Pearls of Wisdom from Dave Grohl

MaryO

Platinum Member
This seems to be making the rounds today on Facebook...pretty well said: (sorry about the language...it's a direct quote)

“When I think about kids watching a TV show like American Idol or The Voice, then they think, ‘Oh, OK, that’s how you become a musician, you stand in line for eight f*cking hours with 800 people at a convention center and… then you sing your heart out for someone and then they tell you it’s not f*ckin’ good enough.’ Can you imagine?” he implores. “It’s destroying the next generation of musicians! ...Musicians should go to a yard sale and buy and old f*cking drum set and get in their garage and just suck. And get their friends to come in and they’ll suck, too. And then they’ll f*cking start playing and they’ll have the best time they’ve ever had in their lives and then all of a sudden they’ll become Nirvana. Because that’s exactly what happened with Nirvana. Just a bunch of guys that had some sh*tty old instruments and they got together and started playing some noisy-ass sh*t, and they became the biggest band in the world. That can happen again! You don’t need a f*cking computer or the internet or The Voice or American Idol.”
— Dave Grohl (via blacktooth100)
 
I agree with most of what he says.

I think the Internet and computers are now vital in music making (at least in some genres) although I'll echo his sentiments and say that you definitely don't need a powerful or new computer to make great music. If you want to use a computer, go and buy a proverbial old computer and work out what you can do with it, with free software.

'Having a go' when you're still in your formative stages is really vital. I was terrible when I first played with other people, I was terrible for a long time (whereas now I'm 'acceptable') but we had fun, made music, irritated people with our noise and generally made music fun. Those bands never went anywhere but it was great fun and I learned a lot about life and about people - as well as music - in those first few bands that I joined.

You don't need expensive guitars. You don't need expensive computers. You don't need expensive drums, or amps or basses. It helps to know how to make the most out of them but you can do great things with (say) a low-end Squier or Yamaha Pacifica. Making the most of a limited budget or limited instruments (and ability!) is a great way of learning what is possible and finding out about yourself and your music.
 
I dunno, I don't think a budding young drummer or guitar player confuses a TV singing contest with being a musician. Today's youth is pretty cycnical about that stuff, and hopeful players don't have any illusions about TV being the path to a career. They know all about jamming and making recordings and posting them on Soundcloud and YouTube. A singer is a different matter, but they still need players, and/or someone with a computer, and the internet.

Bermuda
 
I think the Internet and computers are now vital in music making (at least in some genres) although I'll echo his sentiments and say that you definitely don't need a powerful or new computer to make great music. If you want to use a computer, go and buy a proverbial old computer and work out what you can do with it, with free software.

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I'd agree with you. You are almost nowhere without some use of computers in anything nowadays.....but Grohl's way is so much more fun.

I think the internet and computers have spoiled a lot of 'discovery' and made some aspects of life less exciting and adventurous.

As for his war against these Idol and Voice shows, .. Go Dave! I music needs a spokesperson like him.
 
I'd agree with you. You are almost nowhere without some use of computers in anything nowadays.....but Grohl's way is so much more fun.

I think the internet and computers have spoiled a lot of 'discovery' and made some aspects of life less exciting and adventurous.

As for his war against these Idol and Voice shows, .. Go Dave! I music needs a spokesperson like him.

In terms of discovery? Sometimes.

I'm in the fortunate position of being interested in some very obscure music and I can still get a kick from going to a record (vinyl) store and browsing through the 'Avant-Garde' section and then buying based on the price and/or cover. That's a great joy I have that isn't necessarily tempered by the Internet. I've discovered some great new music this way.

Old fashioned? Sure. Fun though!
 
The bit about buying a kit and just sucking in a garage somehow speaks to me... good old memories, I had dreams back then ;)

Now I just know I suck, lol.
 
