Dave Grohl Says He Overheard Kurt Cobain Talking About Kicking Him Out Of Nirvana (2024)

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Dave Grohl Says He Overheard Kurt Cobain Talking About Kicking Him Out Of Nirvana (1)

Well, Nevermind.

Dave Grohl told Vulture in an interview published Tuesday that Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain considered replacing him as the band’s drummer.

The subject came up when Craig Jenkins of Vulture asked Grohl about a piece by journalist Michael Azerrad that claimed that during the American tour for “In Utero,” Cobain was heard yelling in his hotel room about “firing” Grohl.

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Dave Grohl Says He Overheard Kurt Cobain Talking About Kicking Him Out Of Nirvana (2)

The Foo Fighters frontman said he had a different “version” of that story.

According to Grohl, he was sitting a few rows ahead of the band’s co-founders, Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, on a flight to start production on their “In Utero” tour when he overheard a conversation between the two.

“I could hear Kurt saying, ‘I think we need a drummer that’s more rudimental, along the lines of Dan Peters,’ who was the guy they almost hired,” Grohl said. “I was really upset because I thought things were okay.”

Peters was briefly in Nirvana before Grohl, but Grohl ended up getting the gig — Peters has suggested he was nudged out in favor of Grohl.

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It seems that the future Foo Fighter didn’t want to be a monkey wrench, however, and he confronted his bandmates.

“I talked to Krist, and I said, ‘Is that really what you guys want to do? Because if that’s what you want, maybe just let me know, and we can call it a day,’” Grohl continued. “I eventually talked to Kurt about it, and he said, ‘No. That’s not what we want to do.’ I just felt like, ‘It’s up to you guys what kind of drummer you really want, and they decided I should stay.’”

Grohl described being a bit more upset about the conversation in the 2011 biography “This Is a Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl,” per NME.

The biographer Paul Brannigan quotes Grohl saying that Cobain was “kinda f*cked up” on the flight and Grohl heard “him talking about how sh*tty a drummer I was.”

Grohl was apparently so annoyed overhearing this that once the flight landed he told their touring manager that he quit. The tour manager reportedly calmed Grohl down and he decided to stay.

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Grohl has also described finding Novoselic and Cobain “weird” when he first met the two.

“They were both a mystery to me,” Grohl told U.K. music magazine Rhythm in 1993. “I did not see myself fitting into that picture at all.”

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Dave Grohl Says He Overheard Kurt Cobain Talking About Kicking Him Out Of Nirvana (2024)

FAQs

Dave Grohl Says He Overheard Kurt Cobain Talking About Kicking Him Out Of Nirvana? ›

Dave Grohl Says He Overheard Kurt Cobain Talking About Kicking Him Out Of Nirvana. Well, Nevermind. Dave Grohl told Vulture in an interview published Tuesday that Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain considered replacing him as the band's drummer.

Was Dave Grohl about to get kicked out of Nirvana? ›

I eventually talked to Kurt, and he said, 'No, that's not what we want to do'. I just felt it's up to you guys what drummer you really want, and they decided I should stay”. Granted, there was always more going on behind the scenes than Grohl realised.

Why did Kurt Cobain dislike Dave Grohl? ›

“He's a popular, well-adjusted guy, he really is. And I think partly Kurt was making fun of that because he wasn't a freak, like Kurt. And he also was jealous.” “I think Kurt was a little bit jealous of Dave because Dave did have his act together.”

What was Dave Grohl's famous quote? ›

Guilt is cancer. Guilt will confine you, torture you, destroy you as an artist. It's a black wall.

Was Kurt Cobain jealous of Dave Grohl? ›

And he also was jealous. I think Kurt was a little bit jealous of Dave because Dave did have his act together." The author once shared a story about Cobain talking about firing Grohl in 1993, a story Grohl himself referred to in a 2021 interview with Vulture, although his version of the story was slightly different.

Was Kurt Cobain going to replace Dave Grohl? ›

Dave Grohl recently discussed his time as Nirvana's drummer in an interview with Vulture. He revealed that Kurt Cobain once considered replacing him with someone "more rudimental."

Was Dave Grohl in Nirvana with Kurt Cobain? ›

Following the breakup of Scream, Grohl called Osborne for advice. Osborne informed him that Nirvana was seeking a drummer, and gave Grohl the phone numbers of Cobain and Novoselic, who invited Grohl to Seattle to audition. Grohl passed the audition and soon joined the band.

What does Dave Grohl whisper? ›

The official Foo Fighters newsgroup used to carry an FAQ which claimed that the whispering is in fact three separate tracks of Grohl whispering: one is “a love letter”, the second is “a technical manual” and the third is a “story about a studio technician's father”.

What did Kurt Cobain used to say? ›

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not. Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are. The sun is gone, but I have a light.

What is Dave Grohl's new tattoo? ›

The 53-year-old appeared to show fans a new tattoo at one point during the set, which many viewers at home interpreted as a tribute to Hawkins, who passed away back in March of this year. The tattoo in question was a 'T' on the back of the former Nirvana drummer's hand, which he briefly showed those in attendance.

Was Kurt Cobain a shy person? ›

Bill also remembers Kurt being “so shy,” which he says was wildly different from Kurt's onstage persona.

Does Dave Grohl have anxiety? ›

As he recalled in This Is a Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl, the drummer “actually had an anxiety attack because I finally realised that this was good.” Everything he had recorded over the previous six years, he thought, was “crap”.

Was Kurt Cobain apart of Foo Fighters? ›

After the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, the band's drummer, Dave Grohl, formed Foo Fighters — first as a solo project and then with bandmates. The original lineup consisted of Grohl, Pat Smear, Nate Mendel and William Goldsmith.

Does Dave Grohl still get royalties from Nirvana? ›

(Though it has been reported otherwise, Grohl and Novoselic share in publishing royalties on only eleven Nirvana songs - including 12.5 percent each of "Smells Like Teen Spirit.")

Who was kicked out of Nirvana? ›

During his time with Nirvana, he could sometimes be seen using Fender guitars, generally the Fender Telecaster. Nirvana fired Everman after the tour ended due to his moodiness. A two-song Nirvana session featuring Everman on guitar is available, albeit in separate releases.

Are Novoselic and Grohl friends? ›

Novoselic, Grohl and Smear are still all good friends. Novoselic has even played live with Foo Fighters on numerous occasions and features on their albums One by One and Wasting Light. During his 2012 CBGB Festival Keynote speech, Novoselic maintained that he is not jealous of his former bandmate's success.

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