dave grohl storyteller tour

Dave Grohl Announces 'The Storyteller' Book Tour Dates

By Katrina Nattress

September 20, 2021

Dave Grohl can't not be busy, so when the pandemic hit and he suddenly had nothing to do, he decided to start writing short stories about some of his wildest encounters, from David Bowie telling him to f*** off to jamming out in an empty arena with Prince , on an Instagram account called davestruestories . Because it's Dave Grohl, this passion project quickly turned into a full-blown book. And now that book, titled The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music , is being published on October 5.

"I've never really been one to collect stuff, but I do collect moments," the Foo Fighters frontman said in a trailer about the book . "My life flashes before my eyes every single day. And in writing this book, I've tried to capture those moments as best I can."

According to the band himself, those stories range “from hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band , drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard , to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters… the list goes on."

And now, because he's Dave Grohl, he's spending the month he should have off from touring to, well, tour. On Monday (September 20), he announced a short book tour that's hitting London, New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles. See his announcement and a list of dates below.

Join Dave Grohl for an extremely limited run of intimate evenings that’ll see (and hear) him bring his eagerly anticipated first ever book to life. Tickets are on sale TODAY at 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm GMT. Tickets & info: https://t.co/psw0zPjOZE #thestoryteller pic.twitter.com/5HMeNPRlcN — Foo Fighters (@foofighters) September 20, 2021

Dave Grohl The Storyteller Book Tour Dates

September 27 — London, UK – Savoy Theatre

October 5 — New York, NY – The Town Hall

October 7 — Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre

October 12 & 13 — Los Angeles, CA — The Ford

DAVE GROHL Announces 'The Storyteller Live And In Person' Book Tour

Dave Grohl will take part in an extremely limited run of intimate evenings that will see (and hear) him bring his eagerly anticipated first-ever book to life. Tickets are on sale today at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. GMT for "Dave Grohl: The Storyteller Live And In Person" .

Due on October 5 via Dey Street Books and Simon & Schuster , "The Storyteller - Tales Of Life And Music" is a collection of memories of a life lived loud. From his formative years on the Washington, D.C. punk rock scene through the decades of music that followed, Dave will share the experiences that have defined him — plus some special surprises — all 100 percent live and in person in four select cities.

Doors for all shows will open at 6:30 p.m. Dave will be on stage at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets for "Dave Grohl: The Storyteller Live And In Person" are limited to two per transaction. Each ticket purchased includes a copy of "The Storyteller - Tales Of Life And Music" . Partners in each city include: Waterstones , The Strand , Politics & Prose , Book Soup and Barnes & Noble .

Sep. 27 - London, UK - Savoy Theatre Oct. 05 - New York, NY - The Town Hall Oct. 07 - Washington, DC - Lincoln Theatre Oct. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - The Ford Oct. 13 - Los Angeles, CA - The Ford

Grohl has been one of the most beloved and respected figures on the international music scene since his recorded debut with NIRVANA on 1991's generation-defining "Nevermind" . Grohl took center stage with FOO FIGHTERS ' 1995 self-titled debut, the first of 10 albums in a massive 12-Grammy-winning streak, most recently including the No. 1 album-sales-charting "Medicine At Midnight" . Grohl has traveled the planet doing the thing he loves most — playing rock n roll marathons for tens of thousands of ecstatic FOO FIGHTERS fans. But when the pandemic necessitated going into lockdown, Grohl took stock of how he might use this moment of pause. Channeling his creativity into writing and using his remarkable skill for storytelling, in May 2020 he wrote a moving reflection for The Atlantic on missing the thrill of live music during the COVID era that went viral. Then, ending a longstanding self-imposed exile from social media, Grohl 's new Instagram account @davestruestories was born. This new platform became a way for Dave to share his extraordinary (and funny) stories with fans and fellow music nuts and now, Grohl is set to build upon that momentum with his first book.

Grohl 's new book is as much a celebration of music as it is about the moments that have molded him into the man he is today. From hilarious childhood mishaps, touching family moments, leaving home to see the world at eighteen, to spectacular stories about NIRVANA , FOO FIGHTERS , David Bowie , Joan Jett , Iggy Pop , Paul McCartney , playing drums for Tom Petty on "Saturday Night Live" , performing at the White House, and even swing dancing with AC/DC , with all love, laughs, loss, and embarrassments along the way, "The Storyteller" is a fascinating look at a life lived loud.

"There is a common thread that runs throughout everything that I do: storytelling," Grohl said. "Whether in song, documentary film or on the page, I have always felt compelled to share moments from my life. This inclination is a huge part of what excites me creatively but also as a human being. In March 2020, realizing that my day job with the FOO FIGHTERS was going to go on hold, I started an Instagram account (@davestruestories) and decided to focus all of my creative energy on writing some of my stories down, something I love doing but I've never really had the time for. I soon found that the reward I felt every time I posted a story was the same as the feeling I get when playing a song to an audience, so I kept on writing. The response from readers was a soul-filling as any applause in an arena. So, I took stock of all the experiences I've had in my life-incredible, difficult, funny and emotional-and decided it was time to finally put them into words. Now with the amazing people at Dey Street Books I'm excited and honored to announce 'The Storyteller' , a collection of memories of a life lived loud. From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone. Turn it up!"

Grohl has a well-earned reputation as a prolific collaborator: his various endeavors have included "Cut Me Some Slack" , written and recorded with Paul McCartney and Grohl 's NIRVANA bandmates Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear ; THEM CROOKED VULTURES , formed with LED ZEPPELIN 's John Paul Jones and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE 's Joshua Homme , late legends David Bowie and Lemmy Kilmister of MOTÖRHEAD , as well as Mick Jagger , Neil Young , Elton John , NINE INCH NAILS , Roger Taylor and Brian May of QUEEN , to name a few.

In 2013, Grohl made his debut as a feature director/producer with the acclaimed documentary "Sound City" , named for the Van Nuys, California studio where NIRVANA recorded "Nevermind" in 1991, which would sell more than 30 million copies and transform the modern musical landscape. Premiering to unanimous raves at Sundance and achieving a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, "Sound City" focused both on the history of the legendary studio and on the ongoing fight to preserve the human element of music. Hailed by Peter Travers of Rolling Stone as an "exhilarating documentary about what makes life worth living," by The New York Times as "candy to several generations' worth of rock fans" and NPR as "a celebration of just how unbelievably awesome it is to make rock music for a living," "Sound City" has since been certified as a gold longform video by the RIAA , while the "Sound City - Real To Reel" companion album took the 2013 Grammys for "Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media" and "Best Rock Song" ( "Cut Me Some Slack" ).

Grohl also directed the eight-part HBO docuseries "Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways" , which premiered in October 2014 and went on to win two of the four Emmys for which it was nominated (outstanding sound mixing for nonfiction programming and outstanding sound editing for nonfiction programming). Described by Grohl as a love letter to the history of American music, "Sonic Highways" was comprised of eight one-hour episodes, each chronicling the creation of one song on FOO FIGHTERS ' "Sonic Highways" album, each written and recorded in a different American musical landmark — Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

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Dave Grohl Announces Book Tour Dates for His ‘Storyteller’ Memoir

This fall, Dave Grohl will hit the road behind his upcoming memoir, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music , telling his rock tales in a live setting to readers at four select cities across the globe.

The Storyteller , out Oct. 5 from Dey Street Books, is being billed as a "collection of memories of a life lived loud," as the Foo Fighters bandleader previously explained in a brief book synopsis.

"From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone," the rock icon and former Nirvana drummer shared. "Turn it up!"

Grohl's Storyteller book tour starts in London on Sept. 27 before coming stateside for further stops in New York , Washington, D.C. and a concluding two-night run in Los Angeles on Oct. 12-13. Purchase tickets to the individual shows at the link for each respective city.

This week, a Grohl sound byte revealed how he still processes Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain 's death by explaining it to his children . Last month, a quote from a book emerged that showed Grohl admitting his discomfort in listening to Nirvana's final album .

Foo Fighters latest, Medicine at Midnight , emerged this year with the singles " Waiting on War ," " No Son of Mine " and " Shame Shame ." In October, the band will be inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame.

Pre-order The Storyteller at davegrohlstoryteller.com . Check out Grohl's upcoming book tour stops below — watch a video preview and see a product photo for the publication beneath the dates.

Dave Grohl Fall 2021 The Storyteller Live Dates

Sept. 27 – London, U.K. @ Savoy Theatre Oct. 5 – New York, N.Y. @ The Town Hall Oct. 7 – Washington, D.C. @ Lincoln Theatre Oct. 12 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Ford Oct. 13 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Ford

Dave Grohl, The Storyteller Book Trailer

The storyteller , book description (via amazon ).

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 4 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. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement. —Dave Grohl

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Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl Unveils ‘Storyteller’ Book Tour Dates

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Apparently concerts, albums, documentaries, writing songs with Mick Jagger, VMA honors and writing books aren’t enough to keep the indefatigable Dave Grohl busy: Now he’s doing a book tour.

Later this month and next, Grohl will undertake an extremely limited run of intimate evenings that’ll see (and hear) him bring his first book to life: “The Storyteller –Tales of Life and Music,” which is described as “a collection of memories of a life lived loud,” is out October 5 via Dey Street Books and Simon & Schuster.

Tickets for the tour on sale now.

The book ranges from his formative years on the DC punk rock scene through the decades of music that followed — all of which Grohl will discuss, along with “some special surprises,” according to the announcement — in four select cities.

Doors for all shows will open at 6:30pm. Grohl will be on stage at 8:00pm.

Popular on Variety

Tickets for the events are limited to 2 per transaction. Each ticket purchased includes a copy of “The Storyteller – Tales of Life and Music.” Partners in each city include: Waterstones, The Strand, Politics & Prose, Book Soup, and Barnes & Noble.

“There is a common thread that runs throughout everything that I do: storytelling,” Grohl said. “Whether in song, documentary film or on the page, I have always felt compelled to share moments from my life. This inclination is a huge part of what excites me creatively but also as a human being.”

