[MUSIC PLAYING]
Yo.
DAVE GROHL: What's up, fellas?
How are you?
Thank you for taking the time out.
Just-- yo, wow.
Wow, bro.
Let me ask you something.
When they killed the puppy, how did
you, like, express that anger?
Because your character had also lost his wife.
And then you, you know-- you were-- like,
killed the guy with a pencil.
Like, oh, John Wick--
John Wick?
Yeah.
You're the guy from "Point Break," right?
Who the fuck do you guys think I am?
Keanu Reeves.
Right?
That's--
DAVE GROHL: Oh, you think I'm Keanu Reeves?
DESUS: No. I mean, no.
Like, why would we think you're Keanu Reeves?
Yes.
Y'all seen that on the number one show on late night, y'all.
Levels of comedy that you're getting.
DESUS: Dave Grohl! - Seriously?
What?
Oh my god.
I was scared for a minute. I was like--
Can we get someone to fix the sign in the back?
Ugh.
DESUS: Oh, embarrassing.
Number one show on late night. Nothing but illustrious guests.
Mero, who's in the building?
Oh, just, you know, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer,
legendary musician, Dave Grohl.
Ladies and gentlemen, you might know him.
You know what I'm saying?
Face says it all.
You know what I mean?
DESUS: You know the vibe.
Do you get called David Grohl in, like, formal situations?
You know, it's funny.
The people that call me David are
people that I knew before Nirvana's "Nevermind" came out.
Because when that record came out,
it said, drums, Dave Grohl.
And so people just thought I was Dave after that.
But I was a David before that.
But I'm not-- I don't have a preference.
Don't you? Really?
Because some people say--
Yeah, some people get pretty picky about that kind of thing.
- Really? - Yes.
Because my name is Joe-el.
OK.
But a lot of people are like, hey, Joel.
Nice to meet you.
And then they're like, well, do you prefer--
and I'm just like--
Well, that's, like, a mispronunciation.
- Yeah, it's different. - I mean with--
listen.
With David, it's like, you kind of--
It seems very formal.
DAVE GROHL: It's a bit more formal.
Like, bill collector-ish.
And then-- a little bit.
And then, you know, with Dave, it's like, what's up, Dave?
Dave, what's up?
There's our Dave.
Like, the common Dave, you know.
No.
Now it's like, I walk down the street,
and people go, yo, Dave.
And my kids are like, do you know that guy?
I'm like, unh-unh. - I don't.
Do your kids know, like, how iconic you are?
Like, just how larger than life you are to the rest of us?
- Fuck no. - No?
Are you just, like, Dad?
No, I mean-- you know, they--
they understand that the dad at home--
and then, like, when I have to get up
on stage-- like, they know-- because I
had this talk with all of them.
But once they'd reach a certain age, I'd have to sit them down
and say, look.
Some dads are doctors.
Some dads are businessmen, and lawyers, and policemen.
I said, I'm a musician.
And I rock!
And that's what I do.
And they were like, OK.
They were cool with it.
But then when I get up on stage, and they see the, like,
[MIMICS CROWD CHEERING]--
That's what I was about to say-- like, the intensity.
No.
But they're just like, oh my god.
Whatever, dad.
Who cares?
That's corny.
Are they like, that's goofy?
Oh my god.
Like, I'll wake up in the morning--
first of all, I'm a little bit of a spaz.
And I don't know if you've noticed that.
Yeah.
But so, like, I wake up in the morning,
and I'm like-- right out of the gate, I'm just like, woop!
Woop!
High energy, yeah.
I'm making pancakes.
I'm freaking out.
And the stereo's blasting.
And then they're just looking at me like--
I'm trying to get them out the door happy.
Right.
But I think I get them out the door quick,
because they just want to get the fuck away from me.
They're just like, boom.
All right.
Yo, peace, dad.
Pretty much.
Now you're writing?
I wrote a book.
Wrote a book about epic tales meeting people you met.
You had a chance encounter meeting Little Richard?
DAVE GROHL: Oh my god.
That was so crazy.
I did some interview once.
And they're like, if you could meet anybody, who would it be?
