Dave Grohl is many things, but perhaps the most important title the Foo Fighters leader bears is that of proud father. He often speaks about Violet Grohl’s musical abilities and he even got her involved with the latest Foo Fighters album. Now the two have teamed up for a cover of “Nausea” by punk band X, and Dave explained the significance of choosing that song to record with his daughter.
Dave gave context about how the recording (which will be featured in the documentary What Drives Us) came to be in a new post on his storytelling Instagram page. In this post, Grohl tells the story about how he discovered he is related to a member of X, D.J. Bonebrake. He goes on to write about how he decided to play off that familial connection by asking Violet to record a cover of the band’s “Nausea” with him:
“A few weeks ago, as I watched the completed documentary, I reflected on the invaluable connections between musicians. I then had an idea that elaborated even further on the concept of inspiration and family lineage that I am so fascinated with: I wanted to record a song that would not only pay tribute to the people and music that influenced me to become a musician, but also to pay tribute to my long family history. So, what better song than an X song? And what better person to sing it than my daughter, Violet Grohl, another descendant of Johann Christian Beinbrech.
I picked one of my favorite X songs ‘Nausea’ from their 1980 debut album, ‘Los Angeles’ and forwarded it to Violet, hoping that she would agree to my most impulsive idea. Anyone who has ever heard Violet sing knows that she was certainly capable of doing it, but it was just a matter of getting her in front of the microphone to record, something that the two of us had never done together before. It felt so meaningful to have the first song Violet and I record together be a tribute to our Bonebrake heritage. I crossed my fingers and awaited her response.
Around 9 pm she answered with an excited ‘Yes!’ so I ran upstairs to my little demo studio and recorded the instrumental tracks as fast as I could. After about half an hour, I was done, and I brought her into the vocal booth to sing her part. As nervous as she was, she stepped up to the microphone and sang with the power and confidence of a seasoned pro as I engineered the session like a proud father, encouraging her to let it all out. I then sang my harmonies over her vocal in the chorus, our two voices blending perfectly in the mix, and we smiled upon listening to playback at full volume. It was a moment that superseded anything musical. A life moment that I will cherish forever. A family moment.”
Listen to the Grohls cover “Nausea” above and read Dave’s full post about the song below.