Foo Fighters

A Foo Fighter: A World War II term used to refer to mysterious aerial phenomena.

When Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain committed suicide, which also ended the band, bassist Krist Novoselic handled the remembrances. That left drummer Dave Grohl with little to do but wander around in shock.

Soon though Grohl locked himself away and recorded the entire Foo Fighters’ debut (except for one guitar track contributed by Afghan Wig Greg Dulli). But Grohl wanted a group, especially for touring. Bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith joined. Guitarist Pat Smear who toured with Nirvana also got the call. This edition hit the road as “This Is A Call” blasted across the airwaves along with the retro-sounding “Big Me.”

A group effort, “The Colour & The Shape” followed with wall of sound guitars, blistering drums and “just about to break” vocals. During “The Colour & The Shape” sessions, tracks were tossed and re-recorded. Goldsmith decided to move on for any one of a number of possible reasons. Grohl ended up playing drums on the album with Taylor Hawkins taking over on the road.

Smear decided to leave and was briefly replaced by Grohl’s former pre-Nirvana band mate, Franz Stahl. He lasted for little more than one tour.

’99 saw the release of “There’s Nothing Left To Lose,” which was recorded in the basement studio of Grohl’s Virginia home. At this point Grohl took some time off to play drums on Queens Of The Stone Age album “Songs For The Deaf.” That experience led to his touring with the group.

That was followed by an ’06 acoustic tour which led to the band’s first live album. “Skin & Bones” was recorded over three nights at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. The band got additional help from Smear and former Wallflowers keyboardist Rami Jaffe.

With producer Gil Norton (who was also in the booth for “The Colour & The Shape”), the Foo Fighters stretched a bit yet maintained their core sound on “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.” “The album… sounds like a Foo Fighters album, but it’s definitely moving in a few different directions,” said Grohl. “It’s cool man, I love it.” Following the sessions, the Foo Fighters participated in Live Aid (the London edition). Also, Smear signed on for the band’s summer tour.

“Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace” also resonated with Grammy voters. The album won the Rock Album award at the ’08 ceremony.

During the ’08 presidential campaign Republican nominee John McCain was roundly criticized by Rock musicians for the unauthorized use of their songs during his campaign. The Foo Fighters in particular took issue with the candidate’s use of their ‘98 hit “My Hero” during his ’08 campaign without the band’s permission. “It’s frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property,” said a Foo Fighters’ statement. “We hope that the McCain campaign will do the right thing and stop using our song.”

On a more pleasant note, the Warren, OH, city council passed a resolution to change the city’s Market Alley to David Grohl Alley, in honor of the locally grown Foo Fighters frontman.

Grohl and company then vaulted to the White House lawn where they headlined an ’09 Independence Day barbecue in front of a crowd that included President Obama, wounded military personnel and their families. “It’s an honor to be playing here for you people,” said Grohl.

Communication is probably just as important to a band’s success as creativity. As work began on “Wasting Light,” Smear, who left in ’97, was reinstalled as an official member – after being part of the touring line-up since ‘06. Of course, no one bothered to tell the band’s current guitarist, Chris Shifflett. He initially found the situation “difficult.” But it was quickly resolved.

The return of Smear was not the only resurrection from the past. former Nirvana producer Butch Vig was recruited to work on the Foo Fighter’s seventh album. But the process got off to an unexpected start.

“I want the record to sound rawer and somewhat imperfect,” Grohl told Vig. “As good as we play, that’s how good the record will sound.” Grohl also insisted that the group lay down tracks without computers.

A month before “Wasting Light” came out the Foo Fighters played two shows that raised over $1 million for victims of the Australian floods and New Zealand earthquakes. The show at the Auckland Town Hall was followed five days later by a performance at the Riverstage in central Brisbane. “The Foo Fighters were determined to help New Zealand and Australia in the aftermath of these terrible disasters,” commented charity show organizer Michael Gudinski.

“Wasting Light,” which included “I Should Have Known” with Noveselic on bass, went to #1 on the U.K.’s Album Chart. The album ended pop star Adele’s eleven week hold on the top spot. It was the Foo Fighters third U.K. chart topper. The other two were ‘02’s “One By One” and ‘07’s “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.”

In the U.S., the album received five Grammy nominations, winning Best Rock Album, Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance (“White Limo”), Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song (both for “Walk”).

Then it was back on the road as the Foo Fighters headlined the Invictus Games Closing Party at London’s Olympic Park which was broadcast on the BBC. Then they returned to the U.S. to play their first crowdfunded concert at The National Theater in Richmond, VA – it was also their first Richmond appearance in 16 years.

All that was merely a prelude to “14’s “Sonic Highways.”

The album was recorded in eight cities (Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.) which led to the title. The album featured guest performances by Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, The Eagles’ Joe Walsh, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen.

With the tracks in the can, the Foos did a week-long stand on The Late Show with David Letterman to promote their “Sonic Highways,” HBO special. The eight-episode series chronicled the album’s development and the musical histories of each city visited. It later won a pair of Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing and Outstanding Sound Mixing.

A return to The Late Show in ’15 followed final week appearances by Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. The Foo Fighters were the last musical guest on Letterman’s program, ending his 33-year late night run. Dressed in tuxedos, the Foos performed “Everlong” while a montage of classic clips were shown. The talk show host called the Foo Fighters his “favorite band.”

Shortly thereafter, Grohl fractured his leg when he miscalculated a stage jump and fell into the security pit during a concert in Gothenburg, Sweden. Most everybody thought that was the end of the show. But no. Hawkins led the group through a bunch of covers while Grohl was taken to a hospital. Patched up, Grohl returned and finished the show. Now that’s commitment!  However, subsequent concerts were canceled.

But you can’t keep the Foo Fighters down. They celebrated their 20^th anniversary with an Independence Day concert in the nation’s capital. Grohl performed seated on a ‘throne’ supporting his injured leg. It was the group’s first show since the accident.

Though “Medicine At Midnight” was completed in ’20 the album didn’t drop until a year later due to the pandemic. That same year, the band was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Just when everything seemed to be going smoothly again, tragedy hit.  Hawkins passed away while the Foo Fighters were touring South America.  Various substances were found during the autopsy.

Months later, the Foo Fighters held two star-studded Hawkins tribute concerts – one in London and the other in L.A.

The Foo Fighters 11^th studio album, “But Here We Are” with “Rescued,” and Under You,” both #1s on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, was the band’s first studio effort since Hawkins passing.

Grohl called Hawkins “my brother from another mother” and played drums on the album.

In a press release, the band wrote the set was “a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything the Foo Fighters have endured over the last year… the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between.” 

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