And I was like, Little Richard.
I mean, he's the originator.
He's the-- he's the innovator.
He was the one.
Without Little Richard, we would not have the rock
and roll that we have.
And I love rock and roll.
And so one day, I was outside of LAX.
And I'm, like, having a cigarette.
And this guy comes up to me.
He says, hey, I read an interview
that the only person you ever wanted to meet
was Little Richard.
I said, that's true.
And he goes, well, he's my dad.
I was like, what?
And he goes, come here.
And we walk over to this car that's by the curb.
And he goes [KNOCKS ON TABLE] on the window.
And it goes down like that.
And fucking Little Richard is sitting right there.
I was just like--
my knees started to buckle.
I'm like, oh my god.
This is it.
This is the one.
I can't believe this is happening.
Oh my god.
And then he's like, [MIMICS WHISPERING]..
And then the window comes down.
And there's Little Richard.
He's like, David, god bless you.
I'm just like, what the fuck?
It was like-- he was this far away from me, man.
Oh man.
I'm like, oh my god.
And he signed this--
kind of like a Bible pamphlet.
It said, David, God cares, Little Richard.
And I walked away.
I'm like, I'm done.
That's it.
I will never seen him again.
I don't-- I don't give a shit about
meeting anyone else again.
Then I get on my flight.
I sit down in my seat.
And I look up.
And he's three rows ahead of me.
And I could tell, because his hair was
almost touching the ceiling.
Yeah!
That Little Richard hair.
MERO: Oh, man.
He's the king.
Are you aware you're, like, paramour in that Black
people really fuck with you?
Hard.
You could say, like, the hardest rap song--
rap party, whatever, hip-hop--
and they just play, like, the random Nirvana song,
and we will fucking tear the club up.
Or a Foo Fighters song.
Are you aware of that?
Just throw a monkey wrench in the middle of, like--
And we just sing along.
We know all the words.
I mean, the way I look at it is I hope
everybody enjoys the music.
And it's great, because when I look out at the audience,
you know, I see people from different walks of life,
and different race, and different religion, and
different politics, and stuff.
But when you come together to sing a song together-- like,
music is one of the few things that can do that.
And so, like, when these people leave the arena,
they might not agree-- - On different things.
--on all the stuff.
And they might not, like, hang out with each other--
They might stay in the parking lot.
Right.
But when-- and you're in the middle of, like,
"Best of You" or--
I'm telling you-- "My Hero," or something like that--
Dave is killing it, bro.
That's-- I mean, it's those moments that really
bring everything together.
And that's, you know-- it's a huge luxury in my life that
I can provide those moments--
not only for myself, but for other people.
Young David Grohl.
Yes?
Growing up, what made you say, yo, you know what?
Because, you know, a lot of people are like,
I have to get a real job.
And I have to make money.
And I have to put food on the table.
And blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
What made you say, yo, you know what?
I'm going to jump with two feet into rock and roll
and make it happen?
I couldn't help it.
Like, it just became this obsession.
And it started when I was maybe, like, eight-years-old.
My mother and I--
I grew up in Virginia outside of DC.
We're driving around.
We would listen to the '70s radio.
And we would always sing along.
And there's this one song--
Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" where it gets to the chorus.
And Mick Jagger's voice comes in.
His voice kind of goes down here.
And hers goes--
Carly Simon's goes up here.
So I was singing Mick's part.
And my mom starts singing Carly Simon's part.
And I realized, like, oh my god.
Two notes together, like, that makes a chord.
Like, that's how it works.
So then I started listening to everything.
I'm like, that's a kick drum.
And that's a keyboard.
And that's a banjo.
Like, whatever.
And then it just became this Rubik's cube puzzle
in my brain.
And so both of my parents were musicians.
And I'm kind of self-taught.
So I just listened and just learned
by listening, so that, you know, it got to the point
where I could not--
I could not live without this thing.
And, you know, I worked at Shakey's Pizza.
And I worked at a Furniture Warehouse.
And I did all this other shit.
And was playing in these punk rock bands.
And in the punk rock scene, like, there
was no real career opportunity.
