For Consequence’s Band Week, we caught up with Violet Grohl at Riot Fest and asked her to name three of her favorite bands — the ones she’d want to see placed highly our list of the 100 Best Bands of All Time. Two of the three made it, but Grohl had solid personal reasons for each of her picks.
The CoSigned artist’s choices all go back a ways: she grew up listening to Sonic Youth and Ween, while The Breeders have become a major influence on her own music. That connection became even more tangible this summer, when Grohl opened for the Deal siblings and co. in Baltimore and New York.
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Watch the video above to see Grohl discuss her choices for the three greatest bands of all time, and see select quotes from her about each act below. Then, check out how her picks stack up against our final list.
Keep an eye on all more ballots from contributing artists, including Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, The Jesus Lizard’s Duane Denison, Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, Brandi Carlile, Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker, and Fred Armisen. You can also pick up the 25 Essential Albums by the Greatest Bands of All Time.
Sonic Youth
Grohl’s Sonic Youth fandom started young. “I have been a massive Sonic Youth fan since I was a kid. I grew up listening to Sonic Youth,” Grohl says. What keeps pulling her back is the band’s ability to turn noise into something distinctly their own. “I love texture. I love guitars. I love fuzz, and I love Kim Gordon’s voice so fucking much, and the writing is just brilliant.”
Ween
Ween were another constant growing up, particularly on the ride to school. “My sister and I would listen to ‘Mister, Would You Please Help My Pony?’ in the car on the way to school almost every day,” Grohl recalls. “I’m just a big fucking Ween fan.” She now covers “Transdermal Celebration” on tour. “It’s like one of my favorite songs to perform,” she says. “It’s one of my favorite Ween songs.”
The Breeders
Then there are The Breeders. “I fucking love The Breeders. I love the Deal sisters so much,” Grohl declares, also shouting out drummer Jim Macpherson as “a fucking legend.” Grohl recently got the opportunity to play with The Breeders herself, describing it as “a pinch me moment. Like crazy.” More than just a favorite band, they’ve also become an important reference point for her own work: “They were a massive inspiration for my creative process, for writing and playing music the way that we do.”