Dave Grohl: 'I Was Not A Sideman In Nirvana'

Dave Grohl has launched another verbal attack, this time on critics who keep referring to him and Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic as ‘sidemen’ to Kurt Cobain.

Speaking to The Daily Mirror the Foo Fighters singer said: “I was actually Nirvana's fifth drummer and if you listen to the recordings with the previous guys you will notice it sounds different. Krist Novoselic and I have been called sidemen to Kurt for fucking years - that lawsuit is done with, y'know?”

“We've been called hired guns and I just laugh. Anyone who has ever been in a band, hell anyone who has ever even listened to a band, understands what happens when one of those elements is removed from the combination. It just falls apart,” he added.

Grohl also revealed that he did not expect Nirvana to achieve such success. “We were just three guys trying to make our way playing music. I think the effect the band had was more to do with everyone else than the band."

“When we went to rehearsals in Tacoma, Washington, to write music, there wasn't a whole lot of world domination in mind. We'd begin with an impromptu freeform noise jam and a lot of songs came out of that - from 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' to 'Come As You Are'. All those dynamic quiet/loud songs came out of those jams.”

Being in a band was never seen as full time occupation for Grohl who used the group as an excuse to score drugs. He said “I started playing in bands as a teenager, not a career option, but as a way to find weed and not have to work. When Nirvana became popular it was unexpected - no one thought that would happen to our band."

Comparisons to The Beatles legendary drummer, and perceived outsider, Ringo Starr amuse the rocker, who added: “I've always considered myself a lucky musician. It's funny when somebody calls me the grunge Ringo, but really I'm just a pothead from suburban Virginia who wound up finding his way into a band who became really popular in the early 1990s."