Foo Fighters' Record Store Day Release Dates Back to Dave Grohl's D.C. Hardcore Days

Foo Fighters’ Record Store Day Release Dates Back to Dave Grohl’s D.C. Hardcore Days

2015-04-11

foo fighters songs from the laundry room

Story by Charles Ken

‘Songs from the Laundry Room’ harks back to Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl’s days in Washington D.C.

Record Store Day is April 18, among this year’s exclusive releases is a 10-inch EP featuring a collection of early Foo Fighters demos called “Songs from the Laundry Room.”

The release packs demos of early Foo Fighters singles “Big Me” and “Alone + Easy Target,” as well as a cover version of Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” and a brand new song called “Empty Head.”

The EP’s title, “Songs from the Laundry Room,” stems from Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl’s days in the Washington D.C. hardcore scene. Grohl and buddy Barrett Jones would record songs in the laundry room of Grohl’s parents’ home using a four-track studio set up.

“I think we put the instruments in [Jones’] bedroom and the control room was in the laundry room in the basement of his parents’ house,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “So he was just our guy. He was the Quincy Jones of Arlington, Virginia.”

In the early ‘90s, Grohl and Jones moved to Seattle and were roommates. Their musical aspirations continued.

“I had his eight-track studio in my basement at my house, and I would go downstairs every time I came home from tours and he and I would record songs,” Grohl said. “That’s how the Foo Fighters started, really.”

He added, “It was just something to do in between tours when I was playing with Nirvana. By the time Nirvana was over, I had, I don’t know, 20, 30, 40 of these recordings that no one had ever heard. There’s a lot more than just those [Laundry Room] songs. I think the songs that we picked for the Record Store Day album were maybe picked out of 15 or 20 others that no one’s ever heard.”

Grohl is the official ambassador of this year’s Record Store Day. The event will take place in locally-owned, independent record stores all over the U.S.

Author
Recent Posts

Charles Ken

Meet the expert - Charles Ken is a graduate of Michigan State University where he studied writing and history. He's a longtime music buff and covers classic rock for Audio Ink Radio. Contact him at ken@audioinkradio.com.