Dave Grohl was profiled last weekend on the only news show my parents and I can watch together, CBS Sunday Morning. The 49-year-old rocker, who recently buried the hatchet with James Corden, discussed the stage accident that left him performing on a throne for months, achieving superstardom with Nirvana and rebooting his career after Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain’s death.

The whole profile is definitely worth watching, if for nothing else to see Dave’s wonderful mother, Virginia. Mama Grohl, an English teacher, fully supported Dave leaving school at 17 and traveling to Europe to pursue his rock ’n’ roll dream, stating, “he was a really great writer and such a great spirit.” When her son told her he was going across the pond to tour with Scream, his first band, Virginia said, “Go, great. Can I go, too?” Here’s more from the fighter of foo:

On why he continued performing right after falling off the stage, breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle in Sweden:
“The adrenaline of the stadium, and also the obligation. I broke it in the second song. And I felt like all those people had come all that way.”

On why he feels his success is “weird”:
“Ages ago, when I was a kid, my Dad said, ‘You know, this isn’t gonna last, right? Savor every check like it’s the last one you’re ever gonna make.’ And every time we make a Foo Fighters record, I think, ‘Well, if this were the last one, then we had a good run,’ it would have been great.”

On Nirvana and achieving success at a young age:
“When most people think about Nirvana, they think about a video or a song on the radio, but to me it was a really personal experience with some friends that went from sleeping on floors to then being the number one band on the charts.”

“Still, to this day, whenever I see a new artist that’s young that blows up and becomes gigantic overnight, I kind of get worried for them. I don’t think anybody’s cut out for it.”

On giving up drugs at age 20:
“When I tell people I’ve never done cocaine in my life, they think I’m lying! But I love music, and I love life. And to me, survival is the game – that’s the hardest part. I just wanna play music.”

[From CBS Sunday Morning]

One thing I learned abut Dave is that on the original Foo Fighter demo cassette (remember those?) Dave pitched to record labels, he played every instrument himself. The name Foo Fighters, based on Dave’s love for UFOs, came about because, “I wanted people to think it was a group.” He added, “it almost sounded like a gang, you know, like a karate gang or something. Foo Fighters! So yeah, it worked!”

I unapologetically adore this guy and have had the pleasure of seeing the band live – and they bring it every time. Keep fighting the foo, Dave.

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