Fireworks, recording consoles & satanic rock stars: Dave Grohl reveals first installment of “Dave’s True Stories”

Credit: Brantley Gutierrez

Dave Grohl has unveiled the first installment of “Dave’s True Stories,” an ongoing series of tales from the Foo Fighters frontman’s life.

In his first story, Grohl takes us back to 1998, when he and a childhood friend drove down to Nashville to pick up a recording console to install in his new home studio. Along the way, Grohl, who describes himself as a “fireworks junkie,” spotted a billboard for a “fireworks supermarket,” and knew he had to check out. On the way back, he stopped in and bought a whole box of fireworks for future use.

That Fourth of July, Grohl visited his mom at his childhood home in suburban Virginia, and he decided to spring one of the smaller firecrackers along with him. While there, he realized that all of his old neighbors had moved away and he didn’t know anyone on the block anymore.

“I think they viewed me as the ‘satanic rock star’ and my mother as the ‘retired school teacher/cat lady,’” Grohl says.

So Grohl decided to try and make friends with the new neighbors, and brought along his firecracker. Things were going great, up until Grohl lit the firework.

“What happened next can only be described as a ‘worst-case scenario,’” he says. “Silly old me didn’t stabilize the damn thing before I lit it (apparently necessary) and it tipped over, facing the crowd, with two more rounds in the chamber.”

The result? “Lawnchairs flying. Grandmas running. Children screaming. Dads in shorts scattering.”

“It was suburban annihilation,” Grohl says, adding that he’s “never to this day touched another firework.”

Grohl started “Dave’s True Stories” earlier this week so that he could share “true short stories that will make people smile” amid the COVID-19 pandemic. You can follow along via @DavesTrueStories on Instagram.