In May, Grohl penned a heartfelt essay for the Atlantic titled “The Day the Live Concert Returns,” which served as a love letter to live music. At the same time, Grohl ended his longstanding social media dormancy and created the Instagram account, @davestruestories. The page features bite-sized stories written by Grohl, ranging from the time David Bowie told him to “fuck off” to the time he jammed with Prince.

September 27 – London – https://DaveGrohl.lnk.to/London October 5 – New York City – https://DaveGrohl.lnk.to/NYC October 7 – Washington, DC – https://DaveGrohl.lnk.to/WDC October 12 – Los Angeles – https://DaveGrohl.lnk.to/LA12 October 13 – Los Angeles – https://DaveGrohl.lnk.to/LA13

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Dave Grohl to Take Rock & Roll Musings from ‘The Storyteller’ on Tour

By Jon Blistein

Jon Blistein

Dave Grohl will regale audiences with rock & roll tales from his new memoir, The Storyteller , at a series of upcoming live events.

The first of the five shows will take place September 27th in London, with the next four happening in the United States: October 5th in New York City, October 7th in Washington, D.C., and October 12th and 13th in Los Angeles. Tickets for all five events go on sale Monday, September 20th, at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT on Ticketmaster.com . Each ticket purchased will come with a copy of The Storyteller , and tickets are limited to two per transaction.

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The Storyteller is set to arrive on October 5th via Dey Street books ( find it online here ). The memoir finds Grohl recounting stories from throughout his life and career, including dispatches from his childhood and his time with the Foo Fighters and Nirvana. The book will also feature anecdotes about David Bowie, Joan Jett, Iggy Pop, and Paul McCartney, as well as characteristically Grohli-ian anecdotes like the time he played drums for Tom Petty, went swing dancing with AC/DC, and performed at the White House.

In a recent trailer for the book, Grohl spoke about how all the free time he had during the pandemic prompted him to write the book, as well as the challenge of winnowing down the right material to include. “I could write an entire book about the band Scream,” Grohl said. “I could write an entire book about my time in Nirvana. The idea was to choose the stories that best described what it’s like to be behind the curtain and on the inside of the music, from the drum stool looking out. To play music, have this beautiful family, travel the world, meet people from all walks of life, I never take any of this for granted, believe me.”

Dave Grohl The Storyteller Live Events

September 27 – London @ Savoy Theatre ( tickets ) October 5 – New York, NY @ Town Hall ( tickets ) October 7 – Washington, D.C. @ Lincoln Theatre ( tickets ) October 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Ford ( tickets ) October 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Ford ( tickets )

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Dave Grohl Is Hitting the Road … for a Book Tour: See the Dates

Dave Grohl is bringing his tales from 'The Storyteller' on the road. On Sept. 20, the rock star announced a list of live dates for the book -- see them here.

By Starr Bowenbank

Starr Bowenbank

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Dave Grohl is going on tour — and not with the Foo Fighters . To support the release of his new book , The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music — out Oct. 5 — Grohl is set to do a limited run of intimate evenings in person that will see the rock icon bring his first ever published work to life.

See latest videos, charts and news

Foo Fighters

Grohl’s book tour, titled The Storyteller — LIVE!, is set to take place over five dates across four cities in England and the United States. The limited tour will kick off on Sept. 27 at Londo’s Savoy Theater and will conclude on Oct. 13 at the Ford in Los Angeles. New York City and Washington, D.C., are both stops on the mini tour, which will take place on Oct. 5 and Oct. 7 respectively.

In the official summary of the autobiography, the Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman described The Storyteller as “a collection of memories of a life lived loud. From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone.”

The book is available for pre-order here.

Dave Grohl Will Reflect on Rock N' Roll Life in 'The Storyteller' Memoir

Each ticket purchased for Grohl’s book tour will include a copy of The Storyteller . In addition to the official tour dates, Grohl will also be in conversation with The New Yorker ‘s Kelefa Sanneh at Brooklyn’s Skyline Drive-In on Oct. 8. A live performance from Grohl is also a part of the event.

See the tour announcement via Foo Fighters’ Twitter account below, and get tickets via Ticketmaster on Tuesday (Sept. 21) here.

Join Dave Grohl for an extremely limited run of intimate evenings that’ll see (and hear) him bring his eagerly anticipated first ever book to life. Tickets are on sale TODAY at 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm GMT. Tickets & info: https://t.co/psw0zPjOZE #thestoryteller pic.twitter.com/5HMeNPRlcN — Foo Fighters (@foofighters) September 20, 2021

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#TheStoryteller

Entering valhalla, an excerpt from the storyteller by dave grohl found exclusively on audible ..

From a dirty old couch deep within the bowels of London's Wembley Arena, I watched the usual parade of familiar faces file into the Foo Fighters dressing room as I happily nursed my well- deserved post-show beer, still sweating from another exhausting night onstage. As would happen most evenings, our small, curtained off area would soon erupt into a celebration of joyous reunions amongst lifelong friends and extended family, each greeted with a cocktail, a smile, and a long embrace. This was our routine. Another show, another gathering of the loving, gypsy-like tribe that we've gathered over the years, all reminiscing about the past and reeling in the present over gallons and gallons of drink. Everyone grateful for life, music, and the people we love. As the clamor of the crowded room grew to an excited roar, our guitarist Chris Shifflett approached with a guest and said, "Hey Dave, someone wants to meet you..." I stood up to say hello, and with extended hand, the handsome young man introduced himself with a broad smile.

“Hi, I'm Dhani.”

In all of our years traveling and touring, playing concerts and festivals from Mississippi to Melbourne, I can honestly say that there aren't too many strangers in the world of Foo, but as familiar as Dhani's face seemed, I couldn't place where I had seen this young man before. But, with a nagging sense of Deja vu, I felt I knew this person somehow, almost as if we had grown up together. After casually chatting for a few minutes over cocktails, Dhani kindly handed me a CD that he said he had worked on with “his father.” Curious, I took one look at the colorful cover, an image of five mannequins holding a television set with the word Brainwashed across the top in bold, black letters, and thought “Wow. Good title….” I smiled, gave the disc a quick but polite inspection, and was about to stuff it into my back pocket when I noticed something handwritten in the lower, right corner...

By George Harrison.

Confused, I looked up at Dhani and immediately realized why he looked so familiar. As the son of the late, great George Harrison, he is the spitting image of his father. I took in his features: The unmistakable brow, the cheekbones, the shaggy, dark hair. I suddenly felt as if I were face to face with the "quiet Beatle" himself. And in that moment it all made sense....little did Dhani know, I had grown up with him.

It was November 22, 2002, only a week before the one year anniversary of George's death, and Dhani explained that he was in London preparing a tribute concert for his father at the legendary Royal Albert Hall. As he read down the list of performers, my jaw dropped and dragged on the dirty carpet: Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Ravi Shankar, Jeff Lynne of ELO, Billy Preston, Jim Keltner. And of course, the two remaining Beatles: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The line-up was a virtual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dream come true. And all under the same roof to pay tribute to my favorite Beatle! These musical giants were not only the soundtrack of my life, but many of the gods that I had bowed to ever since I picked up a guitar. In my mind, this was Valhalla.

“Would you like to come? I'll put you on the list if you're in town!” Dhani offered. Speechless, I turned to the Foo Fighters trusty tour manger, Gus Brandt and he enthusiastically nodded. It just so happened that was a day off and we could indeed attend. If there was ever an instance where a human being actually levitated, I do believe that my feet literally lifted off the ground in bewildered excitement in this unimaginable moment. I'm sure that Dhani had no idea how momentous this gesture was to me. But it felt like I was being granted a lifelong wish. We exchanged info, hugged, and happily exclaimed, “See you in a week!”

The next six days passed in slow motion. Continuing on our tour for a few more UK arena shows, I counted the hours until I would finally set foot within the hallowed walls of Royal Albert Hall, a name I learned singing along to the Beatles song “A Day in the Life” when I was a kid. To be included in such a monumental affair felt like my life's greatest reward up until that point, so every waking moment was spent awaiting its arrival. Of all the places my crooked musical path had taken me up until this point, this would undoubtedly prove to be a memory I would cherish forever.

One week later, standing before the illuminated columns and archways of the century old building, my stomach was in knots with anticipation. A relatively formal affair, I squirmed in my collared shirt and nerdy sweater as we waited in line at the box office, praying that Dhani hadn't forgotten our chance meeting. After a few nail-biting minutes, we finally approached the ticket window, gave our names, and were thankfully handed a thick envelope bulging with tickets. My Sweet Lord! We tore into it like excited children on Christmas morning, and to our surprise found not only tickets, but backstage passes as well! Eat your heart out, Willy Wonka! I was expecting nosebleed section. Oh no. Handing our tickets to the usher as we entered, I was prepared to start scaling stairwell after stairwell, but instead we were quickly escorted to a box positioned dead center on the first level. We looked at each other in absolute astonishment. This could not be happening, I thought. We quickly took our seats, before someone changed their mind.

Above the stage hung a huge a portrait of George Harrison, which upon first sight, immediately brought me to tears. His influence and relevance in my life suddenly poured out in raw emotion, and I wept. I sat and stared at his image, quietly thanking him for the gifts he had not only given me over the years but those he had given us all. Before long, the house lights dimmed, and the show opened with a beautiful Sanskrit chant, while George's widow Olivia lit incense on the stage, creating a sense of serenity and connectivity that I had never before experienced in a musical setting. This was no longer a concert hall this was a temple. Eric Clapton appeared next, offering a few kind words, and then introduced the master himself, Ravi Shankar. The room was in awe as Ravi appeared on stage, welcoming the audience by saying "I strongly feel that George is here tonight" before introducing his daughter, Anoushka who proceeded to sit and play the sitar in what can only be described as a truly transcendent performance. Dhani, dressed in a long, white Kurta shirt, then joined with Jeff Lynne for a beautiful rendition of “The Inner Light,” a song George wrote that was the B-side to the Beatles “Lady Madonna” single. That was followed by a 23 minute long original composition by Ravi Shankar called “Arpan” (to give), performed with an Indian orchestra that put me into some kind of trance, with tears streaming down my face once again. It was clear that this night was more than a concert. This was a spiritual experience.

