The Storyteller; Widespread Panic

 

I am, of course, a big Nirvana fan, and a moderate Foo Fighters fan, but I've always been a big Dave Grohl fan. He literally has the best life ever, and the nice thing is that he realizes it, appreciates it, and doesn't take anything for granted. This was a rock n' roll biography done right. I loved it.

He didn't spend a ton of time on Nirvana and Kurt, because that was only a few years out of his 50+ on this earth, but what he had to say was just wild to contemplate. The overnight fame. Going from living on a futon in a room to buying a (haunted) house. Watching the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" debut on MTV while in a motel room with Kurt, their elation and enthusiasm. How quickly it all fell apart. 

Dave grew up in Virginia, raised by his mother, who always encouraged him to follow his passion for music, even when it meant dropping out of high school when he was 17 to go on tour with the band he was in at the time, Scream. Dave was hard on his dad, who was against him leaving school and predicted a dire future of homelessness. Of course in hindsight Dad was 100% wrong, but I also thought that he really was just trying to give his wayward son the best advice he had. Dave didn't have a great relationship with his father, but they did reconcile and become friends before his Dad passed away. 

Scream took Dave all over the world, and when the band ended up broke and at a dead end in L.A., Dave got a call from a guy he'd met in Seattle, asking if he wanted to drum in his band, Nirvana. Dave considered it, then decided to go for it and moved up to the Pacific Northwest. The rest, as they say, is history. 

It was a lovely book, well told, full of fascinating stories and the amazing experiences he's had. His love for his family comes through loud and clear. I'm sure they realize how lucky they are to have him. I think we all are. 

I had another rock bio I'm in the middle of (John Mellencamp's), but after reading Dave's I couldn't do any more nonfiction (he's a tough act to follow), so I turned to James Ellroy's latest. It was published earlier this year, but because I was in such a slump I didn't pick it up and dive in. I'm glad I finally got around to it, it was brilliant. 

Freddy Otash is an LAPD officer on the take who gets kicked off the force and lands as the number 1 rat for an up and coming gossip rag called "Confidential". Freddy knows how to dig up ALL the dirt and he feeds it to the magazine while boozing and dropping bennies. I wish I could imitate Ellroy's amazing alliterative style, it's so much fun. And the cool 50s slang! Everyone who was around in Hollywood makes an appearance, from Senator John F. Kennedy to Marilyn Monroe to Liz Taylor and James Dean.