There Is No Way Back.
Influential, Inspiring, Jaw Dropping, Legendary. These are just some of the words that come to mind when we start to talk about the Foo Fighters. This outfit have done it all and seen It all. If its in rock, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel and Pat Smear have done it. Lets take you back to a time when grunge was kind and Nirvana were on top of the world..
Nirvana was on top of the world. Albums going multi selling and a fanbase worthy of being called a nation. There was nothing that could stop Nirvana. But after years of addiction, and mental instability Kurt Cobain committed suicide at his home. The band were in pieces, Nirvana was broken. Dave Grohl and Krist Noveliacs dream was over.. BUT, to luck Dave Grohl did not only partake in drumming when being part of Nirvana he took a guitar on tour with him always and this was where Dave Grohl wrote his own songs and kept them back from being part of Nirvanas back catalogue. He also occasionally booked studio time to record songs under the false persona “Late!”
Dave Grohl has musical spirit implanted into his brain and soul. This was seen from other artists as Tom Pretty and the Heartbreakers asked Dave to drum for them, however he let him down to go and record 12 of 40 songs he had recorded. He played every instrument on the album apart from on track on the album. Grohl completed what was seen as an album in a mere five days, this was quite frankly phenomenal. He made cassettes and handed them out to his close friends, and thus the roots of the Foos Fighters were planted. However Grohl feared the backlash he could receive from Nirvana fans so he kept to the then anonymous Foo Fighters name.
Dave had made the basis for what would be a legendary band. He initially planned to add Krist to the band from Nirvana but they thought it would be neutral for them but any other parts of the band would see it as weird. Dave Grohl attended a gig for Sunny Day Real Estate. Luckily it was their last show so Dave managed to grab Nate and their drummer William Goldsmith. Grohl also asked Pat Smear to become part of the band he was Nirvanas touring guitarist so again the two had history but for this time, Dave was able to overlook it. Foo Fighters made their live debut in 1995 along with their debut album “Foo Fighters”. This formed the singles “This is a call”, “For All The Cows” and “Big Me”. The band spent the following months of 1995 touring and made their first ever appearance at Reading Festival.
After touring the 1996 spring with Foo Fighters, they entered the studio in Washington. Grohl once again wrote all the songs for the album. The band met up for early recordings and then the first rough mixes came out. However, Grohl was not happy with how the mixes were turning out, especially the drumming tracks. So behind Goldsmiths back he redid all the drum tracks, feeling betrayed Goldsmith left the band and then Grohl had to whip out the recruitment list for a brand new drummer.
Grohl contacted Alan Morissettes drummer Taylor Hawkins to ask if he could recommend any drummers for the Foo Fighters, Grohl was then hugely surprised when Taylor recommended himself. Funnily a week before this happenend one of Hawkins friends asked if he would like to play for the Foo Fighters and he replied “Yeah but id love to play for Led Zeppelin, or Bon Jovi too but its not gunna happen”. Hawkins made his Foo Fighters debut when he played on the album “The Colour and the Shape”. This album spawned the huge anthems of “Monkey Wrench” “My Hero” and possibly the most famous Foo Fighters track “Everlong”.
A little after this Pat Smear was the second person to say “Hey I wanna leave the Foos” what an idiot ey? But while performing on a roof Pat Smear swapped half way through the performance for Franz Stahl. They then went onto perform some of the tracks that made them the band they were and Foo Fighters were stable once again! *High Fives all around*
Foo Fighters then went onto the third and some say most successful album “There Is Nothing Left To Lose”. Foo Fighters went to Virginia to escape the hustle and bustle of the city so that they could make an album that got back to its roots.. However again the most common thing to happen in Foo Fighters happened again. The three members of Foo Fighters that were solid and moving in one musical direction were good, but Franz wasn’t. Franz was inevitably fired and from a phone call as well. Dave Grohl seemed to be the worlds harshest boss. Foo Fighters spawned the single “Stacked Actors” which some see as the most underrated Foos track ever but most people can recognise it as Foo Fighters going back to their original heavier roots. However it was the next single that raised Foo Fighters profile to new heights. “Learn To Fly” was THE stadium filler that would make and still continues to make people jump up and down with joy. The last single “Breakout” made Foo Fighters look back on their career at this point and say, We’ve done it boys the band has made it!
But still the tale was not fully told. After the band had fully recorded the album they auditioned for a new guitarist and after numerous hours and an interview with “The guy who couldn’t stop hugging” they found Chris Shiflett who initially started off as a touring guitarist but then was elevated up to full time member.
