Foo Fighters is an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1994. It was founded by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of Nirvana after the suicide of Kurt Cobain. The group got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II, which were known collectively as "foo fighters".
Alternative rock is a style of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. In this instance, the word "alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream rock music. The term's original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their collective debt to either the musical style or simply the independent, DIY ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for alternative music. At times, "alternative" has been used as a catch-all description for music from underground rock artists that receives mainstream recognition, or for any music, whether rock or not, that is seen to be descended from punk rock.
David Eric Grohl is an American singer, songwriter, musician and director. He is the founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Foo Fighters since 1994, and was the best known and longest-serving drummer for Nirvana from 1990 to 1994, when they disbanded following the death of Kurt Cobain.
Taylor Hawkins took over the drums in 1997 after Goldsmith was fired. Smear left in 1998 being during the tour for second album The Colour and the Shape, with Franz Stahl becoming the guitarist for the reminder of the tour. Afterwards Stahl left for creative differences, and while the band recorded There Is Nothing Left to Lose as a trio, for the tour they again had a second guitarist, Chris Shiflett. Smear eventually became part of the band’s tour musicians in 2006, and rejoined as a full-time member in 2011.
Oliver Taylor Hawkins is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters. Prior to joining the band in 1997, he was the touring drummer for Alanis Morissette as well as the drummer in a progressive experimental band called Sylvia. In 2004, Hawkins formed his own side project, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, in which he plays drums and sings. He was voted "Best Rock Drummer" in 2005 by the UK drumming magazine Rhythm.
The Colour and the Shape is the second studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on May 20, 1997, by Roswell and Capitol Records. Produced by Gil Norton, it was the official debut of the Foo Fighters as a band, as their eponymous 1995 debut album was primarily recorded by frontman Dave Grohl and producer Barrett Jones as a demo. After the project became an international success, the group convened for pre-production on their second album in the fall of 1996, and brought in producer Norton to establish a pop sensibility for the tracks. The band strived to create a full-fledged rock record, although the music press predicted another grunge offshoot.
Franz Kenneth Stahl is an American guitarist, best known for being a member of both the Washington, DC hardcore punk band Scream with his brother Peter Stahl, and the alternative rock band Foo Fighters, led by former Scream and Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.
Foo Fighters tour (1995-1996)
The first Foo Fighters show took place in February 19 above a boat house in Seattle and was performed for friends and family; the band's first public show took place in February 23 on the Jambalaya Club in Arcata, California; the band were in the area mixing the album and a local promotor asked the cover band The Unseen if Foo Fighters could open for them, which they agreed to; Grohl also played drums with The Unseen on a cover of Slow Down. On the spring of 1995 (starting on April), the Foo Fighters embarked on their first ever United States tour supporting Mike Watt along with fellow tour newbies Hovercraft, whose line-up included Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder at the time. As well as performing with their own bands, Grohl and Vedder each picked up a role as a member of Watt's backing band throughout the tour, supplying drums and guitar respectively.[1] The band's first show outside the United States took place in May 2 in The Opera House in Toronto; they played their first show outside of North America in June 3 in the King's College London; after playing two songs, Grohl discounted the media rumors at the time, telling the audience that none of his songs were about Kurt Cobain. Foo Fighters was released July 4, 1995 on Roswell Records, distributed by Capitol Records. The band promoted the release that summer by completing another US tour with Wool and Shudder to Think, with 25 concerts in little over a month. During this tour, Foo Fighters played several of their largest shows up to that point, making their debut on the festival circuit with performances at Pukkelpop, Reading and Lowlands.[2] Foo Fighters made their network television debut on The Late Show with David Letterman August 14, 1995 when they performed "This Is a Call".[1]
Arcata, originally Union Town or Union, is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2010 census, Arcata's population was 17,231. Arcata, located 280 miles (450 km) north of San Francisco, is home to Humboldt State University. Arcata is also the location of the Arcata Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Land Management, which is responsible for the administration of natural resources, lands and mineral programs, including the Headwaters Forest, on approximately 200,000 acres of public land in Northwestern California.
The Unseen is an American punk rock band that was formed in 1993 in Hingham, Massachusetts. One of the more prominent bands to revive street punk, The Unseen were originally called The Extinct.
"Slow Down" is a 24-bar blues written and performed by Larry Williams. Released as a single in 1958, it was a rhythm and blues hit that influenced the growing rock & roll movement of the time. Both "Slow Down" and the single's flip-side,"Dizzy Miss Lizzy", were covered by the Beatles in 1964 and 1965, respectively.
