Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters front-man, will always be remembered as the drummer for Nirvana. But, drumming for a great band such as Nirvana is not Dave's only claim in the world of music. Dave's musical career began at age 15 as the guitarist and later as the drummer for a punk band called "Freak Baby". A year later, he was behind the drums for "Mission Impossible" and later that summer drumming for "Dain Bramage". Another year down the road, an opportunity to drum with one of his favorite punk bands, "Scream", was just too great to pass up. This leads us to 1990 when "Scream" seemed to be coming to an end and "Nirvana" was in need of a drummer. While recording and touring with "Nirvana", Dave continued to write lyrics and music that he would record during breaks with "Nirvana". After the tragic end of "Nirvana", Dave eventually turned to his music to create Foo Fighters. While playing guitar and singing with Foo Fighters is his main job, you can also find Dave channeling his musical genius throughout the world of rock. Dave has drummed for "Queens Of The Stone Age" and "Killing Joke". He has also recorded and guest performed with his buddies "Tenacious D". All the while recording for his own hardcore project, "Probot".

Dave Grohl, born January, 14, 1969, is considered by many to be one of the greatest rock and roll drummers, but recently he has also made a name for himself as a lead singer and guitarist in the post-grunge era of popular music. Grohl began playing drums in punk bands in the 1980s, starting with Freak Baby, which became Mission Impossible and later changed again to Fast. After Fast broke up, Grohl joined the band Dain Bramage, and soon after he auditioned for Scream. At age 16, Grohl became the drummer for Scream, and the band soon began touring throughout the U.S. in 1987 and later in Europe.



Dave Grohl was born as Dave David Eric Groh on 14 January 1969 in Warren, Ohio. His parents are James and Virginia Grohl, who divorced in 1975. Afterwards Dave lived with his mother. He also as got a sister, named Lisa.



Dace Grohl began playing drums in punk bands in the 1980s, when he was still in his early teens, starting with Freak Baby, which became Mission Impossible and later changed again to Fast.



After Fast broke up, Grohl joined the band Dain Bramage. His nex step was to audition for the Washington, D.C.-area hardcore band Scream as their drummer. At age 16, Grohl became the drummer for Scream, and the band soon began touring throughout the U.S. in 1987 and later in Europe. Reflecting on this period, tells Dave in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine:

"Whether it was learning how to perform live, how to live within the fucking confines of a Dodge Ram or learning how to fucking score chicks, I learned everything. I'd dropped out of high school, but I always knew I'd be OK. You don't need much to get by. It seemed so simple. I learned how to play the drums without a drum set. I didn't have a car until I was in Nirvana. Cigarettes were cheap, and Taco Bell was everywhere."

Then came Nirvana. Kurt Cobain, lead guitarist, songwriter, and singer, and Krist Novoselic, bass player, saw Grohl drumming for Scream and were so blown away that they asked him to join the band in 1990. Grohl replaced Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters, who had tomporarily filled in.



When Grohl joined the band, Nirvana had already released their first album, "Bleach" (on which Dale Crover and Chad Channing played drums), in 1989 and soon set to work with Grohl on their follow-up album, which would be called Nevermind.



Nevermind was released on September, 24, 1991, raged to the top of the charts, and wreaked havoc on the popular music scene. Hard-hitting, yet melodic, Nevermind led the charge for grunge and "alternative" music, which also included the bands Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains. Grohl's bashing backbeats and raucous rolls with a Ringo Starr-esque touch helped elevate Nirvana as the most important rock band of the '90s.



Incesticide, a collection of B-sides and demos, followed "Nevermind", with Grohl playing drums on 6 of the 15 cuts. Then came "In Utero", released on September 21, 1993, and widely considered to be Nirvana's masterpiece.



Unfortunately, 7 months later, Cobain killed himself, and Nirvana was done. "MTV Unplugged In New York", recorded on November 18, 1993, was released after Cobain's death in the fall of 1994.



Prior to the death of Cobain and Nirvana, Grohl had been working on some music of his own. However, he was so broken up about Cobain's death that he almost quit playing music entirely. Nonetheless, Grohl persevered with the help of friends and continued making what would be the first Foo Fighers album.



The band, named the Foo Fighters after a World War II secret force that allegedly researched UFOs, signed a contract with Capitol Records.



Grohl played all the instruments (he has played guitar since age 10) on the album - which was called Foo Fighters and was released on July 4, 1995 -except for Greg Dulli's (the lead singer of Afghan Whigs) guitar part on the song "X-Static."