After a brief intermission (and another box of Kleenex) the Rock and Roll began. Well...not before the infamous cast of Monty Python had their way with us for a few hilarious numbers, but the guitars came out and we buckled in for the ride of our lives. Waves of joy and sadness swept over me. It was as if my life was flashing before my eyes with song, each note a formative memory. Clapton, Petty, Lynne, Preston, one giant after another, performing the soundtrack of my youth, within such proximity that I could see their fingers dancing up and down their fretboards. I could not imagine an evening more magical.

And then…Ringo Starr appeared. Waving his trademark peace signs high to a standing ovation, he greeted the audience and launched into his classic song, “Photograph.”

Every time I see your face

It reminds me of the places we used to go

All I've got is a photograph

And I realize you're not coming back anymore

As if the previous hour hadn't already been the most life affirming jolt to my soul, Ringo's presence and this song in particular struck an unpredicted chord within me. Here was a man, generously withholding his own grief of losing a dear friend and bandmate, spreading love and joy by sharing the most healing force in time of mourning: Music.

I realized that I had been trying to do the exact same thing since that cold, cloudy morning of April 5th, 1994. The day that Kurt Cobain died.

I sang along at the top of my lungs.

By the time Paul McCartney came to the stage, I was officially in a state of shock. I had run a marathon of emotions, witnessed once in a lifetime performances by a cavalcade of legends in the flesh, and experienced a sort of transcendental meditation from Ravi Shankar's otherworldly Indian orchestra. I was practically numb, yet so very much in the moment, feeling a deep connectivity brought upon by the overwhelming amount of love that was on display. If George was indeed in the room, so was every person I had ever loved.

When Paul began strumming the chords to “Something” on the ukulele, I closed my eyes and drowned in the vivid memory of learning that song as a child, sitting on my bedroom floor with my 1964 Sears Silvertone guitar, playing along to George's voice as it crackled from the tiny speakers of an old turntable. And when the band kicked in to the guitar solo, I hummed along to every note, as it was the first and only guitar solo I had ever learned. To me, it seemed that the circle was finally complete.

As the concert drew to a close and the confetti fell from the rafters, I wiped a final tears from my face. Then, I checked my back pocket to make sure that I hadn't lost the pass Dhani had left me. I've never been to a party that I couldn't have missed. Except this one.

We were soon led to a stairwell filled with people, all descending to the downstairs backstage area, each person undoubtedly as nervous and honored as I was to be there. I noticed a security guard checking passes at the bottom of the stairs, and I watched in horror as some people were directed to a room on the left, others directed to a room on the right. I knew what that meant. That meant that there was the VIP room, and then the actual VIP party. To be honest, we were guilty of this cruel, but common game ourselves, only allowing our closest friends and family into the sanctity of our most sacred space. Wherever we ended up, I couldn’t complain. I had already experienced the greatest night of my musical life.

"This way, please" the guard said as he checked our passes and pointed to a doorway beside the stairs. We entered, and my heart sank a little at the sight of the completely empty room. I knew it. This was not their inner sanctum or sacred space. We’d been sent to the holding pen with a bar. This was not the Valhalla I had wished for. This was the end of the line. I was at peace.

Our little group stood alone at a table and recounted the evening's magical moments over a few drinks, still reeling from the spectacular show we had just witnessed and beyond grateful for being included. Turns out I wasn't the only person in our little group that was seemingly transformed by the performance. Each of us shared specific memories from our lives, recalling instances when the Beatles music became more than just verses and choruses, it became essential code in our DNA.

"Wait....is that George Martin?" someone whispered. I quickly looked up as a tall, older gentleman with white hair walked across the empty, fluorescent lit room. “Holy shit!” I thought. But I decided it couldn’t be him. Why on earth would the "fifth Beatle" himself be slumming along with us in this desolate, concrete after-show lounge when he could surely be rubbing elbows with the evening's musical elite in the actual VIP gathering? Then, something else caught my eye: Ravi Shankar quietly sitting in the corner eating a plate of Indian food all by himself. “Oh my god!” I exclaimed. “This is it!!” This was rock and roll ground zero. We had arrived.

One by one, they all appeared. Each of the evening's legendary performers were now present, casually rubbing elbows and celebrating a triumphant performance in the name of their dear friend, but as much as I wanted to feel a part of this sacred fraternity, I felt a stubborn disconnect, a refusal to consider myself worthy of sharing the same air as these icons. My entire life had been spent imagining them as more than human. And yet, here they were. It was almost too much to fathom.

Thankfully, there were a few familiar faces in the crowd to anchor my gripping anxiety. Dhani, of course eventually appeared, and we all thanked him profusely for such an amazing opportunity, congratulating him on his beautiful performance. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, my old friends and a band that I nearly joined soon after Nirvana's demise, were wandering around with their usual vibe as the epitome of Americana cool. But, for the most part, I felt like a fish out of water, a feeling I couldn’t shake.

I noticed Paul McCartney out of the corner of my eye, chatting away with friends, and I couldn't help but stare. There. He. Was. I don't know what it feels like to see a UFO. I don't know what it feels like to see a ghost. I don't know what it feels like to see Bigfoot, but I know what it feels like to see Paul McCartney, and if that's not a supernatural event, then I don't know what is. I tried to avert my eyes, but it was no use. I was mesmerized. A man approached and asked, “Hey Dave, are you going to stick around for a bit? I'm sure that Paul would like to say hello." I froze and choked on my complimentary samosa. Wait...what? Paul? Me? My heart doubled its tempo, the lights seemed to dim in a bizarre, twilight tunnel fashion, but doing my damndest to stay cool, I managed to muster a nonchalant “Uhhhh, yeah! Sure! I'll be right here.”

What happened next will forever remain a blur. I don't recall exactly how Paul and I were introduced, what was said, or how long we talked, but I do remember putting on my best “this is not the most incredible thing ever to happen to me” face while trying to keep from making a fool of myself. I think I may have tried the “So, are you guys on tour at the moment?” line, but who knows. I was beside myself, having an out of body experience, living a moment that will surely be revisited in my final hours. I would not be standing there that night, much less writing this today, if it weren't for this man. Like so many who have made lives as musicians, his music had been a teacher when I needed instruction. A friend when I felt alone. A father when I needed love. A therapist when I needed guidance, and a partner when I needed to belong.

Of course, I thought of my mother. She would surely understand what I felt in that moment. Upon returning to the hotel, I immediately picked up the phone and called her at home in Virginia, the same tiny house where I had spent my childhood listening to George Harrison and Paul McCartney. From the desk where she would grade her papers every night after making my sister Lisa and me dinner, she cried tears of joy, knowing that all my years of struggle and faith had led to this profound, life changing night. After all, it was her who bought me my first electric guitar and Beatles songbook when I was 11 years old, changing my life forever. Every day, she watched me strain my little fingers to form the chords within those pages while sitting in front of the public school record player she brought home from work. And now, here I was, immersed in THEIR world, surrounded by THEIR lifelong friends and extended family, reminiscing about THEIR past and reeling in the present. Everyone grateful for life, music, and love.

And survival.

The Storyteller

By dave grohl, find your local retailer here., tracey is a punk rocker, an excerpt from the storyteller by dave grohl.

“Tracey, they’re here!”

In the extravagant foyer of my aunt Sherry’s turn-of-the-century Evanston, Illinois, estate, I stood at the bottom of the long, winding staircase waiting to greet my ultra-cool cousin Tracey with a much-anticipated hug. Though we weren’t technically related, I considered Tracey family as much as I did any blood relative. Our mothers had met as teenagers in high school and became lifelong friends, even forming an a cappella singing group called the Three Belles that performed at their local Boardman, Ohio, Kiwanis clubs, Women’s City Clubs, and school functions in the early fifties (not to mention a morning TV cooking show where my mother drank milk for a commercial endorsement and almost threw up all over the set). Joined by their dear friend Jeralyn Meyer, the trio sang “Tea for Two,” “Bewitched,” and “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” in perfect harmony, all smiles and matching outfits. With no real professional aspirations, theirs was more of a heartfelt passion, a way to pass the time and share their love of music with friends. After graduation, my mother and Sherry went their separate ways in life but vowed to reconnect every summer from then on, which we did, no matter the distance between our families.

Our seven-hundred-mile drive from Springfield, Virginia, to Evanston was no small feat. My mother, my sister, and I would cram our luggage, pillows, blankets, and cooler full of snacks into our baby-blue 1981 Ford Fiesta for the eleven-hour drive, usually stopping halfway in Youngstown, Ohio, for a few days to visit with my grandparents, not far from where I was born in the little town of Warren. It was the highlight of the year, driving up the Pennsylvania Turnpike into one of America’s most beautiful corners, winding over rolling hills and through long mountain tunnels. I always enjoyed the trip, singing along to the radio with my mother from the front seat, pulling over at rest stops for souvenirs, and eating sandwiches that we had brought or the ride. It was my first real taste of travel, and even then I could appreciate the gradual change in landscape as we barreled across the country toward the Midwest in our tiny little car, squeezed in like cosmonauts for hours on end. I can only think that the pleasure I found watching the long road ahead inspired me to follow those same highways later on in life.

After traveling from our sleepy suburban Virginia neighborhood, into the Pennsylvania hills, and past the long, flat cornfields of rural Ohio, the sight of Chicago’s sprawling metropolis before our windshield was nothing less than triumphant. Like the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz, the glorious vision of the Sears Tower standing in the distance always filled me with a sense of amazement and wild anticipation, wondering what this summer’s trip would have in store. I absolutely loved Chicago. Its multicultural maze of subway cars and brick buildings seemed like a playground of opportunity, much more exciting than the quiet suburban environment of my home in Virginia. Along with my cousin Tracey, the most adventurous of my “cousins,” there were her three older brothers, Trip, Todd, and Troy, who would always take me under their wing and show me a world outside of my own that I otherwise never would have experienced, from exploring the city to playing for hours on the warm beaches of Lake Michigan. This was my Fantasy Island, my Club Med, my Copacabana. This also became my life’s first real taste of independence, as I eventually began taking the L downtown without my mother’s supervision to explore the city’s many corners, quickly finding my own sense of identity that stretched far beyond who I had been led to believe I could be. I was living a classic 1980s John Hughes coming-of-age film without realizing it, aesthetically and emotionally.

