The reason for Dave Grohl and Buzz Osborne’s decade-long feud
Buzz Osborne will always have a place in the grunge hall of fame for his work in bands such as Melvins and Fantômas, and he has always been known for not being the sort to shy away from sharing his opinion on various matters both within and outside of music. Dave Grohl, on the other hand, probably gets more recognition these days for his work in the alternative rock group Foo Fighters, though his drumming on two Nirvana records and occasional work with Queens of the Stone Age does give him just reason to be recognised alongside Osborne for his contributions to grunge and sludgy stoner rock.
With all that in mind, you’d think the two of them would get along, right? Considering that until recently, Grohl had a squeaky clean reputation and was regularly referred to as ‘the nicest man in rock’, it would be pretty shocking to learn that anyone else would have a reason to loathe the guy, but it turns out that Osborne really isn’t a fan of the Foo Fighters frontman.
In 2016, amidst plans to reunite Grohl and former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic to perform on what would become the next Melvins record, Basses Loaded, Grohl failed to stick to his word that he’d contribute to the album and inexplicably went awol for the sessions. Aggrieved by his lack of communication or willingness to participate, Osborne has seemingly held a grudge towards Grohl ever since.
To add insult to injury, the plans to collaborate were Grohl’s in the first place, so his sudden absconding from the project was particularly infuriating for Osborne. Speaking to Rolling Stone in the aftermath of the falling out, Osborne suggested that Grohl was perhaps too preoccupied “playing songs at the Oscars and shit” and repeatedly blasted his former associate for backing out of the plans.
While Novoselic honoured the initial plans to work on the record, Grohl’s unceremonious cancellation seemed to really hit a nerve. Osborne would continue his tirade, saying, “One thing I’m not doing is sitting next to the phone in curlers, waiting for Dave Grohl to call me, you know? When he totally blows you off like that, it’s fucked.”
While that certainly paints two strong pictures of the situation (one of Osborne’s fury, the other of him with curlers rolled up in his unruly mane), it also wasn’t the first time the Melvins frontman publicly lashed out at Grohl, as there had been previous one-sided expressions of resentment from King Buzzo. He went on a lengthy onstage riff about Grohl’s successes at a 2014 solo concert, bemoaning how after he achieved fame, he’d stop picking up the phone quite as much, among other small gripes. There was also a crass depiction of Grohl sitting on the toilet that featured on some Melvins merch only a year later, though the tipping point would seemingly be when he bailed on the band for their recording sessions.
It’s unclear how Grohl feels towards Osborne these days, as he hasn’t gone on record to discuss this fractured relationship in quite as much detail, but he was at least complimentary about Melvins when they were enjoying their 40th anniversary as a band in 2023. Grohl would say of the legendary group in a tribute to the band that ever since he first heard them, “I’ve been inspired by their signature, staggered feel, much like countless other bands who look up to them as the kings of the North West music scene,” before jokingly remarking, “oh, and thank you for giving me Nirvana‘s phone number.”