I can still get a kick from going to a record (vinyl) store and browsing through the 'Avant-Garde' section and then buying based on the price and/or cover. That's a great joy I have that isn't necessarily tempered by the Internet. I've discovered some great new music this way.
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Absolutely. I'm sure many enjoy the convenience of iTunes etc. but to me going and holding the music in your hands is just as important. Moreover, just like in a book library, its the album next to the one's you're searching for and find by accident that are what I'm referring to as the fun of discovery. I'm not sure anybody finds anything on iTunes by accident.

But I'm just sounding old now. Of course there would be no DW 'back in the day' either.
 
Absolutely. I'm sure many enjoy the convenience of iTunes etc. but to me going and holding the music in your hands is just as important. Moreover, just like in a book library, its the album next to the one's you're searching for and find by accident that are what I'm referring to as the fun of discovery. I'm not sure anybody finds anything on iTunes by accident.

But I'm just sounding old now. Of course there would be no DW 'back in the day' either.

I would quite happily say that in many regards I'm old-fashioned (I'm 24). I adore buying vinyl records and browsing book shops. Over-organisation of second-hand shops drives me around the bend because it's all about that joy of discovery. I've been to some great bookshops where there are quite literally piles of books (It's in Morecambe, Lancashire the one I'm referring to if anybody is from around there) and there was always something interesting, hidden under other books. I can spend hours rifling through and I love it.

Now I'm out of the avant-garde scene (curse you, University graduation!) it's one of the few ways I have of discovering the really obscure bands. If they are as obscure as some of the records I've found, there's no hope I'll ever find them on my own using Google.
 
The bit about buying a kit and just sucking in a garage somehow speaks to me... good old memories, I had dreams back then ;)

Now I just know I suck, lol.

It's speaking to me A LOT right now...but it is a blast! Lol
 
I can't say you don't need the Internet.

Nirvana broke thought before the net was big. Now, having a myspace/soundclud/fb is pretty essential to have for a band that is trying to do something. No one just walks down the street checking random garages for potential bands.

Although Dave is still right, practice in the garage and write songs BEFORE you do all that.

As for Idol, I never watch it, and don't care for it. But I have buddies who do/have toured as the drummer behind past AI contestants. If it wasn't for the show, they wouldn't have those gigs.
 
The bit about buying a kit and just sucking in a garage somehow speaks to me... good old memories, I had dreams back then ;)

Now I just know I suck, lol.

Glory Days Indeed !!!!!!!!
 
Dave Grohl is one of my favorite musicians but he omitted the part about luck. I'm too old to be a rockstar, I have a day job that I'm thankful for and I play drums after work... either alone, or with friends, but I have a great time. I think that's what it's all about. Being a rockstar is just winning the lottery.
 
I will preface this by saying that I'm a huge fan of Dave's playing with Nirvana, Them Crooked Vultures, QOTSA, Foo Fighters, Probot, and others. I also admire greatly the fact that he was able to write, and record every instrument by himself for the Foo Fighters s/t (Guitars, bass, drums, vocals, backup vox!) and proved himself to be a great musician on many fronts.

That said, some of his rants and general "message" have been contradictory or just misplaced. What does American Idol have to do with making the next Nirvana? Does the fact that 800 unknowns lineup to sing to become the next "big thing" have any connection at all with kids getting excited about rock, metal, whatever and tinkering around with their instruments until they become gigging musicians in the next generation? Would Kurt Cobain have gone on American Idol? I really don't see any connection at all personally.

Also, for all his anti-digital rants, Foo Fighters records were chopped up, pro-tooled to hell and back, and recorded section by section then edited together. Doesn't that seem hypocritical? There's music made without click tracks, excessive pro-tooling, and minimal overdubs that is just as boring and cliche as bands that use digital studio sticks extensively. Just different ways of making music that aren't any more valid or less "real" than more natural recordings. As soon as you use any effects, punch-ins, multitracking and altering the music period you aren't playing live, raw music.

I think American Idol isn't going away any time soon because a lot of people love the idea that "anyone" (with a hard to obtain, fairly rare skillset) can become the next pop singer, the next model, the next VJ, the next business mogel, whatever. How many people remember Idol winners, and how many actually have a career other than Kelly Clarkson though? Just my two cents.
 