As I stood waiting for Tracey to bounce down in her usual shorts and polo shirt, I noticed an ominous sound from upstairs. The sound of chains clanging and leather creaking, boots hitting the floor with a thud in every step, like a Viking slowly approaching an intended victim. A home intruder? A Hells Angel? The Ghost of Christmas Past? My heart raced as the footsteps grew closer, now at the top of the staircase. Boom. Clink. Boom. Clink. Boom. Clink. And then she appeared . . .

Tracey was now a punk rocker.

With shiny Doc Marten boots, black bondage pants, an Anti-Pasti T-shirt, and a shaved head, she was a terrifying yet glorious vision of rebellion. Long gone were the tennis shorts and sneakers from last summer; Tracey had transformed into something I had only seen on prime-time TV shows like CHiPs or Quincy. But this was no cartoonish, spiky-haired villain terrorizing a silly sitcom with reckless anarchy and a clamorous soundtrack in the background. No. This was fucking real. I stood in awe, as if I were face-to-face with an alien sent from another civilization, examining every spike, every safety pin, and every leather strap with joyous bewilderment. But my shock and surprise were calmed the instant she greeted us with her usual sunny smile. It was still Tracey, just turned up to 11 like a postapocalyptic superhero. To say that I was excited would be one of my life’s greatest understatements. I was beside myself. Something had been awakened in me—I just wasn’t yet sure what that was.

After the usual jolly catch-up, Tracey and I wandered upstairs to her bedroom, where she proceeded to show me the massive record collection next to her turntable stereo. Rows and rows of seven-inch singles and LPs, all neatly lined up and meticulously cared for, with band names that I had never heard of—the Misfits, Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, Germs, Naked Raygun, Black Flag, Wire, Minor Threat, GBH, Discharge, the Effigies . . . too many to name here. This was a virtual treasure trove of underground, independent punk rock, something I had never known existed up until that point. We sat on her floor as she proceeded to play record after record with the enthusiasm of a professor instructing a hungry student ravenous for knowledge. “Listen to this one!” she would say, and carefully drop a disc onto the record player. “Now this!” she continued, playing one after another, blowing my mind into outer space with each track. I had questions. So many questions. How could I have not known that this existed? Does everybody know about this? Is this even legal? I examined the sleeve of each record, eyes wide, gazing at the crude artwork, photos, and credits, while Tracey blasted the loud, raw music filled with whiplash tempos and bloodcurdling screams. Hours flew by, and everything I knew about music up until that point went right out the window.

This was the first day of the rest of my life.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed one glaring difference from all the typical classic rock albums that I owned at home: none of these albums were from any record companies I had ever heard of. On the contrary, most of them practically looked homemade. They featured Xeroxed covers with dark, pixelated photos; handwritten lyrics and credits; silkscreened logos and graphics, all clumsily stuffed into plastic sleeves that sold for a mere three or four dollars. This underground network somehow existed entirely outside of the conventional, corporate structure and defied the ordinary manner of manufacturing and distributing music. These people were doing it THEMSELVES, Tracey explained. I was entranced, awakened, and inspired. I no longer considered music an unattainable act of wizardry, only possible for those who were blessed with the godlike ability of Jimi Hendrix or Paul McCartney. I now realized that all you needed was three chords, an open mind, and a microphone. And the passion and drive to make it happen yourself.

That night, Tracey was planning on taking the L downtown to see local Chicago punk band Naked Raygun play at a dive bar just across the street from Wrigley Field called the Cubby Bear. Having just listened to their song “Surf Combat” that afternoon, I was dying to experience this radical lifestyle up close and in the flesh but couldn’t imagine Tracey would invite me along, as I looked like a square thirteen-year-old kid who’d just fallen off the back of a public school bus. More Opie Taylor than Sid Vicious, I could only imagine Tracey’s mortification if I were to walk with her through a room of Mohawks and spiked leather jackets. But, after a bit of cajoling from my aunt Sherry, Tracey graciously conceded and agreed to let me tag along. This was uncharted terrain, seriously foreign territory, and my stomach was in knots with nervous anticipation.

Not to mention . . . I had never been to a live concert before.

After all my years of watching MTV and staring at the Kiss and Led Zeppelin posters on my bedroom walls, I foolishly thought that bands only performed on giant stages with smoke machines and massive displays of lasers and pyrotechnics. To me, that was rock and roll. Little did I know that all you needed was four walls and a song.

On the train ride into town, my mind was an electrical storm of dangerous premonitions, imagining the chaos and madness that awaited in that dingy hole-in-the-wall bar downtown. Just hours before, a truth had been unlocked in me that I couldn’t wait to live out. I now identified with something, and it wasn’t anything I had seen in my life back home. Those jagged record sleeves and distorted garage recordings that leapt out of Tracey’s speakers had forced open a window to my soul, and I had finally experienced a connection that made me feel understood. Having always felt slightly removed from the norm, I never had anywhere or anyone to turn to for understanding and reassurance among my peers. I was a kid from a broken home, a mama’s boy, an okay student at best. A ball of misplaced energy who was looking for his niche, his tribe. I was in desperate need of an existential makeover. I could feel it coming.

When we arrived at the Cubby Bear, I noticed a few punks hanging out on the street outside the club door and was surprised at how young they were. Teenagers like me, they weren’t the menacing faces that I had seen on Tracey’s album covers. Most were just skinny skater types in jeans, T-shirts, and Converse Chucks, bouncing off the walls with adolescent, hyperactive energy, just like me. Instantly relieved, we walked up and Tracey introduced me to her gang of outsiders. I soon picked up that everyone there that night knew everyone else, and it was a tight community of friends, all drawn together by their love of subversive music and the celebration of personal expression. Sure, there were some spikes, and leather, and colorful hair, and piercings, but I didn’t see this as threatening. I felt like I was at home.

Like a bomb ready to detonate, the room was ripe with anxious tension as Naked Raygun prepared to hit the stage. As the houselights went out, I was immediately struck by the intimacy of the gig. Unlike what I saw in those posters on my bedroom wall, I was shoulder to shoulder with everyone else, standing only feet from the small stage as the singer gripped the microphone, ready to count into the first number. And when he did, the small room ignited like a powder keg in a frenzy of limbs and deafening volume. People on top of people. Slam dancing, stage diving, the crowd chanting the words to each song with fists in the air like an army of loyal sonic soldiers. I was stepped on. I was shoved and punched. I was thrown about like a rag doll in the melee of the crowd, and I fucking loved it. The music and violent dancing released an energy within me that had been pent up for years, like an exorcism of all of my childhood traumas. This was a feeling of freedom that I had waited for my entire life, and now that I’d been baptized by spit and sweat and broken glass, there was no turning back. Song after thunderous song, I kept close to the small stage, bathed in the distorted glory of the music. Naked Raygun is considered by some to be the most important band in the history of Chicago punk, and their style almost resembled a hardcore Dick Dale type of surf rock. Of course, I didn’t understand their relevance then. I just knew that this music was filling my head and my soul with something I needed more of. With no song longer than about three and a half minutes, each stuttered blast was met with a riotous response, and the pauses between songs seemed like an eternity as I waited for the chaos to resume. It was all over much too soon, and as the houselights came up, I walked over to the merchandise table and bought my first punk rock record: Naked Raygun’s “Flammable Solid” seven-inch single. One of only a thousand made.

After the gig, we boarded the train and returned to Evanston with ears ringing and hearts made anew. In one summer day, I was forever changed, and now understood that I didn’t need the pyrotechnics, lasers, or impossible proficiency of a virtuoso instrumentalist to become a musician. The most important element of rock and roll had been revealed to me in Naked Raygun’s performance: the raw and imperfect sound of human beings purging their innermost voice for all to hear. This was now available to me, and I couldn’t wait to return home to Virginia and spread the gospel to all of my friends, hoping that they would see the light, too.

Turns out, Tracey herself was the singer of a punk rock band named Verboten, and they had already recorded some original songs and played live gigs around Chicago. With an average age of about thirteen years old, the four-piece was just kids doing it all themselves, writing and practicing in Tracey’s basement, booking their own shows, and making their own T-shirts to sell at their gigs. Guitarist Jason Narducy couldn’t have been more than eleven years old at the time, and his Gibson SG dwarfed his tiny body as he banged out power chords to songs like “My Opinion” and “He’s a Panther.” This inspired me even more, seeing a kid even younger than myself stepping out and following his dreams. I knew that my guitar at home was in for a right banging once I got my hands on it again. Hell, if these kids could do it, I could too.

The days of our vacation flew by as I immersed myself in Tracey’s library of music, studying each album, even discovering a few bands from my hometown in her collection: Minor Threat, Faith, Void, and my personal favorite, a group named Scream whose Bailey’s Crossroads PO box address was just miles from my neighborhood! Mind. Fucking. Blown. Scream were a bit different from the other, less polished groups, though. With strong melodies and hints of classic rock and roll here and there, their fast, aggressive songs seemed a bit more crafted than everything else I had heard on that trip. And they didn’t necessarily look like the punks I had seen on those other album sleeves and in those fanzine pages in Tracey’s room. Dressed in jeans and flannels and with scruffy hair, they looked like they were . . . from Virginia. I joyously played their album on repeat with a sense of hometown pride, memorizing every word—and every drumbeat.

The rest of our vacation was spent going to shows, buying albums at Wax Trax! records, and hanging out with other punks, as I slowly learned this new language of records and tapes that circulated among them. I witnessed that this underground scene was a grassroots network of young music lovers like me, blissfully removed from the mainstream idea of a “career” in music. Like the Three Belles many years before, there were hardly any professional aspirations in this crew, but rather a heartfelt passion to share the love of music with friends. The reward? Usually nothing more than a sense of accomplishment from doing something you loved entirely on your own. And it was worth every drop of blood, sweat, and tears. There were no rock stars here. Only real people.