That fall, the band continued to tour extensively, completing a European tour with Built to Spill. Amid the tour, Foo Fighters filmed the MTV special I'm OK, Eur-OK: Foo Fighters Live in London which featured exclusive footage recorded on November 15, 1995 at the Brixton Academy in London, England, with the majority of the broadcast featuring songs culled from the debut album. Foo Fighters appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live for the first time on December 2, 1995 with host Anthony Edwards, and performed both "I'll Stick Around" and "For All the Cows". The band then closed out the year with their first trips to Japan and Australia.[3]
Built to Spill is an American indie rock band based in Boise, Idaho. The band has released eight full-length albums. Their most recent album, Untethered Moon, was released on April 21, 2015.
MTV is an American pay television channel owned by Viacom Media Networks and headquartered in New York City. The channel was launched on August 1, 1981, and originally aired music videos as guided by television personalities known as "video jockeys" (VJs). At first, MTV's main target demographic was young adults, but today it is primarily teenagers, particularly high school and college students.
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
Foo Fighters continued to tour in support of the album on into 1996, performing at the Summersault Festival that January. The band made an infamous appearance on the March 18, 1996 Rockline radio broadcast, where they performed acoustically. Included in the set was a version of "Wattershed" that contained improvised lyrics by Grohl, delivered in the vocal style of Fred Schneider from The B-52's. That same month Foo Fighters embarked on yet another US tour, this time with a revolving door of supporting acts, including that dog., Ween, Jawbreaker and The Amps. Most shows featuring That Dog on the bill included member Petra Haden joining Foo Fighters on stage during "Floaty" to provide violin. Foo Fighters made an appearance at the first ever Tibetan Freedom Concert on June 15, 1996, a high-profile festival organized by the Beastie Boys to benefit the cause of Tibetan independence, followed by a final tour of Europe that July, to close out support of the album.[3]
Summersault was a music festival put on by promoter Steve Pavlovic that toured Australia in the summer of 1995/1996.
Rockline was a nationally syndicated radio interview program hosted by Bob Coburn that was broadcast live via satellite every Monday and Wednesday night from 8:30pm-10pm PT to radio stations in the United States. Founded in 1981, it was considered to be the longest running, uninterrupted program in rock history. The main guests interviewed on the program were various musical artists of the rock genre, including both active rock artists and classic rock artists. The primary feature of the program was the ability for listeners to call live and ask questions to the guests. Several of the shows were also live performances.
Frederick William Schneider III is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, and musician, best known as the frontman of the rock band The B-52's, of which he is a founding member.
The Colour and the Shape Tour (1997-1999)
During the recording of The Colour and the Shape, William Goldsmith left and Pat Smear expressed interest in leaving the band. Taylor Hawkins became the new drummer, while Smear remained with the band as a replacement was to be found.[4]
The tour started on May 1997 with dates on Europe and Japan, before going to the United States in June and July. Another overseas tour followed in August before a return to the United States in September.[5] During the September 4, 1997 concert at Radio City Music Hall, right before that year's 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, Smear announced his departure and gave his instrument for the new guitarist, Franz Stahl, to finish the set. Stahl, who played with Grohl in Scream, flew from a tour he was performing in Japan after getting the invitation to join the band.[4]
There Is Nothing Left To Lose Tour (1999-2001)
Despite recording There Is Nothing Left To Lose as a three-piece, Grohl felt the band needed a second guitarist for the tour. After auditioning many players, Chris Shiflett of punk band No Use for a Name was hired. The North American leg of the tour included a support slot on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication Tour.[4] "We went out and opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers in these arenas, for the first time playing larger venues over a consistent period…" recalled Nate Mendel. "It became obvious: 'Okay, the rules are different now – you have to do things differently to project what you're doing to fill that larger space.' Dave's sharp and motivated and ambitious. It didn't take him long to go, 'Okay, I know what to do here.' He grew into it pretty quickly."[6]
On July 2001, the band interrupted sessions for their fourth studio album to play at British festivals. This was cut short when Hawkins suffered a drug overdose and fell into a coma, leading the rest of the concerts to be canceled.[7] Nonetheless, the band performed a large quantity of shows on this tour, which tired the band and influenced the sound of their following album.
