Dave Grohl recalls his daughter's incredible reaction to watching The Prodigy aged 5
"I get the chills just thinking about it, just to see her jaw drop."
Last updated 6th Feb 2021
Absolute Radio’s Foo Fighters Friday has culminated today (5th February), with legendary frontman Dave Grohl joining Bush and Richie for a chat during their Hometime show.
Boasting the Absolute Radio playlisted bangers ‘Shame Shame’ and ‘Waiting for a War’, Foo Fighters’ phenomenal tenth studio album ‘Medicine At Midnight’ has finally been unleashed to the world and among the many zeniths on the record is opener ‘Making A Fire’, which features backing vocals from Dave Grohl’s 14-year-old daughter Violet.
Asked by Bush what tactics he used to get his kids interested in his job, Dave said: “I’m going to tell you a funny story. When my daughter was maybe like, five-years-old, she was in pre-school and they had this ‘bring your dad to school day’ and have everyone tell you what you do. So Violet said ‘will you come to school and share with everyone your job?!
“I thought, how am I going to do this?! So I grabbed a couple of Grammys, I got a bunch of laminates. I got some drumsticks and I thought, ‘okay.’ I'm sitting in like a rocking chair in front of all these little kids. And I'm like, ‘Hi. I'm Violet's dad. My name's Dave. And I'm a musician. So what I do for a living is I play music and I go out and perform and stuff, and if you’re really good, you’ll get one of these.
“I passed the Grammy around they're like, ‘Oh, wow. I'm like, ‘I play the drums’ and I hand the sticks. I hand 'em the lanyards. I'm like, ‘These are backstage passes…’
“So, later on that night one of my friends, whose daughter is also in the class, told her parents, ‘Violet's daddy came to school today and explained and what he does.’ And my friend said, ‘What does Violet's daddy do for a living?’ And the kid said, ‘He's a magician.’
He continued: “My kids, they've grown up on the road with me… they know the road crew are a bunch of pirates. They know that the backstage rider is full of stuff that like, ‘we'll never touch’, you know?
“When they stand on the side of the stage and 100,000 people sing along to a song with me and the band, they know that that's special. But everything else it's like, ‘All right, you're going to work. All right. Well, do me a favour on the way home, will you pick up some chocolate bars?’ They don’t think of (being a rock star) like most people would. But they’ve also had these most incredible experiences.”
Dave went on to explain that one of his enduring memories from Violet’s childhood was watching The Prodigy side-stage at Reading Festival.
“I remember when Violet was maybe five or six-years-old, I used to play The Prodigy song ‘World’s On Fire’ (from 2009’s ‘Invaders Must Die’) and I’d say ‘hey, dance to this.’ And she would lose her mind, she would bounce around dancing,” Dave said.
“And then we played with The Prodigy at Reading one year. She was maybe five or six-years-old and I said ‘wait until you see what happens when they do this in front of people!’
“We were standing on the side of the stage and, of course, first song ‘World’s On Fire’, 100,000 people. And I remember as soon as the song started to kick in, I tapped her shoulder – she had her headphones on – and I said, ‘don’t look at the band, look out there (at the crowd)’.
“I get the chills just thinking about it, just to see her jaw drop. Those are the experiences that I think hold very dear.”
Watch the full Dave Grohl interview with Bush and Richie now where Dave also reveals his signature dish and how he loves cooking barbeques for 700 to 800 people.
Check out more Foo Fighters Friday content:
Dave Grohl reacts to Foo Fighters making Absolute Radio's 100 Collection
Watch Foo Fighters perform 'My Hero' & 'Waiting on a War' exclusively for Absolute Radio
The 9 best Foo Fighters songs as picked by Absolute Radio presenters