The long drive back to Virginia was like a metaphorical journey from my past to my future. I had left something behind in Chicago. Long gone was the little boy who could never imagine his songs, his words, or his passions someday residing deep within the grooves of a dirty black slab of vinyl. Long gone was the little boy afraid of being ostracized for seeming different from all of the cool kids. Armed with a Germs record, a Killing Joke T-shirt, and the “Flammable Solid” single I had purchased at the Naked Raygun gig, I was now determined to begin my new life as a punk rocker. I had finally shed that outer layer of fragile adolescent insecurity and begun to grow a new skin, one that would form into my true self, and I couldn’t wait to show it to the world.

They’ll rip your skin off

They’ll flay you alive

You try to keep breathing

On this ride of your life

I can use it

Dave Grohl announces his Storyteller Tour

by Mark Zapata | Sep 21, 2021 | News , Touring | 0 comments

Foo Fighters head honcho Dave Grohl will tour in support of his upcoming book The Storyteller – Tales Of Life And Music .

In a limited run of intimate evenings , Dave will bring his eagerly anticipated first ever book to life. Tickets are on sale now.

From FF News:

Coming Oct. 5 from Dey Street Books (US) and Simon & Schuster (UK), The Storyteller –Tales of Life and Music is a collection of memories of a life lived loud. From his formative years on the DC punk rock scene through the decades of music that followed, Dave will share the experiences that have defined him — plus some special surprises — all 100% live and in-person in four select cities. Doors for all shows will open at 6:30pm. Dave will be on stage at 8:00pm. Tickets for DAVE GROHL — THE STORYTELLER — LIVE! are limited to 2 per transaction. Each ticket purchased includes a copy of The Storyteller – Tales of Life and Music. Partners in each city include: Waterstones, The Strand, Politics & Prose, Book Soup, and Barnes & Noble.

Tour Dates:

09/27 London, UK @ Savoy Theatre 10/05 New York City, NY @ The Town Hall 10/07 Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre 10/12 Los Angeles, CA @ The Ford 10/13 Los Angeles, CA @ The Ford

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Published: 2021/09/20

Dave Grohl Announces ‘The Storyteller’ Book Tour

“I’ve never really been one to collect stuff,” Dave Grohl says in a trailer for his book The Storyteller . “But I do collect moments.”

The Foo Fighters frontman wrote his forthcoming book while in lockdown, after originally collecting short stories on his Instagram @davestruestories.

The Storyteller will drop on Oct. 5, and Grohl will hit the road to promote the release with events spanning from Sept. 27 in London to Oct. 12/13 in LA.

This release adds yet another feather to Foo Fighters’ cap, as they spent 2021 reopening Madison Square Garden , winning MTV’s first-ever U.S. Global Icon Award , releasing a new album and unveiling a disco alter-ego.

Watch the book’s trailer and check out his tour dates below:

Dave Grohl – The Storyteller Tour Dates: Sept. 27 – London, UK – Savoy Theatre Oct. 5 – New York, NY – The Town Hall Oct. 7 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre Oct. 12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Ford Oct. 13 – Los Angeles, CA – The Ford

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Dave Grohl Announces Storyteller Book Tour

A small jaunt promoting his debut memoir

On October 5th, Dave Grohl will publish his debut memoir, The Storyteller . To promote its release, Grohl has now mapped out a small book tour.

During dates scheduled in London, New York, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, Grohl will “share the experiences that have defined him — plus some special surprises — all 100% live and in-person,” according to a press release. Tickets are limited to two per transaction and come with a copy of The Storyteller .

You can purchase tickets to the NYC and DC dates here , the LA dates here , and the London date here .

The 304-page book is described by Grohl as “a collection of memories of a life lived loud. From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone. Turn it up!”

Grohl was inspired to write Storyteller after posting short stories to Instagram page, Dave’s True Stories , during the pandemic. “In doing that,” he explains in the trailer for the book, “I fell in love with writing. And I thought, ‘Oh, you know what, maybe I’ll just write a book,’ without realizing how gargantuan a project it would be.”

After concluding the book tour in early October, Grohl will rejoin Foo Fighters for several more US concerts scheduled through the end of the year. You can get tickets to the band’s upcoming shows here .

Dave Grohl – The Storyteller Tour Dates: 09/27 – London, UK @ Savoy Theatre 10/05 – New York, NY @ The Town Hall 10/07 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre 10/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Ford 10/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Ford

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From Foo Fighters to Nirvana and beyond, Dave Grohl takes a long look in 'The Storyteller'

Midway through “The Storyteller,” Dave Grohl’s new 384-page book in which he shares memories across his decades of life as a musician, we reach the part where Kurt Cobain dies. Grohl doesn’t go into specifics; most everything has been told in other Nirvana books already. But he captures the emotional impact of that moment in a uniquely personal way, by contrasting it with the loss of his childhood friend Jimmy Swanson in 2008.

“That was the last story I wrote, because it was the hardest,” Grohl told me in a Zoom interview last month. “I was scared to open up and write about that experience.

"I also knew what people wanted me to write, and I avoided that. Instead of writing a detailed description or account of those few days, that whole piece was about what determines the depth of your sadness when you lose someone. Is it how strong the bond was, or how deep you brought them into your lives?

MORE: Dave Grohl reflects about past visits to Austin

“With my friend Jimmy, I’d known him since I was 6 years old. We lived two blocks away from each other in Virginia. Our whole lives, we shared everything. With Kurt, I was in a band with him for three and a half years. Their emotional relevances in my life are different, but equally as strong. So it had more to do with what it feels like to lose someone, and how you process that.”

Less a formal memoir than a collection of stories that weave together like a patchwork quilt, “The Storyteller” is Grohl’s first book. “I knew what I didn't want to do: I didn't want to write a formulaic, chronological, logistical, informational account of the last 52 years of my life,” he says. “Plus, as with everything I do, I had no clue how to do it. I don't know how to write a (expletive) book!”

FOO FIGHTERS: Review of the band's 2015 ACL Fest set

But now that it’s done, “The Storyteller” ($29.99, Dey Street) might just be the first of many volumes. “It was so much fun, and I can't wait to do more,” he said. “When I hit send on that last story in the book, I was sad. I thought, oh no, it's over? I guess that is the tip of the iceberg. I want to keep going.”

We spoke with Grohl for an hour about the book, his early days in D.C. punk band Scream and Seattle legends Nirvana, the mid-’90s rise of Foo Fighters, his visits to Austin over the years, and more. Here are some highlights from that conversation.

American-Statesman: In the introduction, you explained that this book grew out of the pandemic and suddenly finding yourself not playing shows. Had you ever thought about writing a book previously?

Dave Grohl: You know, I always thought that I would someday, but for the longest time I just felt it was too soon. I was actually offered one 10 years ago. I was at a barbecue and this guy introduced himself and said he was a book agent. He said, "Have you written a book?" I said, "No, I haven’t." He said, ‘Do you want to?’ And I said, "Well yeah, someday, I think it'd be pretty fun." Both of my parents were brilliant writers. And then Monday morning I got a call from this guy's office, and he says, "Look, it's easy, all you’ve got to do is four or five hours worth of interviews, and then we'll just have someone else write it and we'll hand you a check, and you have yourself a book."

And I cringed because I thought, oh my God, both of my parents would disown me if I ever had somebody else write my book for me. And I’ve always enjoyed writing. I’ve never done it professionally, but I’ve been asked to here and there, for magazines and introductions to other people's books.

RELATED: Dave Grohl on the Austin episode of Foo Fighters "Sonic Highways" series

I realized that I finally had time, and a lot of stories. And I don't do well with time off: I’m bad on vacation. I’m not good at sitting down and watching TV all day. I can't do that. I always need something to do. So last year when everything shut down, I started this Instagram page called Dave's True Stories. … I made a list of 30 or 40 of these stories that I could write just to give me something to do. I looked at the list and thought, this could be a book, you know. And that's kind of how the whole thing started.

There’s a chapter I really enjoyed about how you played on “Saturday Night Live” with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers just after Nirvana ended, and almost ended up becoming a member of the band. Do you wonder sometimes about an alternative universe where you did take that gig, and how differently your life would have unfolded?

Absolutely. That's a big “what if,” but that was a tricky period. I wasn't really ready to move on yet. I was taking these small steps to get back to music, but it still hurt a little. Just to be asked to play two songs with them on “Saturday Night Live,” and walk into a room and there he is, with Mike (Campbell) and Ben (Benmont Tench) and the Heartbreakers … but at the time, I think I was maybe 25 years old, and I wasn't ready to sit back on the drum stool.

I had recorded this Foo Fighters tape — it wasn’t a band, it was just me playing all this (stuff) in a studio down the street from my house. And I decided to do the Foo Fighters thing because I wasn't sure if I could do it. I could sit down with Tom Petty and play songs on the drums, but this Foo Fighters idea was like, “I’m not sure if I can do that.” And that's why I did it. At that point in my life, it was like, "OK, I need to switch it up. I need to do something that I don't know how to do." And it worked.

There’s a fair bit about your family life, and your parents’ influences on your own life, in the book. You talk a lot more about your mother than your father in the book. Did they split up when you were young?

They did. They divorced when I was about 6 years old. My father was very conservative — a Republican journalist and then a speech writer. He became a PR guy and worked on Capitol Hill as a campaign manager for Sen. (Robert) Taft from Ohio. My mother was a liberal public school teacher who loved Manhattan Transfer. She’s one of the sweetest, most open-minded, generous, loving, altruistic people. She’s what a school teacher should be, I think.

So you have this really conservative suit-and-tie guy, and then I’m his (expletive) son — how far does an apple have to fall from the tree? I always joke that mine rolled all the way down the hill. I was a terrible student, failing out of the high school that my mother was a teacher at.

So my father and I had a really rocky relationship until I was about 22. We relieved ourselves of the obligations that come with a father-son relationship; he basically said, “You're on your own,” and I basically said, “Finally.” And then we became friends, and I learned to love him and get to know him better.

