How Butch Vig’s technical decision broke Dave Grohl’s heart
Dave Grohl has been at the centre of attention in the rock ‘n’ roll world recently. The so-called “nicest guy in rock” shocked fans when he announced the birth of a new daughter outside of his marriage to actor Jordyn Blum in early September. Needless to say, heartbreak looms for both Blum and Grohl, but this isn’t the first time Grohl has faced heartache in his remarkable music career. The surprising culprit? Butch Vig.
It’s no secret that Grohl rose to glory when he became the drummer of the Seattle-born grunge giants Nirvana in 1990 at just 21 years old. Alongside lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, this lineup saw the trio transcend American rock bands before them. It has to be said that Nirvana’s extraordinary success throughout the ’90s would not have been possible without the ingenuity of producer Butch Vig.
Having worked with the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins, L7, and Sonic Youth, Vig was the leading name in music production for alternative rock of the 1990s. Deciding to work with Nirvana on their diamond-selling record Nevermind in 1991 was a stroke of genius, as four musical masterminds came together and changed the course of grunge history.
However, Vig has admitted that convincing Grohl to use a click track while playing live with Nirvana wasn’t an easy task. After noting that the songs were often too fast for guitarist Kurt Cobain, Vig provided Grohl with a Roland drum machine to practice keeping time with a metronome. This preparation helped ensure tighter performances before the band entered the studio to record the final tracks.
In contemporary music, playing to a click is standard procedure for many artists; it’s a foolproof method ensuring that musicians play in time with one another and any pre-recorded backing tracks that appear during their performance. They say that the key to success is doing something every day that scares you, and for Grohl, it was learning to play to the uncomfortable beat of a metronome. After Vig asked about his experience using the device for the first time, Grohl reflected, “It was okay. I don’t like playing to it much, but I think we’ll be okay.”
Reflecting on the initial recording sessions of Nevermind, Vig recounts that Grohl’s decision to take his knowledgeable producer’s advice saved the song ‘Lithium’ from being a total travesty. “So we roll a click,” describes Vig, “‘Lithium’, first take, boom.” Despite Grohl’s initial reaction to Vig’s suggestion, like a stubborn child throwing the toys from his pram, his method worked like a treat for the rest of the album.
“I mean, I didn’t have to do any drum editing,” recalls Vig, “I was just like, oh my God, Dave Grohl is a machine.” Although Nevermind heralds the status of one of rock’s most influential records in history, Grohl has since reflected negatively on its recording process.
Having entrusted the production wizardry of Vig once more for the Foo Fighter’s seventh studio album, Wasting Light, it was during these sessions that Grohl finally admitted to his counterpart that being asked to use a click track in Nirvana “broke his heart”. Tracks like ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and ‘Territorial Pissings’ might have been more true to their live performances if Vig hadn’t intervened, but would Nirvana fans have celebrated this album as much as they did when it was released if the instrumentals were out of time? No one wants to hear that.
Whilst Grohl’s confession may surprise many Nirvana and Foo Fighters fans, they must not forget that he has endured his own heartbreak through music. Sometimes, you’ve got to tie down the wild beast inside a musician to get the very best from them.