It was just like, we did it because we loved to do it.
And you work all day.
And the only thing that made it better was playing all night.
So I never thought that I'd be in the position I'm in now.
But I know that I would still be playing music if I weren't.
So were drums the first instrument that you picked up?
And also, when did you pivot and, like, yo,
I'm going to do vocals?
My first instrument was a trombone.
But I had-- my dad had been given
this old guitar as a gift.
So I could pick it up and play melodies of songs
that I'd heard.
But then I became obsessed with drums.
And I didn't-- I mean, we had such a tiny house, we
couldn't put a drum set in it.
So I would set up these pillows in the configuration
of a drum set.
And then put on these punk rock records.
And on pillows, I'd just be like, [MIMICS DRUMS]..
I could play fast punk rock.
And-- and then I got really into drums.
I was finally in a band where the drummer wasn't so great.
And I said, how about this?
You play guitar, and I'll play drums.
And then I just stuck with the drums.
And drums-- it's funny, because I can't--
I can't read music.
And I don't consider myself the greatest drummer in the world.
But I don't have to think about it when I'm doing it.
It's one of those things where-- - Yeah.
I mean, it's like-- yeah, right.
Or it's like dancing.
You don't want to, like, think about what you're doing.
You're dancing.
You just gotta-- exactly.
With drums, it's kind of the same thing.
And if you can get to that point where
there's a disconnect between here and here,
and then it just sort of happens, then it's so easy.
And it's so easy.
And singing-- dude, I just fucking
scream balls for three hours.
I mean, it's not like I'm like, [MIMICS OPERA SINGING]..
You know?
I'm just, yeah, come on, mother fucker!
Me in karaoke.
Yeah, yeah.
I'm like, we sound exactly the same, bro.
You can't tell the difference.
I just smoke two Newports back to back.
I gotta get the tone down right.
So from this compilation of stories,
what do you want people to take away
from, basically, what you're telling them in this book?
The whole thing started last March when the pandemic hit
and everything shut down.
Foo Fighters had just finished making a record.
We were going to go on this world tour.
It was our 25th anniversary.
And then it was like, [BLOWS RASPBERRY]..
There was nothing.
And I'm like, oh my god.
I got nothing to do?
Like, I can't do nothing.
So I started this Instagram page of true stories.
It was like, Dave's True Stories.
And so I just started writing these little stories
about jamming with Prince or jamming with Bowie and stuff
like that. - Low-key flexed.
You know, just jamming with Prince.
Yeah, I was just jamming with Prince.
All good.
You know, and then I jammed with Prince.
And-- no.
So then I was like, oh my god.
I'm going to be here a while.
And I had made a list of 30 or 40 stories
that I could write for this Instagram thing.
So I signed a book deal.
And I just gave them the list.
I'm like, you tell me what you want me to write.
And they would assign these stories to me.
And so it would be like, talk about the car crash you got in.
Talk about the first day in Nirvana.
Talk about the time you flew around the world
to take your daughter to a dance-- and things like that.
So I wasn't even thinking, like, of a book-book.
I was just like, blah.
Nothing to do.
Let it go.
And then it started to take shape.
And then I realized that what I was basically writing
was the story of someone that can't believe this shit is
happening to them where it's like-- it's almost,
like, out-of-body experience where you're watching this shit
happen to someone else.
Like jamming with Prince.
Like, oh my god.
You know, and I'm, like, sitting down
at this huge drum set in this empty arena during soundcheck.
And I look up, and there's Prince.
And I'm just-- like, I'm trying to get my footing and stuff.
And I'm just kind of playing something like--
[SNAPPING AND TAPPING IN RHYTHM].
And I look up, and he's like-- he's just staring at me.
And then he looks at the bass player.
He's like, give me the bass.
And the guy gives him the bass.
And he starts getting into this crazy Bootsy shit.
He's the best fucking bass player
I've ever seen in my life.
And we're kind of going through it
and going through it, like, wow, wow, wow.
And then we stop.
And he's like, man, you got a heavy foot.
I'm like, yeah, I got a fucking heavy foot.
