Foo Fighters is an alternative rock band from America. At the origins of the group is a former member of the group Nirvana the talented Dave Grohl. The fact that the famous musician undertook the development of the new group gave hope that the group's work would not go unnoticed by ardent fans of heavy music.
The musicians took the creative pseudonym Foo Fighters from the slang of the pilots of the Second World War. They called so UFOs and atypical atmospheric phenomena seen in the sky.
Background of the Foo Fighters
For the creativity of Foo Fighters, you should thank its founder - Dave Grohl. The guy grew up in a creative family, where everyone played various musical instruments.
When Dave started writing songs, he found tremendous support in the face of his parents. At the age of 10, the guy mastered playing the guitar, and at the age of 11 he was already recording his tracks on cassettes. At the age of 12, Grohl's main dream came true - he was presented with an electric guitar.
Soon the musician became part of the local band. The group "did not catch the stars." But the performances were successfully held in the Nursing Home, where musicians were most often invited.
After some time, Grohl learned about what punk rock was. This event was facilitated by his cousin. Dave stayed with relatives for several weeks and realized that it was time to change the sound of music in the direction of punk rock.
The guy retrained from a guitarist to a drummer and began to collaborate with musical groups. This allowed me to hone my skills. In addition, he trained in professional recording.
In the early 1990s, the musician became part of the cult band Nirvana. He took the place of the drummer. Then the public did not notice anyone, except for Kurt Cobain. And few people guessed that there was another person in the team who created author's compositions. Grohl collected material, and in 1992 made a demo recording under the pseudonym Late!. The cassette was named Pocketwatch.
Formation of the Foo Fighters
In 1994, after the tragic death of Cobain, the members of the Nirvana collective gave up. They did not want to perform without their leader. Grohl first looked for lucrative offers from popular bands, but then decided to create his own band.
Interestingly, at the time of creating his own project, he had more than 40 tracks of his own composition. The musician selected 12 of the best and recorded them, independently creating the accompaniment. After completing the work, the artist sent the collection to his friends and fans.
The debut solo album was released to several labels. Several prestigious companies offered Dave and his team cooperation on favorable terms. At that time, the new team included:
- guitarist Pat Smear;
- bassist Nate Mendel;
- drummer William Goldsmith.
The debut performance of the group took place in 1995. The audience incredibly warmly accepted the work of the Foo Fighters group. This motivated the musicians to create a full-fledged debut album as soon as possible. By the summer, the band presented the first Foo Fighters disc.
Interestingly, the debut album eventually became multi-platinum, and the group received the Best New Artist award. The exit to the big stage turned out to be successful.
Music by the Foo Fighters
Objectively, the musicians understood that they had every chance of becoming a famous band. In 1996, the guys started recording their second studio album. At that time, Gil Norton became the producer of the Foo Fighters.
Work on the second album was very intense. Having started it in Washington, Dave realized that something was going wrong. The musician continued to work, but already in Los Angeles. The collection has been completely rewritten.
Goldsmith decided that Dave was dissatisfied with his game. The musician decided to leave the band. Soon Taylor Hawkins took his place. The release of the second studio album The Color and the Shape took place in 1997. The top track of the album was Myhero.
These were not the last line-up changes. Pat Smear wanted to leave the band. To fill the void, Dave accepted a new member into his team. They became Franz Stal.
Disagreements in the team and changes in the composition of the Fu Fighters group
In 1998, fans learned that the band had begun recording their third studio album. The musicians worked on the disc in Grohl's personal recording studio. During the recording of the album, misunderstandings began to arise between the musicians. As a result, Steel left the project. The recording of the collection was already carried out by the three musicians. However, this did not affect the quality of the new compositions.
Only a year later, the group expanded their discography with the third studio album There Is Nothing Left to Lose. The collection was warmly received by fans and music critics. The band members decided to organize a concert in honor of the release of the new album. For this they lacked a musician. The attention of the trio was attracted by Chris Shiflett. At first he was a session member, but after the release of the new record, the musician became part of the Foo Fighters.
