Review of The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

 

So, I've written a book.

Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities ("It's a piece of cake! Just do 4 hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!") I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I've recorded and can't wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child.

This certainly doesn't mean that I'm quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it's like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement.

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**My thoughts**

This is the book that kicked off a year of reading memoirs. Every one that I read after this made me feel like I was chasing the same high I had from reading this one - and I could never get there. This is one of a few memoirs that was completely honest and genuine. You knew that Dave wrote every word of it himself. You know this is precisely how he would stand on the stage or across from you at dinner and tell you every one of those stories. Too often, the ghostwriter stifles some of the narrator's voice and it feels flat.

The other thing that struck me was how genuinely humble and grateful Dave is for everything he has gotten in his life. Even when talking about stories that happened a long time ago, you could feel the gratitude pouring through. It has never dwindled in all of his success, which seems to be rare for people at this level. I need to listen to the audiobook next so that I can experience even more of that.

It's a true love story with an amazing soundtrack along with it. It's Dave's love for his family, his mother, his wife, his children, music, his friends, humanity. And of course there's his strong love for music. I think even if you are not a fan of Foo Fighters or Nirvana, you can still find some great stories in here about some of your other favorite musicians. This is one that is going to be reread time and time again.