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| Dave Grohl writes to Cornwall council to allow local band to practise | Dave Grohl writes to Cornwall council to allow local band to practise |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| US rock star Dave Grohl weighed in to support an unsigned English teenage band, after they were prevented from practising in a family garage due to local noise restrictions. | US rock star Dave Grohl weighed in to support an unsigned English teenage band, after they were prevented from practising in a family garage due to local noise restrictions. |
| The Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer penned a letter to the local council in Cornwall after the four members of metal band Black Leaves of Envy appealed for his support. | The Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer penned a letter to the local council in Cornwall after the four members of metal band Black Leaves of Envy appealed for his support. |
| “That’s the story of Nirvana basically, young musicians starting off in a garage,” 17-year-old Adam Jones, lead guitarist and singer with the group, told AFP. | “That’s the story of Nirvana basically, young musicians starting off in a garage,” 17-year-old Adam Jones, lead guitarist and singer with the group, told AFP. |
| “It’s pretty surreal, we sent the letter off to ask for his support ... We were all shocked when we got the reply.” | “It’s pretty surreal, we sent the letter off to ask for his support ... We were all shocked when we got the reply.” |
| Jones said the band members, all aged between 15 and 17, had been unable to practise for months as letters from the council threatened steep fines if they broke a noise limit of 30-40 decibels – about the level of a fridge humming. | Jones said the band members, all aged between 15 and 17, had been unable to practise for months as letters from the council threatened steep fines if they broke a noise limit of 30-40 decibels – about the level of a fridge humming. |
| In his letter, which was published on Foo Fighter social media accounts and quickly shared by thousands, Grohl stressed the importance of allowing young musicians to practise and urged Cornwall Council to reconsider the rules. | In his letter, which was published on Foo Fighter social media accounts and quickly shared by thousands, Grohl stressed the importance of allowing young musicians to practise and urged Cornwall Council to reconsider the rules. |
| “My name is Dave Grohl, and I’m writing on behalf of the local music group Black Leaves of Envy,” he wrote. | “My name is Dave Grohl, and I’m writing on behalf of the local music group Black Leaves of Envy,” he wrote. |
| “It has been brought to my attention that the band is having difficulty functioning within the current noise restrictions placed upon them by the Cornwall council.” | “It has been brought to my attention that the band is having difficulty functioning within the current noise restrictions placed upon them by the Cornwall council.” |
| Grohl recalled the importance of music of a creative outlet that helped him through “difficult years” growing up in Springfield, Virginia. | Grohl recalled the importance of music of a creative outlet that helped him through “difficult years” growing up in Springfield, Virginia. |
| “For musicians that lack the resources to rehearse in professional facilities, a garage or basement is the only place they have to develop their talent and passion,” he wrote. | “For musicians that lack the resources to rehearse in professional facilities, a garage or basement is the only place they have to develop their talent and passion,” he wrote. |
| “For the sake of your local band Black Leaves of Envy, and for the generations of young musicians that they may eventually inspire, I ask you reconsider the restrictions put upon the volume of their private rehearsal space.” | “For the sake of your local band Black Leaves of Envy, and for the generations of young musicians that they may eventually inspire, I ask you reconsider the restrictions put upon the volume of their private rehearsal space.” |
| Cornwall council did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but have since issued a statement to the NME: | |
| “The Council is legally required to investigate once it has received a complaint about noise. In this case we have received a number of complaints about the level of noise. We have not, however, told the band to stop playing or told them they must keep sound levels below 40 decibels. We have not prescribed a set noise level but have advised that the sound levels are currently too high. We have offered to work with them to look at ways of reducing the noise levels by suggesting they look at installing some sound proofing into the garage to address the problem or possibly compromise by looking at playing only at certain times. We have spoken to the owner of the property on three occasions so far and are arranging to visit them to try and identify a solution.” | |
| Black Leaves of Envy released their first record, an EP of four songs, in late 2015 and have played some small shows around their town of Helston. | Black Leaves of Envy released their first record, an EP of four songs, in late 2015 and have played some small shows around their town of Helston. |
| “It’s amazing to have someone of with Grohl’s weight back us,” Jones said. | “It’s amazing to have someone of with Grohl’s weight back us,” Jones said. |
| “We wrote our first EP in that garage and without having that rehearsal time and space we’d be nowhere.” | “We wrote our first EP in that garage and without having that rehearsal time and space we’d be nowhere.” |
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