In the early 2000s, the musicians announced that they were working on the release of a new album. While working on Queens of the Stone Age, Dave felt inspired and re-recorded several tracks from the Foo Fighters album. The record was re-recorded in 10 days, and already in 2002 the presentation of One by One took place.
Dave later commented in his interviews that he overestimated his own strengths. The frontman revealed that he is only excited about a few tracks on the new compilation. The rest of the work quickly fell out of favor with him.
Foo Fighters creative break
After the presentation of the album, the band went on tour. At the same time, the musicians talked about taking a short creative break in order to prepare something unusual. Grohl planned to record acoustics, but in the end, Dave could not do without the support of the Foo Fighters musicians.
Soon the musicians presented their fifth album In Your Honor. The first part of the album included heavy compositions, the second part of the disc - lyrical acoustics.
According to the good old tradition, the musicians again went on tour, which lasted until 2006. Pat Smear joined the band on tour as a guitarist. Keyboard instruments, violin and back vocals were added to the band's accompaniment.
In 2007, the discography of the American band was replenished with the next album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. The album was produced by Gil Norton. The composition The Pretender entered the Guinness Book of Records as the single that lasted the longest on the rock charts.
The musicians went on another tour, then they participated in the popular festivals Live Earth and V Festival. After performing at festivals, the guys went on a world tour, which ended only in 2008 in Canada. The success of the new album was enchanting. The musicians held two Grammy awards in their hands.
A few years later, Foo Fighters was invited to collaborate with Butch Vig, who had once produced the Nirvana album Nevermind. The musicians presented a new collection of the group in 2011. The record was called Wasting Light. A few days later, the band presented a collection of cover versions. The seventh album topped the Billboard 200 chart.
Documentary film release
Fans who want to feel the history of the creation of the team should definitely watch the film "Back and Back". Almost immediately after the presentation of the film, the group became the headliner of several music festivals and events.
In August 2011, Dave informed fans that the Foo Fighters were planning to leave the scene. But in the end, the musicians agreed that they were taking another creative break.
A few years later, the soloists of the band united and presented a new album. It's about the Sonic Highways record. The next album appeared in 2017, and it was called Concrete and Gold. Both collections were warmly received by music lovers.
Foo Fighters: interesting facts
- After the death of Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl joined Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. And then I created my own project.
- According to the band's musicians, they have deep connections with classic rock.
- Part of the pressing of the Wasting Light LP contains bits of the magnetic tape that was used as the LP's master tape.
- Dave Grohl periodically joined the composition of other rock bands. According to the musician, this allowed him to "refresh" his head for new ideas.
- The band's frontman re-recorded all the drums on Foo Fighters' second studio album.
Foo Fighters today
In 2019, the musicians became the headliners of the popular Sziget festival, which took place in Budapest. In Ohio, the guys lit up at the Sonic Temple Art + festival. The band's tour schedule for the year has been published on the official website.
In 2020, a presentation of a new EP took place. The collection was named "00959525". It included 6 tracks, including several live recordings from the 1990s - Floaty and Alone + Easy Target.
The new mini-album has become another part of the Foo Fighters special project, within which the musicians released special EPs. Their names necessarily end with the number 25. The release of symbolic records is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the release of the debut album.
In early February 2021, Medicine at Midnight was released. Note that the LP received positive reviews from music critics and publications: Metacritic, AllMusic, NME, Rolling Stone. The compilation topped the charts in the UK and Australia.
The Foo Fighters in 2022
On February 16, 2022, the guys released the track March Of The Insane under the pseudonym Dream Widow. The composition was specially recorded for the Foo Fighters horror comedy film "Studio 666".
At the end of March 2022, the death of Taylor Hawkins became known. Fans were shocked by the information about the death of the artist, since at the time of his death he was only 51. The drummer died of a cardiovascular collapse. The collapse was caused by the use of psychotropic drugs. The musician died shortly before the concert in Bogotá.
Such sad news did not make Foo Fighters "slow down". They made a name for themselves at the Grammys. The team received three awards, but the guys did not come to the ceremony. Fans probably know that rockers have a negative attitude towards such music awards. So, one of the figurines props up the door in the house.
