Dave Grohl was a drummer in the rock band Nirvana from 1990 to 1994. When he started making music at Nirvana alongside established members Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, Grohl was in his early twenties. In a 2021 interview with NPR, Grohl shared what it was like to be in Nirvana while being so young.

Dave Grohl thinks he “was a kid” when Nirvana took off

Cobain and Novoselic started Nirvana in 1987, and Grohl joined the band in 1990. In an interview with NPR, Grohl shared that he thought he “was a kid” when Nirvana started gaining recognition.

“When Nirvana first became popular, I was 21 or 22. And, you know, I was a kid. Before that, all I wanted to do was survive playing music. Really , my biggest aspiration was, you know, to have an apartment! … I never imagined things would turn out the way they did. I never imagined that Nirvana would become so popular,” Grohl said. at NPR.

He continued, “I just didn’t, you know? At the time, this type of music was simply not commercially accessible. It was not popular music. It was underground music.

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How Dave Grohl stayed ‘grounded’ as a member of Nirvana

Nirvana began to achieve mainstream success in 1991 with their album Not serious and the single “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Speaking to NPR, Grohl said the band’s popularity “has happened with frightening speed.”

“And when the band first became popular, it happened with frightening speed. It was in a month or two that we went from being relatively unknown to being number one on the charts and going down. “a name everyone recognized. So at that age, being 21 or 22, that’s a lot to process,” the drummer said.

Grohl went on to explain how he managed to stay “grounded” in the popular group.

“And if I ever felt overwhelmed, I would just go back to Virginia. I would go back to the house I grew up in and hang out with my high school friends and stay in my neighborhood until I felt grounded again. And then I would go back to Nirvana,” he told NPR.

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Drummer thinks he was “anonymous” in Nirvana

As Nirvana’s drummer, Grohl told NPR he feels he’s avoided “the fame trappings” that come with being in the band.

“I felt pretty anonymous in that group,” he said. “I was lucky to be able to avoid a lot of dark corners or pitfalls – but at the same time I got a lot out of it. I mean, I bought my first car. I bought An old 1963 Ford Falcon Futura. That was it for me. I was ready for life. I got a car. And it was as simple as that back then.

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