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

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
Narrator: Dave Grohl
Publisher: HarperAudio
Release Date: October 5, 2021
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Read by Dave Grohl. Features excerpts from five never before heard demos performed by Dave Grohl and an original story exclusive to The Storyteller audiobook.

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 four hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!”) I have decided to tell these stories just as I have always done, in my own voice. 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. 

Dave Grohl has lived a fascinating life. Most of his stories are about crazy things that have happened to him on the road with one of his bands. It’s pretty amazing he is s so successful today, he had some pretty rough times in the beginning. He had real bravery to keep going when most people would have thrown in the towel. He also had a couple of what he would even admit, were lucky breaks.

I love that Dave is still completely down to earth. Even now, he’s amazed that he’s friends with Paul McCartney and other famous musicians. I wish he would have written more about his time with Nirvana, but it actually was a pretty short time in the grand scheme of his career. And he doesn’t even mention Courtney Love’s name, which I thought was telling.

This book was a joy to listen to because Dave is such a positive person. He’s downright bubbly and not jaded at all. He’s a great dad too. There aren’t many personal stories but it’s clear he loves his family. This was a great road-trip listen for my husband and me.