Dave Grohl reveals why he didn't want to play the drums in Foo Fighters

9 February 2021, 12:59 | Updated: 9 February 2021, 13:15

Dave Grohl Says It’s Impossible to Be a Drummer and Lead Singer in a Band

By Jenny Mensah

The Foo Fighters frontman has talked about his transition from Nirvana drummer to the lead singer of a band and revealed why he never wanted to do both at the same time.

Dave Grohl thought it would be "practically impossible" to be the lead singer of a band while playing the drums.

The Foo Fighters rocker is just as known for being the drummer in Nirvana, but has explained why he didn't stay behind the drum kit when fronting his own band.

Asked by Jimmy Fallon if he didn't consider singing while drumming like Eagles singer Don Henley, Grohl replied: "I gotta be honest. First of all, only Don Henley can do Don Henley.

"The hardest part is the mic stand. I gotta be honest."

After miming all the possible configurations of mics, he added: "It's practically impossible. There aren't too many people who can pull that off, so I thought, you know one of the reasons why I wanted to do this is because I'd never done it before.

"And at first I thought I was in the Chuck E Cheese band, you know [thinking] 'What do I do? How do I move? How's my hair?' Then over time you just get used to it."

Watch their interview here:

Dave Grohl Says It’s Impossible to Be a Drummer and Lead Singer in a Band

Not content to be among the world's most famous drummers and frontmen, Grohl could be soon adding the word author to his list of talents.

Speaking on The Chris Moyles Show about how he's been coping during the coronavirus pandemic, Grohl revealed: "It’s been strange not being on tour, but it’s been a welcome change in a lot of ways because we, you know, we had to, like, stop and think and adapt and just change what we do and then also, you know, I got to make a lot of lasagne and I got to write a lot.

"I’ve been writing, not music but words, and that’s something that I never had time to do, so it’s great."

When the Radio X DJ asked if he meant he's been writing a book, the Medicine At Midnight rocker replied: "Well, I suppose it could be a book someday."

Watch our interview with the rocker here:

Dave Grohl talks to Chris Moyles about Foo Fighters' Medicine At Midnight album

"I’m creatively hyperactive," he explained. "I just started writing these stories and I found it just as rewarding as writing songs and performing, in a way."

The former Nirvana drummer continued: "I just had this list of, like, 50 ridiculous things that have happened to me over the last 52 years and just started writing. So, I’ve got, like, a lot".

Asked if it was kicked off by his Dave's True Stories Instagram and why he only ended up sharing six tales online, the rocker replied: "Well, here’s the thing. [...] I got really into it and then I started thinking maybe I should save these... and so I started saving them."