Dave Grohl recalled turning into so obsessive about John Bonham that he tattooed himself with the Led Zeppelin drummer’s triple-circle emblem utilizing a stitching needle.
The Foo Fighters chief additionally conceded that he was in all probability his trainer mother’s worst pupil as a teen, however he credited her with supporting him as he chased his music goals.
“At 13 or 14, I had a narrow-minded imaginative and prescient that every little thing may solely be punk rock on a regular basis,” Grohl informed the Guardian in a current interview. “I scoured the document cabinets for something dissonant and subversive — demise steel, industrial music — something that wasn’t on the radio or appeared rebellious. By the point I used to be 15 or 16 […] I had discovered to play drums by arranging pillows on my ground and my mattress within the formation of a drum set and enjoying alongside to Bad Brains.”
He continued: “We found Led Zeppelin simply as I began progressing as a drummer, and I grew to become obsessive about John Bonham: what he performed and why. It’s onerous to clarify, however his really feel and sound is unmistakable and undefinable. Anybody can take the chart of what he performed, however it will by no means be the identical as a result of it was as distinctive to that human as a fingerprint.” He stated he’d behaved “like a monk” as he memorized Bonham’s recordings, which have been “like poetry” to him. He added, “I grew to become so obsessed that I gave myself a three-interlocked-circles John Bonham tattoo on my arm with a fucking stitching needle and a few ink. I used to be branded for all times.”
Grohl’s mother, Virginia, taught at the highschool he attended. “She spent her profession coping with rebellious little assholes like me, however she was referred to as the cool trainer,” he stated. “She understood that each youngster discovered otherwise, and having a troublesome time at college doesn’t essentially imply {that a} child can’t study. I believe I used to be her most troublesome pupil, however she noticed the eagerness in my musical obsession.”
Her understanding meant so much when Grohl hit his rebellious stage.
“I simply glided by it,” he stated. “My mom was completely supportive, and she or he was inspired by the independence and creativity of the underground punk rock scene, as a result of everyone did every little thing themselves. There have been no document firms serving to anybody: You simply began a band, wrote a track, performed a present, acquired $50, went to the studio, recorded one thing, pressed your personal vinyl and put out your personal document. To see your child that obsessed with something at that age will need to have been very inspiring.”
He mirrored, “It’s at all times the issues that you simply most need to do that you simply do nicely. Actually, all I did was take heed to music.”
