Foo Fighters: The Band
Created | Updated Feb 26, 2003
The story so far (1994-2002): The long shadow of Seattle
In the early years of the 1990's the US rock scene was in a state of relative turmoil (for artists and their fans, that is; as usual for the music industry giants it was simply a time of transition). The posturing "hair bands" of the 1980's had been rendered irrelevant by the raw and visceral, but above all emotionally honest style of grunge. Of all the bands riding the tide of thrift-store fashion and fragile musical angst, the most important were the Seattle trio known as Nirvana.
Held up in the present day as a band as important in their own time as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, Nirvana gave a voice to the disillusioned masses of middle-class American youth who, despite the fact they faced no great enconomic or social hardships in life, still felt a melancholy of the soul. The brittle but powerful music of singer/songwriter Kurt Cobain gave these people a voice of their own. That was until on April 5th, 1994 Cobain penned a vitriolic suicide note, put the barrel of a shotgun into his mouth and joined the ranks of the rock n' roll martyrs.
While this deprived countless fans of their icon (and a young family of a husband and father), it also left bassist Krist Novasleic, part-time guitarist Pat Smear (formerly of seminal LA punks "The Germs") and the bands' sixth drummer in total Dave Grohl at a bit of a loose end creativly. Whilst Novaselic went on to form the far from sucessful group known as Sweet 75, Grohl had a secret weapon waiting in the wings, the sucess of which none could have predicted at the time.
Towards the end of the bands' lifetime, Grohl had penned a small number of tracks such as the b-side "Marigold." But unbeknownst to the musical world at large he had also been working on a set of tracks for a side-project totally independant of Nirvana at the same time. Released soon after the demise of Nirvana and with little fanfare, the first album (titled simply: "Foo Fighters" and intially not listing Grohl as the creative force behind it) became an underground hit of great proportions.
The Foo Fighters: The everchanging band
Grohl wrote, played and recorded the first Foo Fighters album alone and the influence of the late Cobain can often be felt in the raw and heavy tracks that dot the album. Despite this the lighter and more melodic qualities that would characterise Grohl's songwriting on the later albums was present also ensuring that the Foo Fighters had a sound more acessible than Nirvana from the start, a qulity that would reward the band no end in the years to come.
Realising that this one-man band was fine for the studio but impossible for a touring group trying to promote an album, Grohl recruited the aid of former bandmate Smear on guitar, Nate Mendell on bass and sticksman William Goldsmith while he picked up the lead-guitar duties himself and the first incarnation of the Foo Fighters as a fully fledged band was born.
This original line up was altered by the time the second album "The Colour and The Shape" was relaeased in 1996 by the replacement of Goldsmith with Taylor Hawkins behind the drums. Perhaps the most sucessful album to date, "The Colour..." saw the band shake off the remnants of grunge and emerge as a viable and vibrant force in the musical mainstream, a feat rarely achieved by a genuine rock band today.
"Nothing Left to Loose" came along three years later in 1999 and featured the talents of Chris Schiffet (late of punks "No Use For a Name") on guitar in place of Pat Smear. Far looser than the previous outings, the album and its singles fared well commercially, the video for "Learn to Fly" even featuring a cameo apprearance from comedy rockers Jack Black and Kyle Gass (collectivly known as "Tenacious D").
The band's fourth and latest album "One by One" followed in 2002 and saw a slight curve towards a heavier sound as the commercial feel-good tracks were outnumbered by the balls-out rock songs harking back to the first album in sound. For once there were no changes in the line-up and four albums into their career the Foo Fighters sound tighter and more vital than ever.
What's in a name?
The Foo Fighters name was derived from a quote taken from an old cartoon called "Smokey Stover" that ran along the lines of "Where there's Foo, there's fire," but the actual term "Foo Fighter" was coined by US airforce pilots in World War Two to describe the anomolous balls of light that they witnessed flying alongside them at high altitudes. As well as naming the band after a form of UFO, Grohl also named the bands second album "The Colour and The Shape" after the two most common questions asked of a person claiming to have seen an unidentified flying object (for the record he also named his record label "Roswell Records").
Foo Fighters: The Videos
Well known for their sense of humor and never a band to take themselves too seriously, the Foos have filmed some of the most genuinley funny promos ever commited to celluloid. The best include:
Big Me: Ever find yourself in one of those frustrating situations that life seems to throw up every now and then? Then just like the folks in this promo, you need "Footoes; for a fresher fighter." In the course of the video, Dave Grohl and various other hapless individuals overcome the obstacles in their paths with a burst of inspiration after partaking of the fictional Footoes candy (a parody of the "Mentoes" brand of candy). A woman boxed in by a bluff city-type enlists the aid of the Foos to move his car; is the guy mad? no as the woman flashes him a look at her Footoes and he laughs it all off. The band are out jogging when Dave Grohl is stranded on the other side of the street by a stretch limo; after a swift Footoe he climbs into the limo on one side and out the other stopping only to flash his Footoes at the woman inside. Where would all these people be without Footoes?