Is that a good term in drumming?
Yeah.
Well, in my world it is.
Because it's like, wham, pow, wham, pow, wham.
So I'm like, yay.
And then he picks up a guitar.
And he starts playing "Whole Lotta Love."
He's like, [VOCALIZES MELODY].
So I'm just like, wow--
I have Zeppelin tattoos and shit.
I was like, [MIMICS DRUMS].
And we play it.
And we finish.
And we high-five.
And we were gonna do it that night.
And he's like, we should do that.
I'm like, yeah, we should.
And he goes, what are you doing next Friday?
I was like--
Oh, wow.
So the only people that got to hear it was, like--
Soundcheck.
And that's it.
It was, like, the greatest moment of my life.
That makes it more epic, because--
Now the soundcheck guy's gonna write a book about the time
that he saw Dave Grohl jamming with Prince.
That's the thing.
Hey, what-- bro, it was Dave and Prince.
Dave and Prince, bro.
That's just it.
Nobody else saw it.
It was just Chef Dave and Prince.
Serving it up.
But yeah, I mean, so when those kind of things happen,
I'm like, I can't believe this shit
is actually happening to me.
What is your studio session like?
To me, recording really is all about a vibe.
And the capturing moments.
And I do believe that the environment in which you record
influences the outcome, right?
Like, we did this thing recently--
we fucking-- we made a record of Bee Gees
covers, because one day we come to the studio.
And it's like, we had a list of things we had to do.
And then it said, record cover song.
And I'm like, let's do a Bee Gees song.
And they're like, OK.
Which one?
I was like, "You Should Be Dancing."
And they're like, how do you want to do it?
I'm like, like the fucking Bee Gees.
Like, what are you talking about?
You got that vocal reach?
So we recorded it--
I do, actually.
And here's the funny thing.
My whole life, I've been going, like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And all of a sudden, I'm like, (SINGING IN FALSETTO)
you should be dancing, yeah.
And I'm like, oh my god. That's so easy.
It's coming out--
My baby moves at midnight.
Goes right on till the dawn.
My woman takes me higher.
Bro, you might-- we might not be able to license that.
We might not be able to license that.
I'm just saying.
I'll call Barry.
It's all good.
The flex!
So anyway--
I'll call Barry.
But that's the thing.
It's like, we go into the studio.
And by the end of the day, we've got this Bee Gees song.
I'm like, oh my god.
That's the best thing we've ever recorded.
Like, holy shit.
And so we made a whole album of that stuff,
basically because we were having so much fun in the studio.
You know what it's called?
It's called "Hail Satin."
MERO: Oh-- real rock shit.
Right now, I feel like one of your kids.
I'm like, come on, Dad.
Come on, Dave.
Hey, listen, man.
What's the deal with dad jokes?
Yo, I love them.
DAVE GROHL: They're still jokes.
They're still-- listen.
I love me a dad joke.
DESUS: Come on.
I launch dad jokes from 50 feet out.
I don't give a fuck if they land or not.
That's the point of a dad joke.
It's like-- it's, like, a bottle in the ocean.
Like, maybe somebody will get this.
Maybe they won't. You know what I'm saying?
But--
I do know exactly what you're saying.
Very much so.
Welcome to the dad show with Dave.
I know.
Listen.
This is my life now.
Nothing but illustrious guests on this show.
Dave, what would you like your neon sign to say?
I'm thinking, like, a pink neon cursive.
And it just says, Dave.
Wow.
DESUS: Dave Grohl in the building, y'all.
You know what I'm saying?
One name.
What's the name of your book?
It's called "The Storyteller."
DESUS: "The Storyteller," because he is
the one that tells the stories.
It's what I do.
You know what I'm saying?
Pick up everything, especially the Bee Gees covers.
Oh, that's good.
You know what I'm saying?
That's better than the book.
[VOCALIZING]
(SINGING) Tragedy--
[VOCALIZING]
Dave Grohl, everybody.
Tragedy.
When they don't know why, it's not--
- Tragedy. - See?
It's not hard, right? - No.
OK.
"Hail Satin."