One by One Tour (2002-2003)
Initial sessions for the Foo Fighters' fourth studio album were improductive, with escalating tensions and the band considering a break-up, but the bandmembers decided to give another chance to the record after their performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April. One month later, the band rerecorded the album One by One.[4] Following a UK mini-tour in August - which included the T in the Park 2002, Reading and Leeds Festivals - [8] and a Paris concert in September, the album was released on October 22, 2002,[9] with the promotional tour starting that same day at the Los Angeles Wiltern Theatre. Following dates in North America, which included Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit concert on October 26, came a European tour from November 16 to December 19. The Foo Fighters started 2003 with the Big Day Out festival tour in Oceania.[10] From April to July, the band had concerts in North America. V Festival in August.[8]
As the band’s fifth studio album, In Your Honor (2005), was a double album featuring a disk of the band’s regular rock sound and another with acoustic rock tracks, the related tour included this duality on the concerts, featured two shows per city, an electric one in arenas and an acoustic in smaller venues. The tour began in the summer of 2005, and ran through to June 2006.[13] The late 2005 concerts included the Foozer tour co-headlined with Weezer.[14] The acoustic tour lead to an extended band, featuring the return of Pat Smear on the guitar, plus some of the collaborators on the album: violinist Petra Haden, keyboardist Rami Jaffee, and percussionist Drew Hester. Smear remained for another five years as a touring musician before rejoining as a full-time member for the recording of Wasting Light.[4] An unplugged tour ran in eight cities in the United States between July and August 2006.[15] The acoustic shows from August 29, 30 and 31, 2006 at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles were turned into the live album Skin and Bones.[16] The June 17 concert in London's Hyde Park was released as both a complementary DVD on Skin and Bones,[17] and a separate release.[18]
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace Tour (2007-2008)
The promotional tour for Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace begun in September 2007, after some concerts in the United Kingdom during the summer,[19] and lasted until Fall 2008.[20] The band performed shows throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia, including headlining the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore on August 9. At the European MTV Music Awards in 2007 Pat Smear confirmed his return to the band.
While the back-up band compiled for the In Your Honor tour – though with Jessy Greene instead of Petra Haden on the violin - remained to perform complex songs such as "Come Alive", a few tracks had more stripped-down arrangements.[19][21] The tour lasted 131 concerts in 9 legs spread across Oceania, North America and Europe, from September 2007 to December 2008.
North America: 51 Europe: 34 Oceania: 10 South America: 4 Total: 99
On December 21, 2010, the same day the band’s seventh album, Wasting Light, was finished, the band played a secret gig at the Tarzana, California bar Paladino’s, on which four songs from the new record made their live debuts.[24][25] Other warm-up shows in California followed. Then, a show in London for the NME Awards occurred followed by other promo shows in Europe. Next, the band headed to Australia and New Zealand to play benefit and promo shows. The band then head to North America for the first proper leg of the Wasting Light Tour.[26] with most concerts having the album played in its entirety along with other hit songs by the band.[27] Given the album was recorded in Dave Grohl’s garage, the band held a contest for which some shows of the promotional tour would be performed in eight fans' garages.[28][29] This leg was followed by a run of European Festival and headlining dates, including two sold-out shows at the Milton Keynes National Bowl. Then band then played at the 20th Anniversary of Lollapalooza in Chicago, during which part of their set was played in a rainstorm. The band then played some more European festival dates followed by an extensive North American tour. The band then closed out 2011 with a tour of Australia and New Zealand. The band had a tour of Asia scheduled, but the dates were cancelled due to Dave being ill. Then band then commenced a tour of South America in Spring 2012. Throughout the summer, the band appeared at sporadic North American festivals. The band will be returning to Europe in August 2012. This tour marked the returns of songs that the band hadn't played in a long time, such as "Butterflies", "Winnebago", and Exhausted.
For the premiere of the HBO TV series Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways in October, a private concert was held at the Cubby Bear Bar in Chicago.[37] The promotional tour for the album runs through 2015. In January, the band plays South America in January, Australia and New Zealand in February and March, Ireland and the United Kingdom in May, Europe in June, and North America from July to October.[38] While doing a series of European concerts in November, the November 2015 Paris attacks led the Foo Fighters to cancel 11 remaining gigs due to both respect for the victims and subsequent border closures across the continent.[39]
Two years after the last tour, the Foo Fighters started to tour, promoting Concrete and Gold even before its release. The Oceania leg had the band again co-headlining with Weezer, who had just put out the album Pacific Daydream.[40] Initially planned to run until September 2018, the tour got the addition of seven more North American concerts in October.[41]
Related Research Articles
Foo Fighters is the eponymous debut studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on July 4, 1995 by Roswell and Capitol Records. Dave Grohl wrote and recorded the entire album himself, apart from a guest guitar spot by Greg Dulli, with the assistance of producer Barrett Jones at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, Washington, in 1994. He claimed that he recorded the album just for fun, describing it as a cathartic experience to recover from the death of Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain.
