Dave Grohl Delivers Powerful Keynote Speech at SXSW 2013
Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 03.14.2013
Grohl praises artists' visions and independence...
Billboard has a report on the keynote speech made by Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl last Thursday at South By Southwest. Grohl spoke for 45 minutes and encouraged up and coming artists to protect their independence and creative visions. Here are some highlights:
Regarding artists and their voice: "There is no right or wrong – there is only your voice. Your voice screaming through an old Neve 8028 recording console, your voice singing through a laptop, your voice echoing from a street corner – it doesn't matter. What matters most is that it's YOUR voice. Cherish it. Respect it. Nurture it. Challenge it. Respect it. Stretch it and scream until it's f***ing gone… Who knows how long it will last. It's there if you want it."
Regarding his meeting with Bruce Springsteen who previously delivered an amazing keynote speech in 2011: "I congratulated him on last year's amazing keynote, quoting him on his insight and humor, and told him this year's keynote speaker was me. He started at me for a moment, then slowly cracked that famous smile that we all know and love, a smile that can light up an entire stadium, and then he started laughing. At me. As if to say, 'Good f***ing luck, buddy.' But truth be told, that's not the first time anybody's said that to me."
Grohl reflecting of when he was first consumed by music in 1983 when he went to a Rock Against Reagan concert in Washington and then dropped out of school: "I burned inside. I was possessed and empowered and inspired and engaged and so in love with life and so in love with music. This was rock 'n' roll. No matter what shirt you had or what f***ing haircut you had, this was f***ing real. It had the power to incite a f***ing riot or an emotion or to incite or start a revolution – or just to save a young boy's life."
Grohl taking shots at The Voice and critics or anything else that judges music since independence is important: "Now more than ever independence as a musician has been blessed by the advancement of technology, making it easier for an aspiring musician to start their own band, write their own song, record their own record, book their own shows, write and publish their own fanzine -- although now I believe you call it a blog. But now more than ever you can do this and it can be all yours, and left you your own devices you can find your voice. Remember that simple reward of just playing music You are still and will always be that person at your core, the musician and the musician comes first."
Grohl's new documentary Sound City: Real to Real also was shown at SXSW. Grohl will also be playing a show on March 14 at Stubb's with the Sound City Players as well.
