Dave Grohl says hate from Nirvana fans motivated Foo Fighters
Former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, has explained how the backlash he received from fans of his old band only motivated him to make Foo Fighters the success they are today.
Speaking with MOJO, the Foos frontman said: “They were like, ‘How dare you be in a band again? Your music is fucking shit and that was a real band and you’re not. It’s like, ‘You really think that’s gonna stop me? It only makes me wanna fucking do it more, y’know. So, you can keep it coming if you want but I don’t give a fuck.”
Grohl also admitted that if it wasn’t for the success of Nirvana then Foo Fighters would never have had the same platform to turn them into the stadium-filling outfit they are today, “I’ve never been afraid to say that if it weren’t for Nirvana, the Foo Fighters wouldn’t be in the same position that we’re in now.”
Adding: “We had an advantage right out of the gate that there was an interest in the band because of that. I mean, it’s obvious.”
Last month, Grohl confirmed that Foo Fighters had recently finished the follow-up to 2017’s Concrete and Gold while making an appearance on the Bill Simmons Podcast, he said: “We just finished making a record. Some of those songs, the best ones happen in 45 minutes. Then there’s other songs—there’s a riff on the new record I’ve been working on for 25 years. The first time I demoed it was in my basement in Seattle.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Grohl revealed his next big project will arrive in the shape of a new documentary based around van touring: “I’ve interviewed everybody… The Beatles toured in a van, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, U2, everybody has had a van,” he said. “There’s something about that time, you wear it like a badge.”
He continued: “The movie isn’t so much about really awesome van tour anecdotes, it’s more about the drive to do it. Why would anyone give up everything, quit their job, leave everything behind, just to chase this dream with no guarantee you’re ever going to make it? And you starve, you bleed, you’re sick, you’re pissed, you get taken to jail and in fights, but you always make it to the next gig.”
