grohl reflected on his decision to stick with the Foo Fighters plan.

In his reasoning, Grohl revealed his golden rule for a life without regret and the key to satisfaction. “I usually steer myself towards things that I’m not entirely sure I can do,” he explained. “Because it’s so much more fun. There’s no safety net. Why the fuck not? Life’s too short to just do the thing that you know how to do all the time. Fuck that. Let’s do something that we have no idea what’s going to happen.”

Later in the conversation, the Foo Fighters frontman remembered a punk band from Washington, DC, called The Bad Brains, whom he adored as a teenager. The band promoted the idea of a “PMA, which was positive mental attitude”. Grohl recalled always feeling that he could achieve what he set his mind on. “I do believe that if you put the thought or that energy out there, there is some sort of return,” he added, importantly. Concluding the point, the pair agreed that childhood dreams fall to the flames of adulthood fear. Presumably, the trick to a happy and rewarding life is to dream like a child and throw logic to the wind.