Everlong: Taking place in the strange world of Dave Grohl's dreams, the video for the track Everlong delves into the history of Dave's relationship with his on-screen partner (played by Taylor Hawkins). We see a punk Grohl save the lovely Taylor from the unwanted advances of a pair of sleazy teddy-boys in the shape of Nate Mendell and Pat Smear. Down, but not out, Smear and Mendell reappear in Hawkins' dream and proceed to terrorise him/her there. The valiant Grohl must leave his own dream and enter that of his love in order to save her and then assemble the band back in the real world in time for the song's big finale.
Learn to Fly: A video with a definite story, Learn to Fly opens with Jack Black and Kyle Gass (a.k.a. Tenancious D) masquerading as a clean-up crew on a commercial airliner. The pair are in fact drug smugglers looking for a place to stash their merchandise. Startled at a crucial moment the inept duo are forced to hide the contraband in a convenient coffee pot and flee. As the flight commences the drugs lend a unique property to the java served in transit and chaos ensues. As well as playing themselves, the band also take on various other roles in the video. Highlights include Dave Grohl as an obbsessive teenage fan, a camp steward and an obese woman in possibly the world's worst tracksuit.
Breakout: Appearing on the soundtrack of the Farelly brothers film "Me, Myself and Irene," the video follows the escapades of Grohl's character as he struggles to impress his date despite the fact that he is a cringeworthy nerd. Taking her to a drive-in movie he endures the humiliation of being flipped the finger by an car full of old ladies, having his leg humped by a dog, a horde of people hiding in his boot in order to sneak in for free and finally cracks when he finds another guy hitting on his date. Grabbing the speaker by his car he metamorphosizes into a man fuelled by pure rage and belts out the rest of the song backed by the band, much to the joy of his previously uninterested date.
Discography
"Foo Fighters" (1994)
Standout Tracks: This is a Call, X-Static, Big Me.
"The Colour & The Shape" (1996)
Standout Tracks: Monkeywrench, Hey! Johnny Park, My Hero, Everlong, February Stars, Walking After You.
"Nothing Left to Loose" (1999)
Standout Tracks: Stacked Actors, Generator, Learn to Fly, Aurora, Breakout, I'll be Coming Home Next Year.
"One by One" (2002)
Standout Tracks: One by One, Times Like These, Tired of You.
Related Internet Links
The official and very funky Foo Fighters website can be found at: http://www.foofighters.com/
A career retrospective of the very talented Mr Dave Grohl (officially the nicest man in rock) can be found at:
http://www.falls.igs.net/~pyunker/dave.htm/
Those interested in Mr Grohl's contributions to the Nirvana legacy could do worse than to start at the fansite:
http://www.nirvanaclub.net/
In the early years of the 1990's the US rock scene was in a state of relative turmoil (for artists and their fans, that is; as usual for the music industry giants it was simply a time of transition). The posturing "hair bands" of the 1980's had been rendered irrelevant by the raw and visceral, but above all emotionally honest style of grunge. Of all the bands riding the tide of thrift-store fashion and fragile musical angst, the most important were the Seattle trio known as Nirvana.
Held up in the present day as a band as important in their own time as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, Nirvana gave a voice to the disillusioned masses of middle-class American youth who, despite the fact they faced no great enconomic or social hardships in life, still felt a melancholy of the soul. The brittle but powerful music of singer/songwriter Kurt Cobain gave these people a voice of their own. That was until on April 5th, 1994 Cobain penned a vitriolic suicide note, put the barrel of a shotgun into his mouth and joined the ranks of the rock n' roll martyrs.
While this deprived countless fans of their icon (and a young family of a husband and father), it also left bassist Krist Novasleic, part-time guitarist Pat Smear (formerly of seminal LA punks "The Germs") and the bands' sixth drummer in total Dave Grohl at a bit of a loose end creativly. Whilst Novaselic went on to form the far from sucessful group known as Sweet 75, Grohl had a secret weapon waiting in the wings, the sucess of which none could have predicted at the time.
Towards the end of the bands' lifetime, Grohl had penned a small number of tracks such as the b-side "Marigold." But unbeknownst to the musical world at large he had also been working on a set of tracks for a side-project totally independant of Nirvana at the same time. Released soon after the demise of Nirvana and with little fanfare, the first album (titled simply: "Foo Fighters" and intially not listing Grohl as the creative force behind it) became an underground hit of great proportions.
The Foo Fighters: The everchanging band
Grohl wrote, played and recorded the first Foo Fighters album alone and the influence of the late Cobain can often be felt in the raw and heavy tracks that dot the album. Despite this the lighter and more melodic qualities that would characterise Grohl's songwriting on the later albums was present also ensuring that the Foo Fighters had a sound more acessible than Nirvana from the start, a qulity that would reward the band no end in the years to come.
Realising that this one-man band was fine for the studio but impossible for a touring group trying to promote an album, Grohl recruited the aid of former bandmate Smear on guitar, Nate Mendell on bass and sticksman William Goldsmith while he picked up the lead-guitar duties himself and the first incarnation of the Foo Fighters as a fully fledged band was born.
