DAVE GROHL Says KISS Inspired Him To Become Musician

According to The Pulse Of Radio, FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl paid tribute to KISS on Wednesday night (April 29) during the ASCAP Pop Music Awards, where the legendary band was recognized for their influence as songwriters. Grohl presented founding members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons with the ASCAP Founders Award while recalling when he heard his first record by the band, 1976's "Destroyer".

Grohl said: "Everybody remembers their first KISS record, and this is how I remember mine. With nuclear anticipation, I let the needle drop on that legendary intro to 'Detroit Rock City', perhaps the greatest introduction to any rock and roll album ever recorded. It filled my speakers and my imagination. Thirty-four minutes later and 27 seconds later, KISS had filled my soul. I was now a member of the infamous Kiss Army."

Grohl said he turned his bedroom into a "shrine" to KISS, lining it with posters and action figures that he would look at before going to school. He added, "They got me through those years and ultimately inspired me to follow this unreasonable dream of becoming a professional rock and roll musician."

Grohl concluded, "These days I still spend every morning before school with Paul Stanley… in the parking lot of our kids' fuckin' elementary school, chatting about ZEPPELIN and Electric Lady [Studios] and touring and school fundraisers. So I'd say that my unreasonable dream definitely came true."

Stanley told Rolling Stone last year that he has seen Grohl every day for the past three years at their kids' school.

Gene Simmons said after Grohl's speech, "Dave Grohl and the FOO FIGHTERS are carrying the flag that we hope will inspire the next generation of young kids."