He passed about seven years ago, but in that time where we got to know each other, he’s the one who inspired me to write. He was such a brilliant writer. When email became a thing, we had this correspondence back and forth when I was on the road. He would write me stories about D.C. in the ’70s and his involvement in reporting Watergate and stuff like that.

And as we're going back and forth, like any son, you just want to impress your father. He’s raising the bar on each one of these emails, and I’m having to write him back and give him something that he could actually chew on. After a month or so, he writes me back and says, “You know what, David? You're becoming a really good writer.” He said, “Your writing has punch, and punch is power.”

I swear to God, it was like my life’s validation. I’ve jammed with McCartney, I’ve jammed with the Zeppelin guys, I’ve jammed with Prince — but my dad sending me that letter, I hung my badge on that for the rest of my life. And it really did inspire me to write.

The Foo Fighters played a show in August in Los Angeles and brought out this amazing 11-year-old drummer, Nandi Bushell, to do a song with the band onstage. We’ve seen this kind of thing many times over the years, like a few years ago in Austin …

Oh, I know what you’re going to say — you’re going to say Kiss Guy! He was sort of toward the front, and he had this Kiss makeup on, and he’s got a sign up (that reads), “Can I play ‘Monkey Wrench’?” And “Monkey Wrench” is like the second-to-last song in a two-hour-and-45-minute set, so I’m sitting there looking at him all night, holding this sign up, and I'm like, damn his arms must be tired.

I had to give it to him. I was just like, he worked hard for this. He’s been holding that sign for two and a half hours. I’d never met him before; no clue that he could even play. I just thought, "OK, this could either be the greatest thing that's ever happened or a total train wreck, but I don't give a (expletive)." And he took my guitar and he was off and running.

MORE: Review of Foo Fighters' 2018 concert in Austin

When we play live, it's always been important to me that there is a connection with the audience. … When I was young, I always had this twisted fantasy that I go to my favorite band’s show and someone would come out and say, “Sorry. we can't play tonight, something happened to our drummer, unless there's someone out there that knows every one of our records front to back.” And then I would raise my hand and jump up onstage and save the (expletive) day.

Every time I bring up one of those people onstage, I have to think they've had that same fantasy, to be able to jump onstage with the band and perform in front of thousands of people. It not only brings them joy, but it brings the audience joy, and me as well.

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Dave Grohl retraces his life-affirming path from Nirvana to Foo Fighters

Terry Gross

Dave Grohl performs onstage during the taping of the 2021 "Vax Live" fundraising concert at the in Inglewood, Calif. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Dave Grohl performs onstage during the taping of the 2021 "Vax Live" fundraising concert at the in Inglewood, Calif.

Dave Grohl still remembers the first punk show he ever saw: Naked Raygun, in Chicago around 1982, at a little corner bar across from Wrigley Field called The Cubby Bear.

"They knew four chords and the singer was, like, on top of my head, and I was against the stage, and it was life-affirming, because I thought ... 'Oh my God! This is what I want to do,' " the Foo Fighters frontman says.

There was an undercurrent of anger to the punk scene back then, but Grohl says he wasn't fueled by rage. Rather, he describes himself as a hyperactive kid who loved life and wanted to play the drums — he started out by pounding pillows on his bedroom floor.

"This was that hyperactive energy that I had my entire life, but I was kind of channeling all of that into the way that I played drums," he says. "It felt so good."

Dave Grohl: How To Make An Arena Feel Like A Punk Club

Grohl eventually dropped out of high school in Virginia to join the band Scream, spending a few years on the road with the group. But then he got a call from Kurt Cobain, asking he wanted to play drums for an upstart band in Seattle called Nirvana .

"I moved up [to Seattle] and we went into a small rehearsal space and started playing, and within 45 seconds it sounded like Nirvana," he says.

Man Photographed As A Baby On 'Nevermind' Cover Sues Nirvana For Sexual Exploitation

Nirvana catapulted to superstardom with the release of its 1991 hit " Smells like Teen Spirit ." But just three years later, in 1994, Cobain killed himself, and Grohl considered giving up on music entirely.

"I was heartbroken," he says. "I didn't really know if I ever wanted to play music again, until I realized that music was the one thing that had healed me my entire life."

Six months after Cobain's death, Grohl recorded the Foo Fighters' first album as a one-man project, only assembling the band after the record was complete. The band gelled; in 2021 they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

A few years ago, the Foo Fighters played to a sold-out crowd at Wrigley Field in Chicago — just across the street from the dingy corner bar where Grohl had seen his first concert.

"It took me 36 years to cross that crosswalk and make it to that stadium across the street," he says. "But I did it with my friends and the people that I love, and most of us survived. And that night after the show, we all sort of gathered together and celebrated just that, and I'm very proud of it."

Grohl's new memoir is The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music

Interview highlights

On his percussive guitar playing

I can't read music. I'm self-taught, so I don't really have any formal sense of theory or scaling or anything like that. But I do look at the strings on a guitar like it's a drum set. So if you imagine the lower strings are kicks and snares. And then the cymbals, when the song opens up, you let the other strings ring out. So it makes the sound sort of, like, blossom into this crescendo. ... I'm not a soloist. I'm not a virtuoso. But I'm a really good rhythm guitarist, because I look at it like it's a drum set.

On sleeping in a van with five other guys while touring with Scream

There were five guys in the band and my best friend Jimmy was the roadie. And so basically, back then, underground bands, most bands toured in vans that were kind of converted into a tour bus, meaning you would have to put all of the people and all of the equipment in a van and go from town to town. You would build a platform out of plywood and make a little shell for a loft so that you could sleep in your sleeping bag on top of the gear. You put the gear under the shelf and then everyone would sleep like sardines in a can in their sleeping bags.

And that was just kind of the way it worked, because when your per diem is $7 a day, there's no hotel rooms. If you're lucky, you might find someone that'll let you crash on their floor. If not, it was perfectly fine to sleep in the van. And to be honest, to this day, if I'm having a hard time going to sleep — it doesn't matter if I'm at home or if I'm at the Ritz-Carlton — if I'm having a hard time going to sleep, I actually try to transport myself back to that time when I was in a sleeping bag like a sardine in the van, rolling down the highway. It's almost like being swaddled to sleep. It's almost like having ... a white noise or something. There's some sort of comfort in that. But that's what we would do.

On living in a squalid apartment in Seattle with Nirvana

I had moved up there without having met the guys from Nirvana before, so they were strangers, and it was really the music that kept me there. Living in that tiny apartment that was pretty squalid and pretty gross was OK, as long as there was music at the end of the day. And the music that we were making was great.

I got homesick sometimes, and maybe I would call my mother and wish for Virginia, that's where I'm from. But then I'd get behind the drum set with Kurt and Krist [Novoselic] and think, "No, I belong right here. This is good."

The members of Nirvana (Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic) pose in Germany in 1991. Paul Bergen/Redferns hide caption

The members of Nirvana (Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic) pose in Germany in 1991.

On the simplicity of Nirvana's music

I think that's one of the reasons why it's proved to be so effective. The guitar playing is very simple. The drumming is very simple. ... We would record a song in one or two takes. It was very pure and honest and real. And I think when Kurt wrote songs, he really tried to capture that simplicity because he realized that that's kind of a direct route to someone's heart or soul or mind.

On Cobain fluctuating between being fun and reclusive

When I moved up and started living in that small apartment with them, I mean, this was someone that I had never met before. I didn't know at first — I thought, maybe he's quiet, maybe he's shy, maybe he has social anxieties, whatever it is. There were times, too, where he was outrageously funny and really fun to be around. The two of us would get $7 and go to the grocery store and spend half an hour in the freezer section looking for the perfect TV dinner. And those moments were so much fun. So it wasn't always doom and gloom. ...

All Songs Considered

Dave grohl and krist novoselic share memories, unreleased tracks from 'in utero'.

A lot of the times when we'd go to the apartment after rehearsal, I slept on the couch, so I would kind of get on my couch and he would go in his room, close the door. Little did I know that most of that time he was writing in his journals, and more often than not, the next day at rehearsal, he would have a new song. So I think he had moments of being introverted and sort of reclusive, but that was also balanced with someone that was pretty fun to be around and pretty great to be in a band with, because when we counted into a song, it exploded, and it was real, man, it was real.

On the explosion in popularity after the "Smells like Teen Spirit" video release

When that record Nevermind was released, we embarked on a tour that was very much the same as any tour I had done with Scream or Nirvana had done before. We were playing places that held maybe 90 people, some 150 people, maybe 200-300 people, and it was comfortable. Now we had a trailer where we could put our equipment in a trailer, so that was an upgrade. But for the most part, it was just as it always had been — until the "Smells like Teen Spirit" video came out, and the song started getting played on the radio.

The NPR 100

How nirvana's 'smells like teen spirit' became an anthem.

We would show up to one of those clubs and not only were there 250 people inside, but there were 250 people outside as well trying to get in, and you could see it growing, you could feel it growing. So we were kind of blissfully unaware until we pulled up to a club, put our equipment on stage and realized, "Oh God, this could become a riot." I would sit down at my drum set and look for the exit, first thing. ...

There was this excitement, there was this electricity, and it seemed in a way that there was some kind of revolution happening, which can be pretty great to participate in unless you're in the eye of the storm. There were times when it did get a bit dangerous and it did get a little scary. And I think by the end of that tour, we decided to kind of retreat and go home and let it all die down.

On smashing their instruments

Smashing the guitar doesn't necessarily kill a guitar. You can actually smash the guitar and have it repaired and use it the next night. I remember Kurt had a few guitars that were just Frankensteined together because in a fit of celebration or rage, he would smash the thing and go, "Oh crap, I just smashed my guitar!" And then he'd have to kind of put it back together.