This original line up was altered by the time the second album "The Colour and The Shape" was relaeased in 1996 by the replacement of Goldsmith with Taylor Hawkins behind the drums. Perhaps the most sucessful album to date, "The Colour..." saw the band shake off the remnants of grunge and emerge as a viable and vibrant force in the musical mainstream, a feat rarely achieved by a genuine rock band today.
"Nothing Left to Loose" came along three years later in 1999 and featured the talents of Chris Schiffet (late of punks "No Use For a Name") on guitar in place of Pat Smear. Far looser than the previous outings, the album and its singles fared well commercially, the video for "Learn to Fly" even featuring a cameo apprearance from comedy rockers Jack Black and Kyle Gass (collectivly known as "Tenacious D").
The band's fourth and latest album "One by One" followed in 2002 and saw a slight curve towards a heavier sound as the commercial feel-good tracks were outnumbered by the balls-out rock songs harking back to the first album in sound. For once there were no changes in the line-up and four albums into their career the Foo Fighters sound tighter and more vital than ever.
What's in a name?
The Foo Fighters name was derived from a quote taken from an old cartoon called "Smokey Stover" that ran along the lines of "Where there's Foo, there's fire," but the actual term "Foo Fighter" was coined by US airforce pilots in World War Two to describe the anomolous balls of light that they witnessed flying alongside them at high altitudes. As well as naming the band after a form of UFO, Grohl also named the bands second album "The Colour and The Shape" after the two most common questions asked of a person claiming to have seen an unidentified flying object (for the record he also named his record label "Roswell Records").
Foo Fighters: The Videos
Well known for their sense of humor and never a band to take themselves too seriously, the Foos have filmed some of the most genuinley funny promos ever commited to celluloid. The best include:
Big Me: Ever find yourself in one of those frustrating situations that life seems to throw up every now and then? Then just like the folks in this promo, you need "Footoes; for a fresher fighter." In the course of the video, Dave Grohl and various other hapless individuals overcome the obstacles in their paths with a burst of inspiration after partaking of the fictional Footoes candy (a parody of the "Mentoes" brand of candy). A woman boxed in by a bluff city-type enlists the aid of the Foos to move his car; is the guy mad? no as the woman flashes him a look at her Footoes and he laughs it all off. The band are out jogging when Dave Grohl is stranded on the other side of the street by a stretch limo; after a swift Footoe he climbs into the limo on one side and out the other stopping only to flash his Footoes at the woman inside. Where would all these people be without Footoes?
Everlong: Taking place in the strange world of Dave Grohl's dreams, the video for the track Everlong delves into the history of Dave's relationship with his on-screen partner (played by Taylor Hawkins). We see a punk Grohl save the lovely Taylor from the unwanted advances of a pair of sleazy teddy-boys in the shape of Nate Mendell and Pat Smear. Down, but not out, Smear and Mendell reappear in Hawkins' dream and proceed to terrorise him/her there. The valiant Grohl must leave his own dream and enter that of his love in order to save her and then assemble the band back in the real world in time for the song's big finale.
Learn to Fly: A video with a definite story, Learn to Fly opens with Jack Black and Kyle Gass (a.k.a. Tenancious D) masquerading as a clean-up crew on a commercial airliner. The pair are in fact drug smugglers looking for a place to stash their merchandise. Startled at a crucial moment the inept duo are forced to hide the contraband in a convenient coffee pot and flee. As the flight commences the drugs lend a unique property to the java served in transit and chaos ensues. As well as playing themselves, the band also take on various other roles in the video. Highlights include Dave Grohl as an obbsessive teenage fan, a camp steward and an obese woman in possibly the world's worst tracksuit.
Breakout: Appearing on the soundtrack of the Farelly brothers film "Me, Myself and Irene," the video follows the escapades of Grohl's character as he struggles to impress his date despite the fact that he is a cringeworthy nerd. Taking her to a drive-in movie he endures the humiliation of being flipped the finger by an car full of old ladies, having his leg humped by a dog, a horde of people hiding in his boot in order to sneak in for free and finally cracks when he finds another guy hitting on his date. Grabbing the speaker by his car he metamorphosizes into a man fuelled by pure rage and belts out the rest of the song backed by the band, much to the joy of his previously uninterested date.
Discography
"Foo Fighters" (1994)
Standout Tracks: This is a Call, X-Static, Big Me.
"The Colour & The Shape" (1996)
Standout Tracks: Monkeywrench, Hey! Johnny Park, My Hero, Everlong, February Stars, Walking After You.
"Nothing Left to Loose" (1999)
Standout Tracks: Stacked Actors, Generator, Learn to Fly, Aurora, Breakout, I'll be Coming Home Next Year.
"One by One" (2002)
Standout Tracks: One by One, Times Like These, Tired of You.
Related Internet Links
The official and very funky Foo Fighters website can be found at: http://www.foofighters.com/
A career retrospective of the very talented Mr Dave Grohl (officially the nicest man in rock) can be found at:
http://www.falls.igs.net/~pyunker/dave.htm/
Those interested in Mr Grohl's contributions to the Nirvana legacy could do worse than to start at the fansite:
http://www.nirvanaclub.net/
