Dave Grohl says Foo Fighters helped "exorcise" his soul after Nirvana

September 29, 2017

[Photos by: Brantley Gutierrez, Nirvana/Facebook]

Dave Grohl says starting Foo Fighters helped to “exorcise” his soul after Nirvana's career was tragically cut short following Kurt Cobain's suicide. Foo Fighters just released their ninth album, Concrete And Gold, earlier this month.

As reported by NME, Grohl recorded the first, self-titled Foo Fighters album by his lonesome in 1994, only months after Cobain took his own life. Adding band members in 1995, Grohl says that the Foos became a way to “keep the ball rolling” and not get mired down in sadness following Nirvana's devastating end.

“I felt I had to do it—to exorcise something in my soul,” Grohl says of starting Foo Fighters after Cobain's death. “The intention of this band from day one has always been to keep the ball rolling: as musicians, as human beings, as friends. To feel like life keeps moving forward. We still feel like that every time we make a record, every time we step on stage. We feel like life is moving forward.”

Grohl's soulful revelation was made clear in a recent chat with Hot Press, where the musician discussed the personal importance that Nirvana still holds for him.

“For me, Nirvana is more than it is for you,” says Grohl. “It was a really personal experience. … Our hearts were broken when Kurt died. The whole thing is much more personal than the logo on the T-shirt or the iconic image.”

Of course, Foo Fighters went on to a respected and lasting career that now spans over two decades, but Grohl says he never realized the band would last so long. In fact, when making the debut Foo Fighters album in 1994, he didn't even think it would become a real band.

“I didn’t think it would become a band, and I sure as fuck didn’t think it was going to be a band for 20 years.”