I will preface this by saying that I'm a huge fan of Dave's playing with Nirvana, Them Crooked Vultures, QOTSA, Foo Fighters, Probot, and others. I also admire greatly the fact that he was able to write, and record every instrument by himself for the Foo Fighters s/t (Guitars, bass, drums, vocals, backup vox!) and proved himself to be a great musician on many fronts.

That said, some of his rants and general "message" have been contradictory or just misplaced. What does American Idol have to do with making the next Nirvana? Does the fact that 800 unknowns lineup to sing to become the next "big thing" have any connection at all with kids getting excited about rock, metal, whatever and tinkering around with their instruments until they become gigging musicians in the next generation? Would Kurt Cobain have gone on American Idol? I really don't see any connection at all personally.

Also, for all his anti-digital rants, Foo Fighters records were chopped up, pro-tooled to hell and back, and recorded section by section then edited together. Doesn't that seem hypocritical? There's music made without click tracks, excessive pro-tooling, and minimal overdubs that is just as boring and cliche as bands that use digital studio sticks extensively. Just different ways of making music that aren't any more valid or less "real" than more natural recordings. As soon as you use any effects, punch-ins, multitracking and altering the music period you aren't playing live, raw music.

I think American Idol isn't going away any time soon because a lot of people love the idea that "anyone" (with a hard to obtain, fairly rare skillset) can become the next pop singer, the next model, the next VJ, the next business mogel, whatever. How many people remember Idol winners, and how many actually have a career other than Kelly Clarkson though? Just my two cents.

Thanks for pointing this out. For a church thing, I recently had to learn a Foo Fighters song note-for-note. It was completely obvious that it was spliced together. The tempos weren't even matched all that well. I don't watch Idol at all, but I have heard Grohl rant before. Watch the Lemmy biopic on Palladia and you'll get to hear Grohl rant: "F**k Keith Richards". I, too, get tired of his potty-mouthed philosophy.
 
I see his point more as there's no instant road to fame for 99.9% of us, you have pay the dues and start at the bottom like everyone else. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it on the way up. Many of our young folk today (when did my mother show up?) seem to all want reward without the work and they want it now. A lot of these AI shows seem to reinforce that.
 
. What does American Idol have to do with making the next Nirvana? Does the fact that 800 unknowns lineup to sing to become the next "big thing" have any connection at all with kids getting excited about rock, metal, whatever and tinkering around with their instruments until they become gigging musicians in the next generation? Would Kurt Cobain have gone on American Idol? I really don't see any connection at all personally.
Fair point.

I think the rant is essentially, singers no longer go looking for bands, they "line up".
But you make a valid point that the singers that would join a rock band and the singers who would apply to be on AI aren't really the same types of people (with a few exceptions)

Also, for all his anti-digital rants, Foo Fighters records were chopped up, pro-tooled to hell and back, and recorded section by section then edited together. Doesn't that seem hypocritical? There's music made without click tracks, excessive pro-tooling, and minimal overdubs that is just as boring and cliche as bands that use digital studio sticks extensively. Just different ways of making music that aren't any more valid or less "real" than more natural recordings. As soon as you use any effects, punch-ins, multitracking and altering the music period you aren't playing live, raw music..

I tend to agree.

I recall on a Classic Albums: Nirvana – Nevermind, one song was Kurt strumming to guitar, and Grohl's parts were recorded bar by bar and lined up to the strumming.

Obviously, there is something to be said for doing one take all the way through, but the fact remains many,many classic albums consistent of tape cuts, and compilations of various takes to make the final recording.
 
