Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters was lucky to have grown up in Washington, DC during the height of the punk-rock era. During the 1980s, Grohl developed a fascination with music that became all-consuming.
Despite being born in Ohio, Grohl eventually relocated to Washington, D.C., which proved brilliant. The Nirvana drummer was first exposed to punk when visiting his older relative in Chicago. On vacation, she took him to The Cubby Bear, watching local bands—a watershed experience in his life.
While Grohl had already begun to play the guitar, which he learned from a Beatles songbook, bands like the Fab Four seemed remote. They belonged to another age and were no longer active. The only way he could appreciate their work was through their string of records.
The punk costumes that Grohl fell in love with as a teenager, on the other hand, were easily accessible in a live setting. His favorites were Bad Brains, who epitomized the ethos of the D.C. scene. The hardcore icons played by their own rules and continuously blew Grohl’s mind anytime he was in their presence.
During an interview with Red Bulletin in 2021, Grohl discussed his admiration for the punk pioneers. He named their song ‘Sailin On‘ as one of the songs he wished he’d written. “Bad Brains were America’s greatest hardcore punk-rock band in the ‘80s,” he explained. They were from Washington, DC, and they were the best live band I’d ever seen.”
“I was in love with their music – it was so fast, so distorted, so dissonant,” he said. “I wanted to drink a hundred beers and smash windows.” If that’s not a compelling cause to wish I had written it.”
Grohl has already expressed his admiration for Bad Brains. Intriguingly, the Foo Fighters frontman’s favorite record in their catalog is a bootleg. This demonstrates his super-fan status and emphasizes how much of a grasp they had on him as a youngster.
“I was living in DC in the early ‘80s and got into the hardcore scene, but nobody else blew me away as much as Bad Brains,” he told the NME. “I have never ever, ever, ever, ever seen a band do anything even close to what Bad Brains used to do live.”
Furthermore, Dave Grohl noted that Bad Brains was one of the primary reasons he decided to pursue a career as a musician. He went on to say, “They made me determined to become a musician.” They changed my life and changed the lives of everyone who saw them.
Bad Brains had a significant impact on Dave Grohl’s life, steering it on a path for which he will be eternally thankful. The serendipitous turn of events that led him to D.C. became a defining chapter. The transforming impact of Bad Brains’ live performances served as the catalyst. While watching other bands, none matched the absolute magnificence and unrivaled enthusiasm that Bad Brains brought to the stage. Their impact not only left a lasting imprint on Grohl but also became a pillar in his musical journey’s mosaic.
