The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

Author: Dave Grohl

Title: The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Published: 2021

Pages: 376

Genre: Autobiography 

 

     So, I’ve written a book. Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities (‘It’s a piece of cake! Just do four hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!’), I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I’ve recorded and can’t wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child. This certainly doesn’t mean that I’m quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it’s like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. 

     Throughout my life, there have been but a few constants that never seem to have wavered. The first is my love of reading. To be fair this I think is a love of stories, in general, they help me to escape from the every day which at times was not the greatest of place for me to be. The second is music that constant companion, there for all the good and the bad moments that have come up. This bringer of the highest joys and the ultimate for stress relief. Now for my generation, we had grown up on the skirt tales of bands like Nirvana. They were the albums our older brothers and sisters listen to and that we snuck off with when they weren't looking. They were that in-between of having to listen to what our parents wanted and us forming our own tastes and interests. After all our older siblings were cool right they knew about all this stuff before we did. But when it comes to The Foo Fighters they were most definitely square and center for our formative years. I can't think of any of my friends that didn't have a couple of their albums no matter what they identified as their music tastes. So with the Publishing of this book, I of course had to pre-order a copy. After all one way or another, this man and his music have been there for pretty much all the major events in my life. 

     The book itself is broken down mostly by different stages of his life starting way back when he was just a mad kid drumming on cushions on his bedroom floor, to the heights of international stardom. Although some might say that he is still that kid playing his heart out for the pure love of music. I think sometimes it is hard to remind our self that for some people music is not the starship to fame and fortune all though of course, that is a side effect of it. But that deep down there is just this amazing love for all that music is and can bring to you. In reading this book I kinda get the impression that even if Grohl had never reached the dizzying heights he has that he would still be playing music no matter what. And that for me is one of the major themes in this book. Its passion and the joy that can come from doing something you love from the bottom of your heart.

      Now whilst obviously he is not really going to write about anything that makes him look really bad, stupid, yes but never anything hurtful. It's also fair to say I have also never heard of stories about him being so. For the most part, he comes across as a pretty decent and grounded guy. A man who is prepared to go above and beyond to try and help out those he cares about. But maybe this is also a side effect of everything he has been through. Who can say but after spending time with this book my opinion has not really wavered as to who he is and what his music means to me. And in a day and age when it seems our childish faith in those we use to look up to may in certain situations been very miss guided it is always a joy to find out that there were some genuinely good people out there bring their brand of happiness to the world. 

      For me, this autobiography feels less like a book and more like a group of old friends sitting around talking about what has come before. And whilst yes there is a vast array of celebrities scattered throughout this book. Which to be fair is understandable he has been around a fair while at the very top of his field, he still manages to bring it down to earth. More like your best mate going do remember that time we bumped into so and so and this happened. Or remember when we got so drunk we did this very stupid and childish thing. At which point you erupted into laughter. What I suppose I'm trying to get at is he has this unassuming way of bring you into his world and making you feel a part of it. By the time you are halfway through it you are no longer surprised when Paul Mccartney appears, it's just there's Daves mate Paul. Each story seems to naturally flow to the next, maybe this is in part because he is a musician and songwriter and after all that isn't a million miles away from being an author. Both are still trying to tell us a tale and evoke an emotional response from us. And that is most definitely what he has managed to achieve here.

     This was a book that each time I put it down I could not wait to pick back up and dive straight back into. Now you cant go into this expecting to find out everything you have ever wanted to know within these pages. He has carefully picked out key stories I would say that speak to a time and place. They allow for us to get to know him better without going over bored and us losing interest.  So what we get is a small piece of a much bigger pie. But it's one filled with good times and bad and whilst it is easy to get brought down by some of the well-publicized tragedic events of his life, he is always just around the corner to remind us that life can take some very strange turns. And that laughs may not be able to heal wounds they can certainly soften them. After all, if we couldn't have a good laugh especially about ourselves once in a while what is the point of it all.