Dave Grohl admits that he is still coming to term with the death of his friend and bandmate Kurt Cobain, and that he’s now having to try to make sense of the singer’s death to his daughters, who are all Nirvana fans.
His admission comes in a new BBC documentary, When Nirvana Came To Britain, which seeks to examine the special relationship the Aberdeen, Washington trio enjoyed wIth their British fans. The film features contributions from Grohl and ex-Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, their former booking agent Russell Warby, PR Anton Brookes and members of The Raincoats, Captain America and Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil. Towards the end of the film, Dave Grohl is asked about Cobain, and he acknowledges that, 27 years-on, he still has regular dreams about his friend and is still putting together the pieces of the story in his own mind.
“I’m still processing Kurt’s death,” Grohl admits, “because I have to explain it to my kids, who love Nirvana. Because for the longest time, I would try to process it, and talk about it with friends and family and things like that, and they would help me, but now I feel like I have to help my kids go through it. It’s a lifetime of healing.”
Reminiscing about his time in the Aberdeen, Washington grunge trio in Classic Rock earlier this year, Grohl said: “When I first joined the band it was so much fun. I lived on the couch in Kurt’s living room, we rehearsed in a barn, we set up our gear and played those songs and people bounced around and got hot and sweaty. I really loved the connection and the appreciation that Nirvana’s audience had with the band.”
“I still have dreams that we’re in Nirvana, that we’re still a band,” Grohl admitted to Classic Rock. “I still dream there’s any empty arena waiting for us to play. But I don’t sit down at home and run through Smells Like Teen Spirit by myself. It’s just a reminder that the person who is responsible for those beautiful songs is no longer with us. It’s bittersweet.”
When Nirvana Came To Britain is available on BBC Player now. Dave Groh’s The Storyteller memoir out on October 5.
