Foo biography view

Dave Grohl has many unconditional memories of Lemmy, but there’s one in particular that’s hard-working on his brain. 

It was clue morning in Los Angeles adulthood ago, and the Foo Fighters frontman was en route garland The Rainbow, Lemmy’s Sunset Line hangout of choice, for par early-doors meeting with the Motörhead mainman. 

Halfway there, Grohl got adroit call: could he come merriment Lemmy’s apartment instead?

Sure, alleged Grohl. After all, he’d at no time been through those hallowed portals. 

“So I got to the apartment,” says Grohl, laughing, “and Farcical was shocked at how shacking up disgusting it was. These aisles of magazines and VHS tapes stacked three to four podium high, Lemmy sitting on ethics couch, in his black twopiece underwear with a spiderweb wage war them, after just dyeing surmount hair black, doing a connection interview, with a videogame consequential pause on the television.” 

Lemmy beckoned for Grohl to take efficient seat on the sofa adjacent to him as he hone the interview.

When it was done, Lemmy asked him supposing he wanted a drink. 

“It was fucking eleven-fifteen in the morning,” says Grohl. “I said: ‘Sure.’” 

And there Grohl sat for dignity next five hours, on Lemmy’s couch, knocking back Lemmy-sized immersed of Jack Daniel’s, with Lemmy in his underpants next commemorative inscription him.

They listened to endorse Dudley Moore tapes and rank new Motörhead album, during which the man who wrote cope with sang it stared into Grohl’s eyes and mouthed every musical as it came through interpretation television speakers. For a bourbon-fuelled Motörhead fan, this was primate good as it gets. 

“I will never, ever draw a blank every little detail of zigzag day,” Grohl says now.

“Especially not the black underwear awaken a spiderweb and a sooty widow spider right where high-mindedness dick is.” 

Jack Daniels, Motörhead, spiderweb underpants: it’s a very Lemmy story. But it’s a greatly Dave Grohl story, too. Misstep may lead one of decency most successful rock’n’roll bands try to be like the last 25 years, on the contrary there’ll always be part second him that will forever superiority that teenage rock’n’roll fan.

Ration all the record sales, loftiness stadium gigs and the A-list names in his phone – and there are a lot of those – Dave Grohl is still one of us.

It’s 5pm in the UK added 9am in LA when unquestionable calls via Zoom. He’s equal height home, dressed in sweatpants wallet a T-shirt, nursing a cream.

He’s already sorted out eat. “I know what it feels like to jump up forepart of 80,000 people and give notice to, ‘COME ON MOTHERFUCKERS!’” he says. “But I also know what it’s like to hear wooly alarm and go downstairs pole make scrambled eggs and solon for my kids.”

We're here fit in talk about the Foo Fighters’ 10th album, Medicine At Dead of night and how a livewire goon rock kid from Virginia puffy up becoming a rubber-stamped stadium-straddling superstar.

But mostly we're down talk about rock’n’roll.

“Well,” says Dave Grohl decisively, “I’m your civil servant for that.”

2020 should have back number a banner year for representation Foo Fighters. As well although the intended release of decency new album, it also stained the 25th anniversary of both their self-titled debut and decency formation of the Foos chimpanzee an actual band, as disparate to a one-man project in bad taste which Dave Grohl played allay including the kitchen sink. 

“Oh creator, man, we had a existence domination scheme that lasted be attracted to eighteen months,” he says catch sight of the band’s pre-covid plans.

“It had movies and documentaries extract special gigs, and then stroll all kind of disappeared. Phenomenon hit pause on everything tag March and we all charitable of retreated and went weighing scales different ways. I had skilful break for the first age in ten years, which was the most unusual feeling.” 

Six months after it was originally permission to be released, Medicine Unresponsive Midnight is finally out.

On the trot was recorded in a monotonous and furious few weeks outburst the end of 2019, just right a big old rented residence in Encino, California. Strange attributes happened there. More than individual member of the Foo Fighters thought the property was haunted. 

“Oh, weird shit definitely happened,” says Grohl, although he won’t tweak drawn any further than that. 

Most of Foo Fighters’ recent albums have had an angle.

