Unfortunately, I didn’t give The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music (Dey St. Publishing, October 2021) by Dave Grohl the respect that it deserves. I actually let it sit HALF READ on the end table next to my couch for a month! Oh…the humanity…I hang my head in shame. But now that my load has been lifted (I work as a temp, but have decided not to take any new jobs this month), I finished it in two days…something that any sane person could have done with the entire book!
Is this book everything you think and expect it to be? Well…yes and no!
Does it contain:
The grungy little details about Kurt Cobain?…no.
When and who Dave lost his virginity too?…no.
Details of his first marriage?…no.
The suggestion that he may have been abducted by aliens?…yes!
The gory details of him falling off the stage and breaking his leg?…yes!
For those of my readers that may are not aware, Dave Grohl was the original drummer for Nirvana and the founder of the Foo Fighters and he is a huge Beatles and Paul McCartney fan. So, if you’re looking for Paul McCartney stories, he doesn’t disappoint. The book is filled with stories of meeting his musical idols and how he himself turns into a ‘fan’ upon coming face to face with them.
As a doting father, Dave also tells of the excitement he feels when he gets to introduce his daughters to rock royalty. Imagine Paul McCartney playing piano with your three year old or Joan Jett reading her a bedtime story! And Dave tells the stories so humbly that (unlike other rocker memoirs) it doesn’t come off as bragging. Along those same lines, you won’t be forced to read through endless tales of his sexual conquests, but you’ll learn how much he loves and respects his mother.
In 375 pages, Grohl covers a lot of ground, but leaves so many things untold. This book will definitely leave you wanting more. And I have a feeling there will be at least one more book to follow this one. After spending much of the book telling stories about being the father of three daughters, the youngest two don’t get their fair share of page worthy stories. Also, in the credits, he thanks his publisher Liate Stehlik, “who allowed me the honor of telling my story (or at least a tenth of it) to the world. Thank you. Someday I’ll have to tell you the rest.” I look forward to hearing them too!
And for that reason…
I rate this book, 4 out of 4 Beetles!
Beatles-Freak's Reviews 
Good review! I didn’t like the book and gave up early. I really wanted his particular insight into Nirvana and Kurt and Krist…but, sadly, it was not to be. The rest of his personal life didn’t interest me. I wish he would write a book just about drumming and drummers… anything he said about that was interesting. A nice guy though 😇😇