Press "Enter" to skip to content

Where Are They Now: The Drummer From Nirvana?

Ah, the ’90s—flannel shirts, grunge music, and the unmistakable voice of Kurt Cobain. But while the world has never quite let go of Nirvana’s frontman, one question has haunted music fans for decades: whatever happened to their drummer? You know, the tall-ish guy with the long hair and a goofy smile. Dave Growl or something? Oh right, Grohl, Dave Grohl. Whatever happened to that guy?

After Cobain’s tragic demise, Grohl seemed to vanish like a ghost into the Seattle fog. Rumors spread like wildfire, each more bizarre than the last. Some say he retreated to the remote forests of Washington, living off the land and occasionally recording drum solos on logs with a pair of sticks he carved himself. Others claim he joined a cult of grunge purists who believe that the genre should have ended with Mother Love Bone, spending his days meditating in front of a poster of Andrew Wood, waiting for the second coming.

Now, as one source divulged, Grohl participated in an Ayahuasca ritual and now exists in a parallel dimension. He is only allowed to visit our realm when the moon is full and a vinyl recording of Billy Higgins is played backwards. It’s said that those who encounter Grohl’s rare corporeal form are filled with a joy so powerful it reverberates through time and space. Of course, no one has ever been able to prove this, but the legend lives on in whispers among those who believe in the more avant-garde side of grunge.

For years, theories simmered, feeding the flames of speculation. Like his Pacific Northwest cousin the Sasquatch, Grohl sightings became the stuff of urban legend—he was seen in the background of a grainy photograph in a Zambian village, or hitchhiking on The Great Wall of China. One of the more pervasive theories is that, after Cobain’s death Grohl retired to Thailand to teach English and clear his head; it was there that he fell in love, got married, and started a family. If that is true, I wish him well.

Yet, just when it seemed the mystery would never be solved, word has it that Grohl has emerged from his self-imposed exile. He’s rumored to have formed a new band—something with guitars and drums, the usual stuff. Those in the know state that Grohl has come out from behind the drum kit as the frontman for the band. Yeah right, I’ll believe that when I see it!

While the name of the band remains unknown, sources say the sound is “pretty good.”