The band headed to Los Angeles to record One By One. However after four months recording time the band and again in particular Grohl were not happy with how it was sounding. So Grohl took some time out to drum with close friends Queens Of The Stone Age. Dave went onto nail a whole album with QOTSA. This made the other members of Foo Fighters irate as to the fact Grohl was putting other commitments before his own band. On the verge of breaking up Grohl convinced his band to perform at the legendary Coachella festival. Of course with one little hitch Foo Fighters played the first day and QOTSA would play after so he gets the best of both worlds. Foo Fighters played and then so did QOTSA. After QOTSA performed Grohl and Hawkins had possibly the most important convocation of the Foo Fighters. They agreed to finish the album they had started as they couldn’t leave a project half finished, and then see how they felt about the band after this. The original demos however have never been heard and have now been labelled as “The Million Dollar Demos” as they are highly sought after by fans and fanatics alike. The album debuted in October 2002 and Grohl stated “Four songs were good, the rest were rubbish” so it seems Foo Fighters did an album for the sake of it. They rushed in and rushed out. It however spawned the huge single “All My Life” which turned into an instant fan favourite and the highly politically influenced “Times Like These.
After a year of touring, Grohl did not want to rush into another Foos record and neither did the rest of the band, after 10 years of the Foos I think they deserved a break. Dave Grohl instead wrote acoustically at home. This was Grohls original intentions however it soon developed into a whole band project. This was then transferred into a new studio dubbed “Studio 606”. This was a new Foos record though and a new style. Half of the album was acoustic and half was fully fledged rock songs. Foo Fighters recorded this album in Studio 606 giving it a more personal feel. The record boasted “Best of you”.
This song was something passionate and different about the Foo Fighters. This song was something that Grohl had kept away for a while. This showed how Foo Fighters could make some of the best songs in the world. The lyrics “Has someone taken your faith its real the pain you feel” shows how Foo Fighters have developed from being a rock band to something rare and amazing. A truly individual band. This is one of my favourite songs by the Foo Fighters and in fact ever. Nothing could hold a torch to this song. Foo Fighters cemented their place in rock history with this song and then went onto tour the album in an close way touring all of the songs in acoustic form and being labelled the “Skin and Bones” tour. Former guitarist Pat Smear wanted in on the glory and again became a touring guitarist. But this time for the Foo Fighters.
Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace dropped in at September 2007. With the lead single being The Pretender. The single lapped up huge airplay and was an instant Foos classic. In October 2007 the world tour started for this album and they were booked up till 2008 ending in the Virgin Mobile Festival. The album was nominated for numerous awards throughout 2008 including best song for “The Pretender” and album of the year. Foo Fighters headlined two sell out shows at Wembley stadium which boasted an 80,000 capacity. At this show the infamous Jimmy Paige and John Paul Jones came on and played with them again the highlight of the Foos career. The last song they performed was Best Of You. This enforced a sing along from all of the fans in the stadium resulting in Dave Grohl breaking down half way through the song. This was Foo Fighters moment and no one would steal it.
But good old Foos never stop work, throughout touring the Foo Fighters recorded and practiced thirteen songs and 3 of them were definitely important these being “Wheels”, “Word Forward” and “Rope”. Wheels and Word Forward featured on the Greatest Hits. Some people saw this as the end of Foo Fighters but little did people know..Wasting Light.
Wasting Light is the newest Foo Fighters album. My god its exciting! Dave Grohl asked the question to everyone “How do you go from headlining Wembley to something else? Oh I know lets record an album in a garage”. Wasting Light was recorded on tape reels instead of new digital technology and the Foos reunited with legendary producer Butch Vig to help produce this monster album. Before the album however Pat Smear was featured in many of the photos and then Grohl confirmed on Twitter that Pat Smear would be playing on every song of the album and was now again a fully fledged member of the band. But in order for a full reunion Grohl asked Krist from Nirvana (Told you he’d be back) to play bass on “I should of known”. Foo Fighters got personal on this album and you can really see it. Many people say that I should of known was wrote about Kurt and many can see why it could be seen as being wrote about him but who knows? Take your own view on it. Wasting Light debuted with Rope and went to the top of the record charts in the UK knocking off the most popular act of the time “Adele”.
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| The Worlds Most Deranged Man? |
Foo Fighters are booked up for multiple festivals and two headline shows in Milton Keynes. This which I have tickets for. This was something that was bound to happen. Foo Fighters return has happened and boy are they in huge demand. A excellent performance at Radio 1’s big weekend led fans to become even more hyped for what was sure to be an amazing summer for Foos.
Foo Fighters have rose from the ashes of Nirvana to become a band of huge individuality. They our are generations Led Zeppelin. Our Generations Who. They are truly one of the best rock bands to ever come out of history. Foo Fighters sing about Its times like these you learn to love again. I’ve never fallen out of love with The Foo Fighters. Only more in love with the music and their passion for it.
God bless the Foos!
