Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl: Band Doesn't Feel Any Different Than in 1995

Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl: Band Doesn’t Feel Any Different Than in 1995

2011-11-07

Story by Anne Erickson

Dave Grohl says new Foo Fighters album is ‘a record we like to play from beginning to end’

Dave Grohl doesn’t mess around when it comes to rock music. Which is why on the Foo Fighters’ current, full-scale tour to support their new album, Wasting Light, Grohl and his passé are covering all the bases. After an overseas run, the third leg of the Foo Fighters’ tour kicks off in Duluth, Ga., tonight (Nov. 7) and runs through Nov. 16 in Boston, with Social Distortion as support. Find a complete list of tour dates, below.

On Wasting Light, Grohl says he’s most proud to have churned out an album that the whole band likes to play, from start to finish. “We did it in my garage with all of our family and friends hanging out the whole time,” Grohl told the L.A. Times. “We didn’t use computers, we went straight to tape. And because we did it that way, we wound up with … a record that we like to play from beginning to end.”

What else resulted from pounding out tracks in Grohl’s garage? According to producer Butch Vig, an album that sounds real, raw and exciting. “It’s the most honest record they’ve done because it’s real, as opposed to being put together in a computer. It sounds like a band playing,” Vig told the L.A. Times, adding that the experience has influenced his work recording the next album from fellow ‘90s grunge rockers Garbage.

While the Foos — who now include Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, drummer Taylor Hawkins and guitarists Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear — have grown exponentially since their humble start in the mid-1990s, when Grohl was the only real constant, the frontman insists the band’s aura hasn’t changed. “I don’t think the band feels any different than we did in 1995,” Grohl maintained. “Our environment has changed, for sure, but when you put the five of us together, I think we still feel most comfortable squeezed in a van or in a tight room rehearsing songs that we’ll eventually play in a stadium.”

The Foo Fighters’ latest single, “These Days,” is scaling up the alternative rock chart. On the warm, earnest track, the Foos have not only grown their sound, but they’ve also found the principal of why their music works. Read Audio Ink Radio’s review and listen to the song, here. (Photo credit: Steve Gullick.)

Foo Fighters 2011 Fall U.S. Tour Dates with Social Distortion:

Nov. 7 — Duluth, Ga.
Nov. 8 — Charlotte, N.C.
Nov. 10 — Philadelphia, Pa.
Nov. 11 — Washington D.C.
Nov. 13 — New York, N.Y.
Nov. 14 — Newark, N.J.
Nov. 16 — Boston, Mass.

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.