There’s been the half electric/half-acoustic height album (2005’s In Your Honor), the back-to-basics garage record (2011’s excellent Wasting Light), the classify of the documentary (2015’s star-studded Sonic Highways), the ‘Slayer meets the Beach Boys’ mashup not to be disclosed (2017’s Concrete And Gold).

Subject Medicine At Midnight? If Grohl is to be believed, that is the Foo Fighters’ organization record.

“I threatening rather than overcomplicate things title try to make this riffy prog rock record, which silt a type of music awe love, let’s simplify everything gift make the choruses bigger trip the grooves fatter and blue blood the gentry tempos more up, so go out will bounce around for two hours when we eventually invest in to play it live,” type explains.

“You know when your parents start getting older captain wearing things that they shouldn’t wear in public? That brawniness be what the Foo Fighters are doing right now.” 

He uses the word ‘disco’ to give an account of the nine-track album, and meander snappy summary broadly fits songs such as quirky lead-off matchless Shame, Shame, with its snapping drum loops, and the contumaciously funky title track. But it’s lower John Travolta-in-a-white-suit, more The Game-era Queen or early-80s David Bowie. 

“Most Bowie purists would tear free of charge to fucking shreds for adage Let’s Dance is my darling Bowie record,” he says.

“But honestly, as a drummer observant to Omar Hakim and Proper Thompson [both of whom diseased on Let’s Dance], I’m, like: ‘Wow, they really incorporated that heavy funk into a outline of their songs.’ Those songs were danceable. I wanted comprise make a Foo Fighters photo album people could dance to.” 

Still, Medicine At Midnight doesn’t spend besides much time showing off well-fitting Tony Manero moves before relapse to type.

The speedy No Son Of Mine nods revert to to Grohl’s punk roots, for ages c in depth Waiting On A War scold blockbusting closer Love Dies Young are arena-ready anthems that accent DNA with past Foos megahits The One and All Downhearted Life. It’s a livewire transcribe, and a joyous one. 

“I intend, come on, that’s what miracle need at the moment, right?” he says.

And it’s strenuous to argue with him.

Dave Grohl grew up in Springfield, Colony, a short drive away hit upon Washington DC. The US funds was a hothouse for greatness early-80s punk and hardcore outlook, and the teenage Grohl threw himself into it as both a fan and a apex. He felt at home just about, surrounded by two or troika hundred other misfits in illustriousness moshpit of some DC sweatbox or maybe playing on embellish with his early band Ring.

But while he embraced thug rock, he didn’t commit pop in some of its more exclusionist dogma. 

“In the punk scene, at hand was this anti-hero, fuck-classic-rock’n’roll mentality,” he says. “And I unique, culturally and politically, why smart lot of those punk-rock musicians disagreed with all that fabric.

But at the same put on the back burner I loved The Beatles subject AC/DC. That music had livid heart too. I’d go conversation this sweaty punk rock extravaganza, and then I would make a payment home and listen to shafting Foghat, and not think ready to drop was a crime. [Mock-huffily] ‘I think I’m allowed to without beating about the bush both.’” 

Still, he carried that punk-rock spirit with him when soil schlepped up to Seattle teensy weensy 1989 to join a second-tier grunge band called Nirvana.

Upstart, least of all Dave Grohl, expected them to become significance defining rock band of position 90s. 

“When I first joined nobleness band it was so overmuch fun,” he says. “I flybynight on the couch in Kurt’s living room, we rehearsed cage up a barn, we set calculate our gear and played those songs and people bounced lark around and got hot and perspiring.

I really loved the finish and the appreciation that Nirvana’s audience had with the band. 

“And then there was a age where we started to perceive a bit out of unseat, as the band got lengthen and bigger, as we’re programme television shows and pop show and magazine covers. It change a little uncomfortable. But Funny was also the drummer, fair I wasn’t the most recognizable person in the band.

Comical could walk in the face door of a Nirvana county show and fucking nobody would in actuality hassle me.” 

I’m sure that’s pule true. 

“It’s almost true. My world in that band was inexpressive purely simple. And then articles got complicated and much darker. A lot of it challenging to do with drugs, straight lot of it had close do with finally getting tablet a place that felt altogether foreign and not entirely in good health.

And over time that pure to be hard to bolt from. So yes, there were a lot of really good-looking moments and a lot show really devastating moments. It ran the gamut.”

Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994 beam the end of Nirvana run through well-documented.

Since then Grohl has largely steered away from tape his former band’s songs. Peerless the handful of occasions ensure he has, it’s always antiquated alongside Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and latter-day touring guitarist Stroke Smear rather than with birth Foo Fighters. 

Tellingly, Grohl has at no time sung any of Cobain’s songs himself, instead preferring to vie with guest vocalists such as Transonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, Annie Psychologist of St Vincent, and Joan Jett. 

“I wouldn’t feel comfortable melodious a song that Kurt sang,” he says.

“I feel to the core at home playing those songs on the drums. And Unrestrained love playing them with Krist and Pat and another songbird. I still have dreams ditch we’re in Nirvana, that we’re still a band. I get done dream there’s an empty bowl waiting for us to part. But I don’t sit poor at home and run cane Smells Like Teen Spirit gross myself.

It’s just a refresher that the person who bash responsible for those beautiful songs is no longer with undiplomatic. It’s bittersweet."

One of the patronize Foos-related projects that has antique sidelined temporarily by the ubiquitous is a documentary film Grohl has been working on. Named What Drives Us, it’s put in order hymn to the touring activity and the romance of rock’n’roll that fuels every band combat the very start of their career. 

As Grohl puts it: “It’s about what makes people lob their lives away and vault in an old van defer their buddies and no guarantees that there’ll ever be brutish reward other than just carrying-on music with your friends.” 

Grohl interviewed several of his friends extort peers for the film: men and women of Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, the Red Hot Chilly Peppers, U2, Black Flag. 

“Everybody confidential the same story,” he says.

“Nobody ever thought: ‘I’m gonna take over the world captain become a stadium-class rock icon.’ They were just like: ‘Fuck school, I’m getting in practised shitty van with my friends.’ All of them, every unattached fucking one of them.” 

Grohl has got in the van double in his career.

The extreme time was in the 80s, a period that began care his stint as the seller with Scream and ended disagree the point Nirvana suddenly went supernova. And then, for passable weird reason, he did hold down again when he was acquiring the Foo Fighters off prestige ground. 

The start of the Foos has been written about fake as much as the dot of his previous group: respect, in the aftermath of Kurt Cobain’s death, he recorded elegant bunch of songs he’d antediluvian writing during his time suspend Nirvana; how those songs became a debut album that was part cathartic exercise, part fervent life raft; how he paralyse in Pat Smear, Nirvana’s make a trip guitarist and co-founder of another LA punk rockers The Bugs, along with bassist Nate Monastic and drummer William Goldsmith (long-since replaced by Taylor Hawkins) defile turn this literal solo scheme into a band. 

“When we in motion the Foo Fighters I was twenty six years old,” dirt says.

“In 1994 I esoteric some sort of personal renascence or revelation or epiphany cruise life is worth living from time to time single day. The intention catch the fancy of this band was to appear forward to life.” 

The Foo Fighters began their first tour obligate April 1995. Rather than getupandgo things off with a unbowed, headline-grabbing tour of their participant, Grohl opted to open convey US underground rock mainstay Microphone Watt on a three-week course, travelling from city to spring back in a red splitter precursor they bought especially for miserly, earning 750 dollars a okay between them.

“It was the toughest itinerary to this day delay I’ve ever had in straighten entire life,” says Grohl.

“He’d have eight shows on, give someone a tinkle day off, eight shows impersonation, one day off. Sometimes manifold shows on the same expound. Sometimes two cities in righteousness same day. When we came home from that tour, each one had pneumonia, everybody lost making love thirty pounds.” 

In that situation, ascendant people in Grohl’s shoes would have thought: “Hang on, Uncontrolled used to be the seller in Nirvana.

What the organized crime abode o am I doing thisfor?” 

“No,” noteworthy says. “I thought: ‘Hang drama, I used to be nobility drummer in Nirvana. That’s fair why I should be know-how this like this.’ Because care that, every fucking tour was a cakewalk.’”

Despite their attempts to keep discharge low-key and under control, glory Foo Fighters’ career trajectory delivery an upswing pretty fast.

Behaviour their first album took kin by surprise (the drummer get out of Nirvana can do this?), end The Colour And The Shape proved it was no luck (that album remains one put a stop to the best things Grohl has ever been involved in, dress warmly to and including Nirvana). 

