Dave Grohl

“When Nirvana became popular, you could very easily slip and get lost during that storm. I fortunately had really heavy anchors - old friends, family.”

“I didn't start sweating until I had children. That was one of the first things I realized when my daughter Violet was born - I started getting wicked BO. You know there's a difference between basketball BO and stress BO? This was definitely stress BO. Like, new dad BO.”

“Mick Fleetwood was one of my first interviews. And if you've ever talked to that dude, he's the sweetest guy in the world - he's just a trip.”

“At 13 years old, I realized I could start my own band. I could write my own song, I could record my own record. I could start my own label. I could release my own record. I could book my own shows. I could write and publish my own fanzine. I could silk-screen my own T-shirt. I could do this all myself.”

“I think maybe people see bands and musicians as some sort of superhero unrealistic sport that happens in another dimension where it's not real people and not real emotions. So, I grew up listening to Beatles records on my floor. That's how I learned how to play guitar. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be a musician.”

“There weren't a lot of career opportunities in crazy-fast hardcore punk, so you didn't have a lot of ambition, just the love and passion to play music with your friends.”

“I've always been a fan of melody and emotional melancholy, whether it was Rites of Spring or Tears for Fears or Neil Young. If I hear a song that has a sweet melody, I'm a sucker for it, whether it's Linkin Park or Little Richard.”

“I think people should feel encouraged to be themselves.”

“When there's so much left to do, why spend your time focusing on things you've already done, counting trophies or telling stories about the good old days?”

“I had never been in charge of anything. I'd always worked for someone. I worked for a furniture warehouse. I did masonry. I always had a boss yelling at me. So I'd never been in charge of an organization.”

“Chicago gave me more music than any other city in America.”

“Through Kurt I saw the beauty of minimalism and the importance of music that's stripped down.”

“It's funny; recently I've started to notice people's impersonations of me, and it's basically like a hyperactive child.”

“You will only be great at the things you love to do.Don't pursue a career in something you hate to do.”

“In this day and age, when you can use a machine or computer to simulate or emulate what people can do together, it still can't replace the magic of four people in a room playing.”

“I had a Super Grover doll growing up. Super Grover was very clumsy, he wasn't very good-looking. But in his own way he'd always save the day.”

“Music will never go away, and I will never stop making music; it's just what capacity or what arena you decide to do it.”

“No one has any faith in the tape anymore - everyone just relies on computers and considers the hardrive to be the safest option, and I don't. I think an analog tape is something you can hold.”

“When I listen to music these days, and I hear Pro Tools and drums that sound like a machine - it kinda sucks the life out of music.”

“When you're young, you're not afraid of what comes next. You're excited by it.”