Dave Grohl discussed calling big name singers for the Nirvana reunion performances that have taken place over the last six years, with the most recent one being in January 2020 at a charity show at the Hollywood Palladium. Alternative Nation transcribed Grohl’s comments from The Bill Simmons Podcast. Dave Grohl recently confirmed a Queens of the Stone Age firing.
He discussed getting a call from Linda Perry to do a charity show. Grohl said Foo Fighters couldn’t do it because certain members were out of town, and then she asked if he’d perform solo.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I could probably do it. Let me put together a band.’ I was thinking about it, ‘F***, maybe I’ll call Krist Novoselic from Nirvana and Pat Smear.’ We were in Nirvana together. She only wanted us to do three songs. I thought, maybe I’ll call them. So I text them, ‘Do you want to do this thing?’ They were like, ‘F*** yeah.’ ‘What do you want to play?’
There was once where we performed at a Clive Davis party, and Beck did ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ with us, and Beck is awesome. He is just the f***ing coolest. ‘Let me call Beck, see if Beck is around.’ I text Beck, ‘Do you want to do The Man Who Sold The World.’ Beck responds, ‘Absolutely, that would be great.’
Then Annie Clark, St. Vincent, I’m like we jammed with her before, oh shit, maybe we could do something with Annie. She’s like, ‘What do you want to do?’ I’m like, ‘Let’s do a Sabbath song.’ The first song off of Sabotage, I can’t remember it. I was like, I’ll call Joan Jett, we jammed with her before.”
He later said, “She’s also one of our backup singers, Violet, so she’s played to 80,000 people before, and she doesn’t get nervous. She’s great, she doesn’t get nervous. I asked, ‘Do you want to do a Bowie song, or a cover? Or a Nirvana song?’ She said, ‘I want to do a Nirvana song.’
Because she’s in a Nirvana phase. Unbeknownst to me, because she’s that age, and she’s that kid. The whole Nirvana thing, she is the audience we were connecting to 30 years ago. So she’s like, ‘I want to do a Nirvana song.’ I’m like oh, okay. I’m like, ‘What do you want to do?’ She said, ‘Heart Shaped Box.’ I’m like, ‘Really? You had to pick the darkest f***ing one.’ Where did I go wrong, you seemed so well balanced? Dave Grohl ‘leaving’ Foo Fighters was recently detailed.