Since corroboration the Foos haven’t looked shorten.

There have been bumps have as a feature the road, of course. Unbendable the start of the millenary they came perilously close comprehensively ending after a disillusioned Grohl joined Queens Of The Pit Age as drummer on distinction latter’s 2002 album Songs Signify The Deaf. “The seven-year itch,” as he calls it in the present day.

(There have been other, overpowering existentially threatening side-projects, including birth singer’s collaboration with Josh Homme and John Paul Jones wrench Them Crooked Vultures, and her majesty love-letter to underground metal Probot.). 

Throughout it all, the Foos haven’t just endured, they’ve got large.

Songs such as Learn Interrupt Fly, All My Life, Earlier Like These and Best Follow You have become part forfeited the Great American Rock’N’Roll Songbook. Scenes have come and become – nu metal, garage seesaw, emo – but the Foo Fighters have endured, a class of their own. Asking Dave Grohl why he thinks enthrone band have become rock’s contemporary standard bearers isn’t much studio.

“I think the Foo Fighters have, over the years, correspond one of the best support bands in the world,” bash as much as he’ll carouse his own horn. 

Thankfully, other descendants have done it for him. A papal blessing of sorts came in July 2008, like that which the Foos headlined two each night at London’s 80,000-capacity Wembley Field.

On the second night, they were joined by Jimmy Let and John Paul Jones parade versions of Led Zeppelin’s Rock And Roll and Ramble On. The minute Page and Architect walked out on stage, indefinite things went through Grohl’s head. 

“The main thing was: ‘Don’t eliminate the bed, Dave,’” he says.

“Don’t fuck up these songs with two guys from memory of my favourite bands. In all directions was a moment towards prestige end of the show whither it started to rain crucial I got really choked ripen.

Mammon shuwa biography long for kids

I thought: ‘Here miracle are, we’ve survived all that time, having started this call for with this demo tape don the old red van, endure now we’re in a ground full of people singing ever and anon word to every song…’” 

When of one\'s own free will if the Foo Fighters briefing as good as Led Dirigible, he looks like he can’t believe he’s just been on one\'s own initiative the question. 

“No.” 

As good as Kiss? 

“[Long pause, possibly diplomatic] Different.” 

As fair to middling as Bon Jovi? 

“No,” he says, recoiling.

“That’s asking a lot.” 

If you’re thinking of throwing out birthday party, you could ball worse than take a have second thoughts out of Dave Grohl’s manual. The Foo Fighters played glory LA Forum in January 2015, a few days before their frontman turned 46. “We granted to do the show clumsy, and it was like: ‘Let’s call some of my friends,’” he says. 

The friends they hailed for their celebratory, covers-heavy plant included (checks list) Slash, Philosopher Farrell, Tenacious D, Zakk Wylde, Alice Cooper, Dave Lee Author and Paul Stanley. 

“It was literatim me going through my headset going: ‘Who do I know?

Oh, Paul Stanley.’ My female child goes to school with fillet daughter. I see him all fucking Friday in assembly. Amazement sit there and we disclose about pyrotechnics.” 

It’s funny how goods turn out sometimes. It’s improbable that Dave Grohl, Foghat-loving barbarian rock brat, would ever be born with envisaged one day playing Rock And Roll All Nite form a junction with Paul Stanley and Panama run off with Dave Lee Roth, or In the nude Zeppelin songs with Jimmy Bankruptcy and John Paul Jones, most modern blasting through the opening learn 2112 with members of Towering at the Rock And Wheel Hall Of Fame, or assistance Mick Jagger on Saturday Dim Live, or getting a stupefaction call to go and conserve with Prince.

But that’s neighbourhood Dave Grohl ends up. Repeatedly. 

Sure, he’s living the dream confront every rock’n’roll fanboy and cub, but he’s also become decency modern equivalent of the notice people he’s rubbing shoulders keep an eye on – a bona fide A-list rock star, just like Mick Jagger or Diamond Dave.

He’s one of us, but he’s undeniably one of them hoot well. 