Georg Albert Ruthenberg, better known by the stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician and actor. He was a founding member of punk band the Germs, and was the touring guitarist for grunge band Nirvana from 1993 to 1994. After Nirvana ended, its drummer Dave Grohl went on to become the frontman of rock band Foo Fighters; Smear soon joined on guitar, and has since recorded four studio albums and a live album with the band.
Nathan Gregor "Nate" Mendel is an American musician for the bands Foo Fighters, The Jealous Sound, Sunny Day Real Estate, and The Fire Theft. In 2015, he announced he is the singer, songwriter, and guitarist for his new project, Lieutenant.
One by One is the fourth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on October 22, 2002 by Roswell and RCA Records. Production on the album was troubled, with initial recording sessions considered unsatisfying and raising tensions between the band members. They eventually decided to redo the album from scratch during a two-week period at frontman Dave Grohl's home studio in Alexandria, Virginia. The album, which includes the successful singles "All My Life" and "Times Like These", has been noted for its introspective lyrics and a heavier, more aggressive sound compared to the band's earlier work, which Grohl said was intended to translate the energy of the Foo Fighters' live performances into a recording.
Scream is an American hardcore punk band from Washington, DC that originally formed in the suburb of Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia. Scream originally formed in 1981 within the vanguard of the Washington Hardcore explosion. In 2009 the band reunited, and as of January 2012 were on tour in Europe. As of 2017, the band was still touring in both America and the United Kingdom.
In Your Honor is the fifth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released as a double album on June 14, 2005 by Roswell and RCA Records. It consists of one disc containing heavy rock songs and a second disc with mellower acoustic songs. Frontman Dave Grohl decided to do a diverse blend of songs, as he felt that after ten years of existence, the band had to break new ground with their music. The album was recorded at a newly built studio in Northridge, Los Angeles, and features guests such as John Paul Jones, Norah Jones, and Josh Homme. Its lyrics deal with both resonating and introspective themes, with a major influence from Grohl's involvement on the campaign trail with John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election. It was the first album to feature keyboardist Rami Jaffee, although he would not join the band as full-time member until 2017.
"Big Me" is the fourth single by the Foo Fighters from their self-titled debut album Foo Fighters. Released in the spring of 1996, the song became a crossover hit for the band on pop radio, when it reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay.
"Everlong" is a song by American rock group Foo Fighters. It was released in August 1997 as the second single from their second studio album, The Colour and the Shape (1997). The song reached number 3 on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart and the Canadian (RPM) Rock/Alternative chart.
"My Hero" is a song by American rock group Foo Fighters. It was released in January 1998 as the third single from their second album, The Colour and the Shape (1997). The song reached number 6 on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart.
"Times Like These" is the second single released from the Foo Fighters' fourth album One by One.
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace is the sixth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on September 25, 2007 by RCA Records. The album is noted for a blend of regular rock and acoustic tracks with shifting dynamics, which emerged from the variety of styles employed on the demos the band produced. It also marks the second time the band worked with producer Gil Norton, whom frontman Dave Grohl brought to fully explore the potential of his compositions and have a record that sounded different from their previous work. Grohl tried to focus on songs with messages that resonated on the audience, writing reflective lyrics which drew inspiration from the birth of his daughter.
"No Way Back"/"Cold Day in the Sun" is the fourth single released from Foo Fighters' fifth album, In Your Honor. It is a double A-side single, including "No Way Back" and "Cold Day in the Sun", which is from the second disc of the album.
Wasting Light is the seventh studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters. It was released on April 12, 2011 on RCA Records, and is the first album to feature rhythm guitarist Pat Smear since The Colour and the Shape (1997).
"Rope" is a song by the American alternative rock band Foo Fighters. It is the first single from their seventh studio album Wasting Light (2011).
Sonic Highways World Tour was a concert tour by American rock band Foo Fighters, in support of their eighth studio album Sonic Highways. It began on December 10, 2014, in Cape Town, South Africa and continued through South America, Oceania, North America, Europe and Asia. The tour abruptly ended after the November 2015 Paris attacks which included the slaughter of fans and crew at a concert by fellow U.S. rock band Eagles of Death Metal. The band were playing in Bologna on the night of the attacks and had been due in Paris after leaving Italy.
Concrete and Gold is the ninth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters. It was produced by Greg Kurstin and released worldwide on September 15, 2017, through RCA Records. Described by the band as an album where "hard rock extremes and pop sensibilities collide", Concrete and Gold concerns the future of the United States from the viewpoint of the band's frontman and lead songwriter Dave Grohl, with the heated atmosphere of the 2016 elections and the presidency of Donald Trump cited as major influences by Grohl. Juxtapositions serve as a common motif in both the album's lyrical and musical composition, with Grohl further describing the album's overall theme as "hope and desperation".
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