Drums, on the other hand, drums bounce, which I learned while I was in Nirvana. ... I had this yellow drum set — the same drums that I used in the "Smells like Teen Spirit Video," I think — this yellow drum set that had holes in it from Kurt chopping at it during shows. And I was begging my tour manager, I was like, "Can I please get a new drum set? These drums have holes . It's like Swiss cheese! They have holes in them!" And he goes, "Next week we could do it. One more show, one more song." And so finally, I looked at Kurt before his show and I said, "OK, tonight I need a new drum set. The only way I'm going to get a new drum set is if we just smash this one to bits. It has holes in it." And we told the audience at the Metro in Chicago, "OK, you guys can go home, but we're going to smash this drum set for like, about half an hour." And we did. And the next morning, I think it was a Sunday, and all the music stores were closed.

On Cobain writing in his suicide note, that he didn't enjoy making music and performing anymore

There are moments where you get that feeling, I think, as a musician or a performer or as an artist. I think that there are times where you hit that wall and you realize that you're maybe not inspired, maybe you're not into it, maybe you're just going through the motions. One of the things with my life now or the Foo Fighters now is that I learned a lot of lessons over the years, from Scream to Nirvana to the Foo Fighters, of what to do and what not to do. I think one of the reasons why our band has survived 26 years as the Foo Fighters is because of those lessons we learned before. And one of the biggest lessons is to know when to say "No" and not ever feel like you have to buckle to the pressure of someone else forcing you to make music or to perform or to do something that your heart isn't there for. And that's the way we've worked.

I have to imagine one of the reasons why we've survived this long is because if you get that tinge, that feeling in the back of your mind where you're just punching in and going through the motions, that's when it's time to pump the brakes and stop. And that's what we've always done. And more often than not, you settle and that feeling dissipates and then you call up your guys and you're like, "Hey, I wrote a bunch of new songs. Let's make another record."

On reinventing himself after Nirvana and forming Foo Fighters

I really had no blueprint or no real plan. You know, when I was young, I would record songs by myself where I would play drums with pots and pans and record it on a cassette and then put another cassette in the other player and play guitar along to that cassette. Then I'd have a cassette with guitar and pots and pans, and I'd put that on and sing along to it. So I knew how to sort of multi-track and record by myself. Once I started recording in studios, I would record songs of my own — I never let anyone hear them, because I was mortified. I thought, "Oh God, these lyrics are terrible. Oh my God, my voice is terrible." I would never let anyone hear, but I had banked maybe like 25 or 30 of these songs. I was recording this stuff while I was in Nirvana, but nobody knew. And then when the band was over, when Nirvana was finished, I thought, "OK, I'm going to pick my favorite 14 or 15 songs, go into a studio." I booked six days and I thought, "Well, that's an eternity. I could make The White Album for six days!" And so I just went in and recorded everything by myself as fast as I could, really with no idea what to do with it or where to go with it.

Like a divining rod or whatever you call it. I just kind of like, I found some guys that their band had broken up and we jammed together ... and things just sort of started coming together. But I didn't really see it as any kind of reinvention. I just saw it as a continuation.

On why he didn't want to play drums in another band after Nirvana

After Nirvana ended, I was asked to join a few other bands as the drummer, and I didn't really want to just sit back down on the drum stool, because I thought it would remind me too much of losing Kurt and losing Nirvana. So it's almost like if you stare at the sun, you wind up blinding this little sunspot in your vision. I almost thought of it, like, that perspective from the drum set. I will always have that sunspot right there in front of me, just to the right. That will be there forever. Also having never done it before, I looked at it as a challenge. People don't bungee jump because they know they're going to make it to the ground safely. I didn't start to be the lead singer of the Foo Fighters because I thought I was Freddie Mercury from Queen . I'm like, "Oh God, I've never done this before. Let's see what happens." I'm that guy. I'm like, "Screw it. Let's try it! Who cares?"

On music being about love and connection

When I went to that first punk rock show, that sense of community and that tribe of those people, those like-minded kids that maybe all felt the same, that was one of the things that I loved so much was the people coming together. I thought it was so cool, like, this is where everyone could come. These were the misfits. These were the weirdos. These were the freaks. But this is where they found their tribe and their community. And ... when we get together, there's some comfort or there's some reassurance in that, like, "Oh, this is where we belong."

As much as I was anti-establishment in a lot of ways, I think that when I was young, there was more this feeling of connection to music and people connecting to music that I loved so much. I know how I felt when I listened to a Beatles song. Something about connecting to the music that made me feel great. And when I started writing songs that people connected to as well, God, it was such a beautiful feeling for me. And if that multiplied, oh my God, it felt even better. ... Now that we play stadiums, it's like in some ways it really does feel strange to me. At the same time, I feel really comfortable doing it. I mean, it's weird. It's like, "Wait, I feel comfortable standing in front of 80,000 people and like conducting them to sing, 'Best of You' with me. Like, is that normal?" I don't know. ... I wouldn't wish it away, because I think that there's a lot of love in music, and the more that that spreads, the farther it goes, the better it does.

Sam Briger and Thea Chaloner produced and edited the audio of this interview. Bridget Bentz and Molly Seavy-Nesper adapted it for the web.

Foo Fighters

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Dave Grohl: The Storyteller review – rock’n’roll raconteur riffs with profanity and positivity

Savoy theatre, London Nirvana and Foo Fighters man’s memoir inspires a sparkling monologue on success, suicide and scrambled-egg sarnies

Springsteen on Broadway aside, few musicians would step away from the cocoon of their band to deliver an exhaustive, self-penned on-stage monologue about their life and career. Dave Grohl is one of the even fewer who can carry it off. The ex- Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters singer used lockdown to write his imminent memoir, The Storyteller . Tonight, dressed all in black, lanky of body and lank of hair, he sits on a high stool and riffs on its themes via a stream of self-deprecating rock anecdotes, interspersed with one-man renditions of his greatest hits.

Famously personable, Grohl is an engaging raconteur, albeit one with a spectacularly potty mouth. His ability to cram a swearword into any conversation arguably peaks when he recalls a penurious childhood eating “motherfucking scrambled-egg sandwiches”. His enthusiasm is winning as he describes a youth in thrall to music and to US punk rock. Loping around the stage, he demonstrates how he played along to Beatles songs and taught himself to drum on sofa cushions, before joining a local Virginia hardcore punk band, Scream.

Grohl is at his most poignant describing his time in Nirvana. Wide-eyed, he recalls moving at warp speed from sleeping on a couch in the Seattle hovel he shared with Kurt Cobain and a crazed turtle, to seeing their homespun band knock Michael Jackson off the top of the US charts in 1992. “We were kids, man! How do you deal with that?” he wonders, even now. It’s thrilling to watch him sit down to pulverise his drums again to a recording of Smells Like Teen Spirit, but the crack in his voice as he describes Cobain’s death betrays how devastated he was by loss of his singer and friend.

Yet angst is not Grohl’s stock in trade, and he’s back in perky, positivist mode for the second half of the show. He straps on a guitar for a few Foo Fighters numbers, including My Hero, then transforms into a stand-up comic as he admits to a health-threatening coffee addiction. Much like his book, or a Foo Fighters gig, this show goes on a bit and could be trimmed. But it’s impossible to dislike Grohl, a rock’n’roll survivor who endured unspeakable tragedy and came out of the other end smiling.

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Join Dave Grohl for an extremely limited run of intimate evenings that’ll see (and hear) him bring his eagerly anticipated first ever book to life.

Tickets are on sale TODAY at 9amPT/12pmET/5pm for DAVE GROHL — THE STORYTELLER — LIVE!

September 27 — London, UK – Savoy Theatre October 5 — New York, NY – The Town Hall October 7 — Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre October 12 & 13 — Los Angeles, CA – The Ford Out October 5 via Dey Street Books and Simon & Schuster, The Storyteller – Tales of Life and Music is a collection of memories of a life lived loud. From his formative years on the DC punk rock scene through the decades of music that followed, Dave will share the experiences that have defined him — plus some special surprises — all 100% live and in-person in four select cities. Doors for all shows will open at 6:30pm. Dave will be on stage at 8:00pm. Tickets for DAVE GROHL — THE STORYTELLER — LIVE! are limited to 2 per transaction. Each ticket purchased includes a copy of The Storyteller – Tales of Life and Music. Partners in each city include: Waterstones, The Strand, Politics & Prose, Book Soup, and Barnes & Noble.

Get tickets here: September 27 – London https://DaveGrohl.lnk.to/London October 5 – New York City https://DaveGrohl.lnk.to/NYC October 7 – Washington, DC https://DaveGrohl.lnk.to/WDC October 12 – Los Angeles https://DaveGrohl.lnk.to/LA12 October 13 – Los Angeles https://DaveGrohl.lnk.to/LA13 The Storyteller – Tales of Life and Music is also available for pre-order separately here

Learn more about the Storyteller here

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Moscow Metro Daily Tour: Small Group Provided by MoscowMe - daily group & private tours

Moscow – Ancient history surrounded by the cosmopolitan

Moscow is a truly enchanting cityscape of old & new, with splashes of colour & cosmopolitan elegance creating a wonderful arena in which to explore the art, culture, heritage & history of a very exciting city.

You can wander the old, church-filled Varvarka Street to Red Square, surrounded by the Kremlin, Vasilij Cathedral and Lenin's mausoleum before marveling at the delightful colours of the beautiful cupolas of St. Basil's Cathedral & copper domes of Saviour Cathedral while learning about Moscow's enthralling history, from 12th Century to Ivan the Terrible, Tsars, Soviet era & recent history, and get to grips with present day Moscow, gaining insightful local hints & tips from friendly, authentic local Moscow guides on freetour.com recommended free walking tours.

The city is a treasure chest of fantastic ways to spend your time – incredible museums, galleries & theaters, such as the Gulag museum, Tretiakov Gallery and the famous Bolshoi Theater, await your arrival while a journey through the remarkably beautiful Metro stations is an experience in its own right. You can also indulge in tasty local cuisine, peruse the Izmaylovo Market for interesting Russian souvenirs, walk the Moskva river in Gorky Park, & sample local Vodka while embracing the vibrant nightlife. However you spend your time among the towering skyscrapers of Moscow, you're sure to have an unforgettable visit.