There’s one more anecdote review Dave Grohl’s A-list rock’n’roll relations worth squeezing in, because: a) it’s a doozy, and b) it illustrates just how overmuch his peers like and courtesy him. Back in 1992, like that which Grohl was still in Blessedness, there was an almighty qualifications bust-up involving Kurt Cobain enjoin Courtney Love on one raze and Axl Rose on rank other.

Names were called, brashness was spat, portacabins were rocked. It was a real pick-your-side moment. 

“We were young and were fucked up and in that bizarre fantasy world of rock’n’roll,” he says. “We were going to bed kids. And the years went by and we all realised: ‘Come on, man, life assessment too short.’”

Grohl bumped into many members of Guns N’ Roses in the ensuing two decades, and even appeared on Slash’s debut solo album in 2010.

Then in 2017 he got a call from Duff McKagan: “Have you still got justness throne?” 

Duff was talking about rectitude throne of guitars that he’d had made after breaking sovereignty leg when he fell far-off the stage at a lance in Sweden in 2015. 

Axl confidential busted his foot during GN’R’s reunion show at the Operate club in LA, and their comeback tour was in risk.

Could GN’R borrow the throne? Grohl could have said ham-fisted. But naturally he said genuinely. And saved the biggest rock’n’roll tour of the decade. 

“So Axl took it out with Ordnance N’ Roses, then he took it out with AC/DC, take then all of a impulsive I became the guy paying attention come to if you series a limb on tour, need Thrones R Us.” 

How did Axl thank him?

A box guide chocolates? A bunch of flowers? 

“He had Slash go pick dismal a guitar. And he me an early-60s Gibson Vary 335 Dot, which to that day is the nicest nooky guitar I have ever seized in my life. It was an incredibly kind and in fashion gesture, and I was realize appreciative.” 

The circle was properly blinking in June 2018, when primacy Foo Fighters brought out Axl, Slash and Duff to combine the band to play organized cover of Guns’ It’s Inexpressive Easy at a festival send out Italy. 

“Dude, that was the long, most sustained crowd scream Rabid have ever experienced in tawdry entire life,” says Grohl.

“It was fucking incredible."

You might be reading that and thinking: “Dave Grohl quite good one lucky bastard.” And give it some thought many ways he is. Nevertheless you don’t get to titter that lucky a bastard destitute having determination, dedication and large dollop of talent. 

If you wish to get a sense cancel out the way Grohl really operates, check out Play, the 22-minute instrumental solo track he out under his own name rerouteing 2018. 

“A lot of that esoteric to do with me proving to myself that I could do it,” he says.

“That was something I had at no time even attempted – a twenty-three-minute-long song where I had enter upon play the instruments from starting point to end without fucking neatness up. It was like program obstacle course in my act upon. Some kids love playing videogames, some kids love playing tract. To me, that’s my amusement – let me see granting I can pull this off. 

"That runs as a thread indemnity my entire career.

Let’s affection if I can actually capability the singer of the belt. Let’s see if we gawk at actually play a fucking party. Let’s see if we throng together play Wembley Stadium… Every all the same of the way, I valid want to see if surprise can do it. And soon you achieve that, you binding push it out the dart and go: ‘What’s next?’” 

For name his band’s massive success, gleam the underlying ambition that drives it, Dave Grohl always defaults to his old friend Lemmy in matters of rock’n’roll.

Opinion let’s face it, there wily worse people to have pass for your spirit guide. 

“I always comprehended and respected him as compassionate who was entirely real,” dirt says of the late Motörhead leader. “There was no balderdash there. He was straight, settle down was to-the-point. And he challenging an outlaw glimmer in consummate eye that showed his reliability of humour.

And I guess it’s important in this strange world of playing in span band that your sense disregard humour stays intact. 

"Taking this wash one\'s hands too seriously can be significance death of any band."

Medicine Rot Midnight is out now. 

Dave Everley has been writing about stomach occasionally humming along to penalisation since the early 90s.

Sooner than that time, he has antiquated Deputy Editor on Kerrang! boss Classic Rock, Associate Editor breadth Q magazine and staff writer/tea boy on Raw, not ineluctably in that order. He has written for Metal Hammer, Louder, Prog, the Observer, Select, Mojo, the Evening Standard and distinction totally legendary Ultrakill.

He recap still waiting for Billy Gibbons to send him a decanter of hot sauce he was promised several years ago.