Grohl wanted to tour to support the album, but he had no band. He soon found the pieces, though: Pat Smear, who had joined Nirvana as its second guitarist, and former Sunny Day Real Estate members Nate Mendel (bass) and William Goldsmith (drums). Grohl emerged - or rather, burst - from the behind the drum kit to play guitar and sing for Foo Fighters.



Foo Fighters went platinum and spawned three hit singles: "This Is A Call," "I'll Stick Around," and "Big Me." Grohl's primal screaming and seemingly endless energy on stage impressed many. The band was becoming a force.



An amalgamation of live Nirvana performances became the album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, which was released in 1996 and signified the true end of the Nirvana and grunge era. Grohl, meanwhile, went back in the studio and began recording Foo Fighters' second album, which would be called "The Colour And The Shape".



This project was different for Grohl because he was working this time not only with band members, but as a band leader. During recording, however, Goldsmith decided to leave the band, so Grohl took over drum duties again (although Goldsmith did play drums on the cuts "Doll" and the slow part of "Up In Arms").



Grohl was able to find a new drummer relatively quickly. Soon after the recording of "The Colour And The Shape", Taylor Hawkins, who had most recently played with Alanis Morissette, joined the band. Hawkins' photo appeared in the liner notes for The Colour And The Shape, even though he didn't play on the album.



The Colour And The Shape was released on June 20, 1997, and generated four hits: "Monkey Wrench," "Everlong," "My Hero," and "Walking After You." The Foos hit the road soon after, but in the fall of 1997, the band lost another member. At the MTV Video Music Awards, Pat Smear announced he was leaving the band, and Foo Fighters introduced Franz Stahl, one of Grohl's former bandmates in Scream, to take Smear's spot.



Touring in support of "The Colour And The Shape", Foo Fighters continued to solidify their place as the kings of post-grunge rock. After being on the road extensively, the Foos rested a bit and then prepared to record another album.



Stahl's stay proved short-lived: he left the band after the tour, and Foo Fighters became a trio for the "There Is Nothing Left To Lose" sessions in 1999. Soon after the recordings ex-No Use for a Name guitarist Chris Shiflett joined the band.



Grohl, Hawkins, and Mendel went to Grohl's house in Virginia to make the third Foo Fighters album in the spring of 1999. "There Is Nothing Left To Lose" was released on November 2, 1999, and the first single, "Learn to Fly," received an enormous amount of radio play, as did "Breakout." "Stacked Actors" and "Generator" were also released as singles.



The Foos did some light touring at the end of 1999 and early 2000 with Chris Shiflett as a new guitarist. In March, 2000, they started playing dates as the opening band for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. When this tour was over, Foo Fighters continued blazing a trail on the road on their own and with bands like Queens of the Stone Age.



In February 2001, Foo Fighters won 2 Grammy Awards: Best Rock Album for There Is Nothing Left To Lose and Best Short Form Music Video for "Learn To Fly."



In March 2001, Grohl and Hawkins inducted Queen, one of their favorite rock groups, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Grohl and Hawkins joined 2 of the 3 surviving members of Queen, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, onstage for a riveting version of the Queen classic "Tie Your Mother Down."



In the Summer of 2002, Foo Fighters headlined Reading festival in England and released the brilliant album One By One. They followed the release of this with their first UK arena tour, which sold out in many venues. They received massive airplay for the singles "All My Life" and "Times Like These" lifted off the album.



"One by One" was number one in the Uk album charts for one week. During the recording of the album, Dave Grohl decided to scrap the tracks they had allready layed down. He left to drum for Queens Of The Stone Age's Songs for the "Deaf"-album in 2002, replacing Gene Troutmann.



Grohl performed several live shows with them before returning to Foo Fighters. It was Joey Castillo who took over the drum duties wit hthe Queens of the Stone Age.



With the Foo Fighters Grohl re-recorded the whole album in a few days. Dave described it as the rawest album yet, and the best in his opinion.



On MTV.com Dave recalls:

"[Queens of the Stone Age have] got a new-wavey Devo stiffness with tuned-down metal riffs and heavy grooves, and I was a huge fan. They're hilarious and so fun, and they're amazing players. They've got a cool thing about their band where it's really just Josh and Nick and then there's this revolving cast of people from bunches of different bands. So [when their last drummer left], they asked me to play drums on their new record, and I said, 'Sure.' I think it's the best rock record I've heard in like 10 years. It's nuts."

On 10 February 2004 Grohl released a debut album under the name Probot, featuring many famous metal artists on vocals.