Frontman Dave Grohl also shared his advice for his daughter, Violet Grohl, and other young musicians
Foo Fighters stopped by The Late Show to perform their recent song, “Window.” The anthemic rock number appears on the band’s new LP, Your Favorite Toy, released last month.
Frontman Dave Grohl also sat down with Stephen Colbert to discuss the album, his experiences after Nirvana ended, and how it feels to have his daughter Violet Grohl unveil her debut album as Foo Fighters release their 12th.
“When Nirvana ended I didn’t know what to do,” Grohl told Colbert. “I didn’t know if I wanted to continue playing music. It made me sad to think of playing in another band. Losing Nirvana, losing Kurt [Cobain], was a really dark, emotional experience.”
He recalled driving on a country road in Ireland and wanting to “disappear.” He spotted a hitchhiker wearing a Kurt Cobain tee-shirt. “To me, I thought, ‘Okay this is the universe telling me to continue,’” Grohl said. “I thought, ‘Okay, I need to keep going. I have so much reverence and respect for the past, but I need to have a future.’ And that’s kind of where it began.”
Grohl discussed being proud of Violet for writing and recording her first album, set for release later this month. He shared his best advice for young musicians: “The reward has to be the music itself. You work hard and you want to be successful and you want to be the best that you can be. But at the end of the day the most important thing is your love of music and that you love the music that you’re making.”
He added, “As I told Violet, I want her to really appreciate these early experience. Don’t wish any of this away and don’t get too ahead of yourself. Be in the moment right now. … I really want her to appreciate this now part. Because this now part does become the foundation of everything that comes next.”
Foo Fighters will perform at the Welcome to Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday. They’ll also play Bottlerock Napa Valley on May 23 before embarking on a run of European dates. The Foos will return to North America for an Aug. 4 gig at Toronto’s Rogers Stadium with gigs running through late September.