That said, some of his rants and general "message" have been contradictory or just misplaced. What does American Idol have to do with making the next Nirvana? Does the fact that 800 unknowns lineup to sing to become the next "big thing" have any connection at all with kids getting excited about rock, metal, whatever and tinkering around with their instruments until they become gigging musicians in the next generation?
I think his keynote address at SXSW was more of what he's talking about here. Toward the end of that speech, after demonstrating that all you need to get started making your own songs is a a couple super cheap cassette recorders, a guitar and an IDEA, he explained that in the end, it's all about the inspired idea, developing it, recording it, and using it; and it's about "finding your own voice". He went on to rhetorically ask if he was the best drummer in the world ("not even close") or the best song-writer ("not even in this room"), and despite that he's not anywhere near the best at anything, he said that what worked for him was finding his voice in music; an identity of his own that was a reflection of his tastes and everything he held sacred about music.

I think he's pointing out that if you're getting wrapped around the 'Idol' axle, you're in a competition of chops in any number of bland and cliche forms that has absolutely nothing to do with chasing your muse and finding your own unique voice. It isn't even art.

That's a point I wholeheartedly agree with. I've known far too many players in my years of playing that were so consumed with getting "good" (in the technical sense) that they never took the time to develop their own tastes or follow their own musical instincts. Most of them don't even play anymore.

I'm a sucker for awesome technique and can stomach some pretty bad music for the sake of the good players playing it (I admit it: I love listening to Dave Weckl, but mostly just the stuff that sounds like one big Weather Report rip-off! The elevator stuff, not so much). Speaking only for myself, I've found this middle area where I still get wrapped around technique axles, but only insofar as I can use it in the music I'm playing. I don't learn technique for its own sake in the hopes that someday it'll come in handy (like at a drum competition, for example! ;-)
 
Musicians should go to a yard sale and buy and old f*cking drum set and get in their garage and just suck. And get their friends to come in and they’ll suck, too.

He just described my teenage years. Lots of fun but I ended up working in offices for 25 years. I enjoy Dave's straightforwardness but he forgot the bit about talent (and luck, as Jookbox said).

These days if players of real time instruments don't have a musical education it is very hard to get decent gigs that actually pay money in this competitive environment (at least in Sydney). What's left of the scene is crawling with trained players.

Really like your post, Mike, though I don't think an idea is enough any more.
 
I think his keynote address at SXSW was more of what he's talking about here. Toward the end of that speech, after demonstrating that all you need to get started making your own songs is a a couple super cheap cassette recorders, a guitar and an IDEA, he explained that in the end, it's all about the inspired idea, developing it, recording it, and using it; and it's about "finding your own voice". He went on to rhetorically ask if he was the best drummer in the world ("not even close") or the best song-writer ("not even in this room"), and despite that he's not anywhere near the best at anything, he said that what worked for him was finding his voice in music; an identity of his own that was a reflection of his tastes and everything he held sacred about music.

I think he's pointing out that if you're getting wrapped around the 'Idol' axle, you're in a competition of chops in any number of bland and cliche forms that has absolutely nothing to do with chasing your muse and finding your own unique voice. It isn't even art.

That's a point I wholeheartedly agree with. I've known far too many players in my years of playing that were so consumed with getting "good" (in the technical sense) that they never took the time to develop their own tastes or follow their own musical instincts. Most of them don't even play anymore.

I'm a sucker for awesome technique and can stomach some pretty bad music for the sake of the good players playing it (I admit it: I love listening to Dave Weckl, but mostly just the stuff that sounds like one big Weather Report rip-off! The elevator stuff, not so much). Speaking only for myself, I've found this middle area where I still get wrapped around technique axles, but only insofar as I can use it in the music I'm playing. I don't learn technique for its own sake in the hopes that someday it'll come in handy (like at a drum competition, for example! ;-)

That is a fair point. Liking your own voice and expressing yourself fully is an important part of playing any instrument, maybe the most important. But that takes confidence, hard work, and getting a lot of honest feedback from peers, friends, teachers, bandmates, and so on. I think a lot of the problem is some of the Idol kids who get torn apart were people who couldn't sing but were brought there because of mom and dad, or being just lied to by friends. Wasn't there that famous story of Bird being shamed off the stage by the crash cymbal being tossed, and becoming a legend because of the work he put in after that?
 
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