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The epicenter of modern Russia, Moscow booms with shiny new skyscrapers, the bulbous onion domes of the tsars and politically-rich Red Square. Explore the metropolis with a tourHQ guide.

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Moscow Tour Guides

Jorge De Reval

I am a happy, enthusiastic, amusing Spanish guy. Lively and hyperactive. Recently became qualified ...

Tanya Neyman

I became a local tour guide 6 years ago in Moscow and now we are a team of passionate guides ...

Ekaterina Smirnova

Please note: I'm away from Moscow June 11-26, 2021. I am a native Muscovite but traveled ...

Vasil Valiev

Occupation: Senior guide-translator. Guiding since 2012 in Altai mountains, North of Russia ...

Marina Spasskaya

Hi there! My name is Marina and I'm a licensed Moscow city guide.Moscow is like ...

Greetings from Saint Petersburg. This is your private tour guide Ali in Saint Petersburg. I was ...

Maria Deulina

Dear friends,My name is Maria, I am a licensed guide about Moscow. Being a native Muscovite I have ...

Ashraf Rabei

My name is Ashraf ...I'm graduated from faculty of tourism and hotel guidance department, in Egypt ...

Hengameh Ghanavati

My name is Hengameh Ghanavati. Im a licenced international tour guide since 2014 and I have ...

Todd Passey

We are a cooperative of highly experienced, certified, professional guides. Each guide takes ...

Tim Brinley

Young at heart, adventurous, organized, good people skills, a good speaker, entertaining, ...

Nikolay Borkovoy

Hace 32 años nací en la ciudad de Moscú. Tengo experiencia trabajando como guía turístico en ...

Anika Socotra-International

Our mission is to provide you with the kind of holiday you want: where you can relax in wonderful ...

Al'bina Andreeva

Moscow guide&photo! Feel Putin vibes and explore the enigmatic Russian soul through history ...

The sprawling, mind-boggling metropolis of Russian Moscow has long been one of the theatrical stages on which the great dramas of Europe and Asia have been played out in grand style. Burned by Napoleon in 1812, immortalised by Tolstoy, utilised by the Bolsheviks and championed as a bastion of heroic defiance by the post-war communists, it’s almost hard to believe just how defining the historical events that found their home on Moscow’s streets have been. Moscow tour guides will easily be able to mark the major must-see landmarks on the map, from the onion-domed orthodox Saint Basil's Cathedral, to the political powerhouse of Red Square just next door, while others will be quick to recommend a ride on Moscow’s famous subterranean metro system, or a visit to the UNESCO-attested Novodevichy Convent on the city’s southern side. But Moscow is a city also in the throes of a cultural wrangling between the old and the new. Creative energies abound here: Boho bars and pumping super clubs now occupy the iconic mega structures of the old USSR; high-fashion outlets, trendy shopping malls and luxurious residential districts stand as testimony to a city that’s now the undisputed playground of the world’s super-rich, while sprawling modern art museums dominate the cultural offering of the downtown districts north of the Moskva River.

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COMMENTS

Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl | The Storyteller. A collection of memories of a life lived loud. From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone. Turn it up!
Dave Grohl Announces 'The Storyteller' Book Tour Dates
Dave Grohl The Storyteller Book Tour Dates. September 27 — London, UK - Savoy Theatre. October 5 — New York, NY - The Town Hall. October 7 — Washington, DC - Lincoln Theatre. October 12 & 13 — Los Angeles, CA — The Ford. Topics Foo Fighters. Music, radio and podcasts, all free.
The Storyteller Live
Join Dave Grohl for an extremely limited run of intimate evenings that'll see (and hear) him bring his eagerly anticipated first ever book to life. Tickets are limited to 2 per transaction. Each ticket purchased includes a copy of The Storyteller - Tales of Life and Music. Partners in each city include: Waterstones, The Strand, Politics ...
DAVE GROHL Announces 'The Storyteller Live And In Person' Book Tour
Tickets for "Dave Grohl: The Storyteller Live And In Person" are limited to two per transaction. Each ticket purchased includes a copy of "The Storyteller - Tales Of Life And Music".
Dave Grohl Announces Book Tour Dates for His 'Storyteller' Memoir
Grohl's Storyteller book tour starts in London on Sept. 27 before coming stateside for further stops in New York, Washington, D.C. and a concluding two-night run in Los Angeles on Oct. 12-13 ...
Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl Unveils 'Storyteller' Book Tour Dates
Apparently concerts, albums, documentaries, and writing books aren't enough to keep Dave Grohl busy: Now he's doing a book tour. Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl Unveils 'Storyteller' Book Tour Dates
Dave Grohl to Read From 'The Storyteller' at Special Live Events
By Jon Blistein. September 20, 2021. Dave Grohl Andrew Stuart. Dave Grohl will regale audiences with rock & roll tales from his new memoir, The Storyteller, at a series of upcoming live events ...
Dave Grohl Announces 'The Storyteller' Book Tour
Dave Grohl Is Hitting the Road … for a Book Tour: See the Dates. Dave Grohl is bringing his tales from 'The Storyteller' on the road. On Sept. 20, the rock star announced a list of live dates ...
Dave Grohl Announces Limited The Storyteller Book Tour
Dave Grohl's already busy year is about to get busier. The Foo Fighters frontman is set to embark on a limited run of talks about his upcoming book The Storyteller - Tales of Life and Music ...
The Storyteller Preview
An excerpt from The Storyteller by Dave Grohl found exclusively on audible. Out Now. ... Continuing on our tour for a few more UK arena shows, I counted the hours until I would finally set foot within the hallowed walls of Royal Albert Hall, a name I learned singing along to the Beatles song "A Day in the Life" when I was a kid. ...
Dave Grohl announces his Storyteller Tour
Dave will be on stage at 8:00pm. Tickets for DAVE GROHL — THE STORYTELLER — LIVE! are limited to 2 per transaction. Each ticket purchased includes a copy of The Storyteller - Tales of Life and Music. Partners in each city include: Waterstones, The Strand, Politics & Prose, Book Soup, and Barnes & Noble. Tour Dates: 09/27 London, UK ...
Dave Grohl Announces 'The Storyteller' Book Tour
Dave Grohl - The Storyteller Tour Dates: Sept. 27 - London, UK - Savoy Theatre Oct. 5 - New York, NY - The Town Hall Oct. 7 - Washington, DC - Lincoln Theatre
Dave Grohl Announces Storyteller Book Tour
On October 5th, Dave Grohl will publish his debut memoir, The Storyteller.To promote its release, Grohl has now mapped out a small book tour. During dates scheduled in London, New York, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, Grohl will "share the experiences that have defined him — plus some special surprises — all 100% live and in-person," according to a press release.
Dave Grohl revisits music and band memories in 'The Storyteller' book
Midway through "The Storyteller," Dave Grohl's new 384-page book in which he shares memories across his decades of life as a musician, we reach the part where Kurt Cobain dies. Grohl doesn ...
Dave Grohl retraces his life-affirming path from Nirvana to Foo ...
Dave Grohl performs onstage during the taping of the 2021 "Vax ... Grohl's new memoir is The Storyteller: Tales of ... most bands toured in vans that were kind of converted into a tour bus ...
Dave Grohl: The Storyteller review
Dave Grohl is one of the even fewer who can carry it off. The ex-Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters singer used lockdown to write his imminent memoir, The Storyteller. Tonight, dressed all in black ...
Dave Grohl
Tuesday, October 5, 2021 • 8:00pm. A collection of memories of a life lived loud. From his early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed. Dave shares his adventures live and in-person in four select cities. The Storyteller - Tales of Life and Music available for ...
DAVE GROHL
1,406. Join Dave Grohl for an extremely limited run of intimate evenings that'll see (and hear) him bring his eagerly anticipated first ever book to life. Tickets are on sale TODAY at 9amPT/12pmET/5pm for DAVE GROHL — THE STORYTELLER — LIVE! September 27 — London, UK - Savoy Theatre. October 5 — New York, NY - The Town Hall.
Dave Grohl Tickets, 2024 Concert Tour Dates
Dave Grohl is, in fact, an amazing storyteller. I took my daughter, who is a huge Foo Fighters fan and we absolutely enjoyed this completely! ... Buy Dave Grohl tickets from the official Ticketmaster.com site. Find Dave Grohl tour schedule, concert details, reviews and photos.
Book Discussion :The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
A collection of memories of a life lived out loud. From Dave Grohl's early days of growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18 joining his first band to years later becoming apart of one of the worlds most iconic grunge bands Nirvana!Then went on to form his own band The Foo Fighters. In the Storyteller Dave shares his adventures in the music business as ...
Moscow Free Tour
Moscow Free Tour Meeting Point DETAILED DIRECTIONS FOR YOUR COMFORT: 1. Go to Kitay Gorod metro station (Purple Line (#7) or Orange Line (#6)). 2. Take the escalator up (not the stairs!) 3. Find the monument to Cyril and Methodius in the center of Slavyanskaya Square ( see how it looks).Our guide will wait for you in front of this monument with a big red umbrella saying "Moscow Free tour" 4.
Our tours in Moscow
Discover our Moscow city guided tour, visit Moscow by night, join our banya & Sergiyev Posad excursion, visit and dine in one of Moscow's oldest monastery or even Luzhniki stadium, before you party on our famous pubcrawl! Original and atypical tours : Shoot AK47 and a bazooka after riding on a tank with our tank & bazooka excursion !
Free Tours in Moscow, Russia
The night tour through Moscow is an essential complement to complete your holiday in Moscow. You will be amazed with it, an opportunity to see the same Moscow of the day but totally different. Languages. English, Spanish. Duration. 2h 30min. Start time. 9:00 PM, 9:30 PM. Info & Booking.
Private Local Guides & Guided Tours in Moscow
Tell us your destination, date, and group size. Our team of travel experts and guides will design a tailored itinerary just for you. Enjoy your trip with peace of mind knowing everything is taken care of. The epicenter of modern Russia, Moscow booms with shiny new skyscrapers, the bulbous onion domes of the tsars and politically-rich Red Square.