When Dave Grohl shared the defining moment he was inspired to start his Seattle-based rock band Foo Fighters, a Nirvana fan realized he had a role in the decision.
Before Grohl founded Foo Fighters, which initially started as a one-man band, he was a drummer for the alternative rock band Nirvana from 1990 to 1994.
When the tragic death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in April 1994 eventually led to disbandment, Grohl said in an interview he did "a lot of soul-searching" and expressed wanting to "disappear" by going to the "most remote place on earth."
His aim to go off the grid landed him in the Ring of Kerry in southwestern Ireland, a location he'd been to before, where the circular tourist route begins in the town of Killarney.
As Grohl described:
"You really feel like you're at the end of the earth and there's nothing so f'king serene and it's so beautiful."
He continued:
“I was driving around in my rental car, and on a country road, I saw this hitchhiker kid. And I thought, ‘Well, maybe I’ll pick him up.’ "
"And as I got closer to him, I saw that he had a Kurt Cobain t-shirt on.”
Grohl had an epiphany from being bowled over by the unexpected sight of his late friend and bandmate on the graphic shirt.
"It was Kurt’s face looking back at me in the middle of nowhere," recalled the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer by way of Nirvana.
He added:
"I realized like, oh, I can’t outrun this.”
"So I need to go home and f'king get back to work."
And the Foo Fighters was born.
You can view the interview clip here.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
The young Nirvana fan Grohl mentioned in his anecdote recently became aware of the two-month-old interview and shared his recollection of crossing paths with the wayward musician.
According to his cousin, Eoin, the man who wore the Kurt Cobain T-shirt when he encountered Grohl so many years ago was named Lorcan.
Eoin wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
"So my legend of a cousin Lorcan just realised he was kind of important to the creation of @foofighters @FooFightersUK."
"He saw a video by Dave Grohl talking about why he got back to work after a visit to Ireland."
"Lorcan was out hitchhiking wearing his nirvana top when Dave stopped."
The relative posted a photo of a younger Lorcan in the Kurt Cobain tee alongside a video of Grohl's interview stitched with Lorcan recently remembering his chance meeting.
"I had a Nirvana T-shirt on with Kurt Cobain on it…It was black tie-dye," Lorcan said while regaling friends with the anecdote at an outdoor venue.
@eointighe/X
He remembered Grohl's reaction to seeing him in his Nirvana top when the singer slowly drove towards him and immediately sped off, leaving Lorcan eating dust in the next instant.
"I saw him and his look of shock, and the next thing, the carriage just tore off away," he said.
Nobody believed Lorcan's story, which his friends understood given the odds of seeing a renowned rock star "in the middle of nowhere."
Lorcan said he saw the interview clip about "two weeks ago" with Grohl mentioning he was touring around the Ring of Kerry. It was the only confirmation Lorcan needed.
"There we go. That was me," he proclaimed.
The clip ended with him triumphantly pumping his fists after his friends cheered and credited him for the creation of Foo Fighters.
Social media users were delighted by the cool story.
Where else but Ireland could the genesis of the Foo Fighters have occurred?
Well done, Lorcan!
So much for getting a lift, though.
Foo Fighters initially started as a solo project following the breakup of Nirvana in 1994.
Grohl recruited former Sunny Day Real Estate band members Nate Mendel on bass, William Goldsmith on drums, and guitarist Pat Smear—the latter having played with Nirvana on tour—for the release of the 1995 eponymous debut album, Foo Fighters.
The band currently consists of Grohl on lead vocals and guitar, Mendel on bass, with Chris Shiflett and Smear on guitars, joined by keyboardist Rami Jaffee and drummer Josh Freese.
Foo Fighters became one of the most successful rock acts in Grammy history after winning 15 Grammy Awards, including five for Best Rock Album.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, their first year of eligibility.
Who knew that a chance encounter in a remote Irish location would have led to the formation of one of the most successful bands in music history with an enduring legacy?
Thanks for the shirt choice on that fateful day, Lorcan. The fans are super grateful to you.
