Dave Grohl reveals disco inspiration behind Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’

In a new interview, Dave Grohl spoke with Pharrell Williams on how much he was inspired by disco during the creation of Nirvana’s sophomore album, Nevermind. The discussion was featured in Grohl’s new Paramount+ series From Cradle To Stage. 

The series explores the relationship between musicians and their mothers. It has also given Grohl space to discuss his own musical roots. During an episode,the Foo Fighters vocalist spoke of his admiration for drummers, from the Gap Band and Cameo to CHIC, and more with Williams.

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“Stop saying that I’m a good drummer because I’m the most basic fucking drummer,” Grohl says. “If you listen to Nevermind, the Nirvana record, I pulled so much stuff from the Gap Band and Cameo and Tony Thompson [of CHIC] on every one of those songs…. It’s all disco. That’s all it is. Nobody makes the connection.”

Actually, Thompson did make the connection, according to Grohl.

“He came to my house for a barbecue with somebody,” Grohl says. “I was like, ‘Man, I just want to thank you because I owe you so much. I’ve been ripping you off my whole life.’ He goes, ‘I know.’”

You can watch a clip of the interview below. 

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From Cradle To Stage is a new television series directed by Grohl and inspired by his mother, Virginia Hanlon Grohl. It’s an unscripted visual adaptation of her book, From Cradle To Stage: Stories From The Mothers Who Rocked And Raised Rock Stars. 

The musician-mother duos appearing on the show include Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds and Christine Reynolds, Pharrell and Dr. Carolyn Williams, Miranda and Bev Lambert, Brandi and Teresa Carlile, Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello and Mary Morello and Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Mary Weinrib. 

You can watch the trailer for the show below.

Outside of his new show, Grohl has also begun performing live with Foo Fighters again. They warmed up at the 600-person-capacity Canyon Club in California before recently playing their first full-capacity arena show in New York City at Madison Square Garden.

Both performances were limited to those who received COVID-19 vaccinations. The band are slated to take on The Forum in Los Angeles next. 

Foo Fighters are also set to take the stage at a few festivals this summer, including Lollapalooza in August and Bonnaroo in September. They will play alongside Modest Mouse, BROCKHAMPTON and Brittany Howard at Lollapalooza and then alongside Megan Thee Stallion, Run The Jewels and Deftones at Bonnaroo.

You can buy tickets to see Foo Fighters live here.

Foo Fighters performance dates: 

07/17 –Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
07/28 – Cincinnati, OH @ Icon Festival Stage at Smale Park
07/30 – Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater
08/01 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/03 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
08/05 – Bonner Springs, KS @ Aura Amphitheater
08/07 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Zoo Amphitheatre
08/09 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
09/03 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival
09/05 – Napa, CA @ Bottlerock Napa Valley
10/08-17 – New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

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11/10 – Mexico City, MX @ Foro Sol
11/12-13 – Monterrey, MX @ Tecate Pal Norte
05/27-29 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling Music Festival
06/08 – Berlin, DE @ Flughafen Tempelhof
06/10 –Nickelsdorf, AT @ Nova Rock Festival
06/12 – Milan, IT @ I-Days
06/14 – Basel, CH @ St. Jakob-Park
06/16 – Valencia, ES @ Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias
06/18 – Lisbon, PT @ Rock in Rio Lisbon
06/20 – Madrid, ES @ Wanda Metropolitano Stadium
06/22-23 – Nimes, FR @ Festival de Nimes