Dave Grohl.

Sitting here I am bombarded by the deafening and bone rattling sounds of Probot. Funny thing is that I would have never put heavy metal and Dave Grohl in the same sentence but here I am listening to Red War featuring Max Cavalera (Soulffly) with Grohl at the drum set hammering out some of his best. But Probot will come up a little later as the project itself is worthy of some reflection.

I had no idea on how to even begin this process. The biggest problem is attempting to forget what Grohl has done musically since the fall of Nirvana. The list is so impressive that there are very few rock stars that could ever have a similar resume. From Foo Fighters to his contributions with; Motorhead, Toni Iommi, Eddie Vedder, Paul McCartney, Queens of the Stone Age…I could honestly keep going but I think the point is made; the guy is revered by some of the greatest.

As I was reading everything I could about all members of Nirvana (including Kirst Novoselic' Blog at Seattle Weekly really worth taking a look at) I personally don’t think the band would have continued on after grunge. I could see some sort of album afterwards but it most likely would have ended up being something like Mad Season.

Assuming that the band would not have continued on or would Grohl be who he is now...these questions are as hard to assume or fathom as; Would Jesus have been as popular if his mother would have been knocked up in the old fashioned way (new way then I guess)? or would have Adolf Hitler chose the same path in life if he hadn’t read anti-Semitic literature including Martin Luther's On the Jews and Their Lies, in a very influential part of his life? We can only make assumptions.

But concerning the Grohl question and without knowing the individuals in question or ever being around these people it isn’t an exact answer but I do believe that even if Kurt would not have tragically taken his own life, Grohl while with Nirvana (for whatever amount of time that would have lasted) would have had side projects and other bands to work with.

The answer can be traced Grohl believing that his style was negatively affecting Nirvana. Grohl wouldn’t even contribute his writing with the band as he believed it would ruin them for good. But he was still writing and creating songs on his own and then the clincher was an indie album named Poketwatch.

The album was written and produced by Grohl as a solo project which enabled him to lay down ten songs that, now knowing the Foo’s, would be its ground work. The album was hard to find but when I did I couldn’t stop listening to it. It resembles a rough Foo Fighter sound with some heavier punk influence including scratchy vocals that were fitting of the time.

So there you have it Poketwatch sealed the deal for me making me believe there is no doubt he would have had at least a similar path to that of what he has had. From Nirvana to the Foo fighters or the influence on the Queens of the Stone Age and even though you may not be a metal fan you should sit down and listen to the homage Grohl created for those greats in metal that influenced him so much.

This aforementioned album is under the name of Probot. It only has one collaborative album to date but I hope that Grohl will continue on this in the future. To hear Lemmy from Motorhead sing Shake your Blood with Grohl on the drum set is, for the lack of a better word, mind blowing. The song is steeped in old school metal mixed with the originality of Grohls writing and harmonious nature.

Then when I think of his range I think of when I listened to the awe inspiring acoustic/classical guitar song The Battle of the Beaconsfield Miners for the first time, I literally had chills. I then find out several months later that this song was dedicated to two miners who were trapped in the mine they were working in. Grohl sent them a letter stating his support and thoughts of the two men with a deal stating: "Though I'm halfway around the world right now, my heart is with you both, and I want you to know that when you come home, there's two tickets to any Foos show, anywhere, and two cold beers waiting for yous. Deal?

The two miners took him up on it and had a ‘meet and greet’ at a Sydney acoustic performance with the Foo Fighters. I mention this song and side story only as a confirmation of his talent along with his contribution and utter devotion to music perfection and above all a true understanding and respect of what real and true music is.