Did you know that it was in Springfield, VA that Dave Grohl first began his musical journey? That’s right, the Foo Fighter frontman and Nirvana drummer moved to Springfield as a child, grew up with his single mother at a house located at 5516 Kathleen Place, and started learning guitar right in our neighborhood at the age of 9.

In middle school, Dave Grohl founded his first band, the H.G. Hancock Band, and even played bits of songs by bands like the Circle Jerks and Bad Brains over Annandale’s Thomas Jefferson High School’s intercom while he was freshman class vice president. But while continuing education didn’t pan out — he eventually dropped out of high school — he played as a drummer in a few bands after his first fizzled. 

Enter the success of Nirvana, the Foo Fighters, and some choice movie credits later, and the American musician, singer, and songwriter still speaks about his Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. influences through music and documentaries.

The 52-year-old is also now sharing stories about his early life and music — like did you know the Foo Fighters recorded a couple of their albums at his family’s Springfield house? — in his new book coming out from Dey Street Books on October 5, 2021, The Storyteller.

“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, 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,” said Dave Grohl, promising to cover his life’s craziest and most touching moments in his memoir. 

Dave’s The Stories with Dave Grohl

He first previewed his new project on his Dave’s The Stories instagram which was unveiled last year. He simply said, “So, I’ve written a book.” And then he even posted an over 11-minute introduction to the book on YouTube.

Apparently Dave Grohl had been contemplating writing a memoir for some time, and decided to write down his stories and memories just as he wrote song lyrics: heartfelt and purely personal.

“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,” he wrote in a statement. 

“I took stock of all the experiences I’ve had in my life-incredible, difficult, funny and emotional-and decided it was time to finally put them into words… From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone. Turn it up!”

Dave Grohl claims that becoming a musician allowed him to live his dream — which started out right here in our Springfield, Virginia neighborhood. Live here and your dreams could come true here, too. 

*Lead image credit Roger Woolman