You probably think you know the deal with Dave Grohl. He’s the guy from Nirvana who then became the guy from Foo Fighters. Maybe you even remember he played drums for Queens of the Stone Age for a minute. But honestly, if you think that's the whole list, you’re barely scratching the surface of a discography that’s more like a tangled web of side projects, secret aliases, and "I just showed up and played" moments.
Dave doesn't just join bands. He infects them. He’s been in more dave grohl music groups than most people have had Netflix subscriptions. From the sweaty basement punk scene of D.C. to the stadium-sized gloss of the 2020s, the man has a weird, almost pathological inability to stop making music. It’s not just about the big names either; it’s about the strange, obscure corners of his career that most fans totally overlook.
The D.C. Hardcore Roots (Before the Fame)
Long before anyone cared about "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Dave was a high school dropout touring in a van that probably smelled like old burritos. His first real "serious" band was Scream. He was 17. He lied about his age to get the gig.
Scream was a staple of the D.C. hardcore scene. They were fast, they were aggressive, and they were exactly where Dave learned how to hit drums like they owed him money. Most people think he started with Nirvana, but he’d already recorded albums like No More Censorship and Fumble with Scream. If you listen to those records now, you can hear the DNA of everything he did later. The speed, the precision—it was all there in 1986.
Before Scream, there were the local experiments. Dain Bramage was a big one—a power trio that felt a bit more melodic but still had that raw, jagged edge. There was also Mission Impossible and Freak Baby. Basically, if you lived in Northern Virginia in the mid-80s and needed a drummer, Dave was probably your guy.
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The Nirvana Years and the "Late!" Secret
We don't need to recap the whole Nirvana thing—you've seen the posters. But while he was the powerhouse behind Kurt Cobain’s songs, Dave was quietly writing his own stuff on the side. He didn't want to "pollute" the Nirvana vibe, so he kept his songs to himself.
Kinda crazy, right?
Under the pseudonym Late!, he released a cassette titled Pocketwatch in 1992. It’s a lo-fi treasure. If you listen to it, you’ll hear early versions of songs that eventually became Foo Fighters staples. "Marigold" is the big one here. It’s actually the only Nirvana song where Dave takes lead vocals (it was a B-side for "Heart-Shaped Box"). It’s a glimpse into the songwriter he was becoming while everyone else was focused on his drumming.
The Foo Fighters Evolution
When Nirvana ended in 1994, Dave was lost. He almost quit music entirely. Instead, he went into a studio and recorded a whole album by himself. Everything. Drums, bass, guitar, vocals. He called it Foo Fighters to make it sound like a band, but it was just him.
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Once that blew up, he had to actually find a band. He pulled in Nate Mendel and William Goldsmith from Sunny Day Real Estate and Pat Smear (who had been Nirvana’s touring guitarist). The lineup has shifted a million times since—shoutout to the late, great Taylor Hawkins who became Dave’s musical soulmate—but Foo Fighters remains the mothership.
Even in 2025, after a brief hiatus and some personal scandals, the Foos came back swinging. They’ve recently integrated Ilan Rubin (from Nine Inch Nails) as their drummer for the 2026 stadium tour. It’s a machine that just won't stop.
The Supergroups and Side Quests
This is where things get really fun. Dave gets bored easily. When he’s not fronting one of the biggest bands in the world, he’s playing sessions or forming supergroups.
- Them Crooked Vultures: This is the big one. Dave on drums, Josh Homme (QOTSA) on guitar, and freaking John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) on bass. It’s a rock nerd’s fever dream. Their self-titled 2009 album is a masterclass in heavy, groovy riffs.
- Queens of the Stone Age: He wasn't a permanent member, but his drumming on Songs for the Deaf is legendary. Most critics agree that Dave’s participation in that record is what pushed QOTSA into the mainstream.
- Probot: Dave’s love letter to heavy metal. He wrote all the music and then invited his favorite metal vocalists—Lemmy, King Diamond, Max Cavalera—to sing on the tracks. It’s heavy, it’s niche, and it’s awesome.
- The Sound City Players: Born out of his documentary Sound City, this was a revolving door of legends like Stevie Nicks, Paul McCartney, and Trent Reznor.
He’s also popped up in Tenacious D as the literal Devil (and played drums on all their albums), and even did a weirdly cool disco project called the Dee Gees where the Foo Fighters covered Bee Gees hits. Oh, and don't forget Dream Widow, the fictional metal band he created for the movie Studio 666.
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Why It Matters
What people get wrong about dave grohl music groups is thinking they are all just "hobbies." To Dave, they aren't. Whether he's playing with The Backbeat Band (a supergroup formed for a 1994 movie soundtrack) or doing a surprise Coachella set with the LA Philharmonic in 2025, he approaches it with the same intensity.
He’s a collaborator at heart. He’s the guy who says "yes" to everything because he genuinely loves the craft.
How to Explore the Grohlverse
If you want to actually understand his musical footprint, don't just stick to the radio hits. Do this instead:
- Listen to 'Fumble' by Scream. It’s the bridge between 80s punk and 90s grunge.
- Find the 'Pocketwatch' tracks. Specifically "Winnebago" and "Color Pictures of a Marigold."
- Check out 'Killing Joke' (2003). Dave played drums on the whole album for free just because he was a fan. It’s some of his most aggressive drumming ever.
- Watch 'Play'. It’s a 23-minute instrumental where he plays every instrument. It shows the technical skill people often overlook because of his "nice guy" persona.
The guy is more than just a frontman or a drummer. He’s a historian of rock who happens to be living in it. Whether he's reuniting with Krist Novoselic for a benefit show or starting a new project we haven't even heard of yet, the "Grohl effect" is real. He makes every group he joins sound just a little bit more like a classic.
Actionable Insight: If you're a musician looking to emulate Grohl's career longevity, the takeaway is collaboration over ego. By constantly stepping into secondary roles (like drumming for QOTSA or Killing Joke) even at the height of his own fame, Grohl maintained his "musical chops" and kept his brand fresh across different genres. Diversifying your creative output prevents burnout and builds a much wider professional network.