Artist News

Cornish teenagers set Dave Grohl on local council

By | Published on Thursday 24 March 2016

Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl has written to Cornwall Council requesting that noise restrictions placed on teenage band Black Leaves Of Envy be lifted. The band previously appealed to the Foo Fighters frontman for help due to his past comments encouraging young people to play music.

The band, who practice in the garage of two band members’ family home, have been ordered to keep the volume of their practices lower than 40 decibels. Basically impossible. And, according to the Plymouth Herald, the matter is all the more frustrating because the only neighbour in earshot has apparently not complained about the noise.

“We only have one immediate neighbour and they have not complained”, said the father of two of the band’s members and owner of the offending garage, Andrew Plenty. “The other houses are a farmer’s field away. They used to practise no more than one or two hours a week and it was always in the afternoons, not at anti-social hours. For the last three months, they’ve not been able to practise at all”.

Plenty added that the band and their families had been looking into finding an alternative rehearsal space, saying: “We’re looking into youth funding and there are a number of musicians who have come forward to help with our campaign. I am trying to form a committee at the moment. It’s just now getting everyone round the table and looking for some suitable premises. There’s a quote from Dave Grohl saying kids should get into their garages and start practising if they would like to be the new Nirvana. We’ve sent off a letter to Mr Grohl asking for his endorsement with our campaign”.

I’d imagine 90% of the people who read that quote when it was first published scoffed and said, “Yeah, good luck with that”. But yesterday Grohl’s response was posted on the Foo Fighters website, so now they look silly.

“My name is Dave Grohl and I’m writing on behalf of local group Black Leaves Of Envy”, wrote the musician. “It has been brought to my attention that the band is having difficulty functioning within the current noise restrictions placed upon them by Cornwall Council, a maximum of 30 to 40 decibels (approximately the level of a dishwasher at fifteen meters distance)”.

“Like many musicians, I started out in a garage in my neighborhood”, he continued, before pointing out that to date he’s sold over 100 million records. “Together with friends, my adolescent years were made better by playing music … I believe it is crucial that children have a place to explore their creativity and establish a sense of self through song. The preservation of such is paramount to the future of art and music”.

He concluded by calling on the council to lift the noise restrictions in order to send “a message that Cornwall is not only a home to music and the arts, but a place that encourages children to follow their dreams in a world where anything is possible”.

No pressure. So that’s a thing that happened. Cue Dave Grohl being called into every noise dispute ever for the rest of time. Read his full, and likely final, letter on the subject here.



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