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Foo Fighters The Complete Guide PDF generated using the open source mwlib toolkit. See http://code.pediapress.com/ for more information. PDF generated at: Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:05:46 UTC Contents Articles Overview 1 Foo Fighters 1 Discography 10 Awards and nominations 23 Members 29 Dave Grohl 29 Chris Shiflett 40 Nate Mendel 43 Taylor Hawkins 46 Pat Smear 49 William Goldsmith 54 Franz Stahl 57 Studio albums 58 Foo Fighters 58 The Colour and the Shape 63 There Is Nothing Left to Lose 70 One by One 74 In Your Honor 79 Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace 86 Wasting Light 91 Other albums 99 Five Songs and a Cover 99 Skin and Bones 100 Greatest Hits 104 Medium Rare 109 Video albums 111 Everywhere but Home 111 Foo Fighters Live at Wembley Stadium 114 Songs 117 "All My Life" 117 "Alone+Easy Target" 121 "Best of You" 122 "Big Me" 126 "Breakout" 129 "Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)" 132 "Darling Nikki" 134 "DOA" 136 "Everlong" 139 "Exhausted" 144 "For All the Cows" 146 "Friend of a Friend" 148 "Generator" 149 "Have a Cigar" 151 "Have It All" 154 "I'll Stick Around" 160 "Learn to Fly" 163 "Let It Die" 167 "Long Road to Ruin" 169 "Low" 172 "Marigold" 175 "Monkey Wrench" 178 "My Hero" 181 "Next Year" 185 "No Way Back"/"Cold Day in the Sun" 188 "The One" 190 "The Pretender" 192 "Resolve" 196 "Skin and Bones" 199 "Stacked Actors" 200 "This Is a Call" 202 "Times Like These" 204 "Walking After You" 208 "Wheels" 211 "Rope" 214 Related bands 217 Nirvana 217 Sunny Day Real Estate 227 Germs 233 Scream 239 Probot 242 Killing Joke 247 Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders 259 The Fire Theft 261 Jackson United 263 Me First and the Gimme Gimmes 266 No Use for a Name 270 Them Crooked Vultures 274 Other 280 Foozer 280 24 Hours of Foo 281 Pocketwatch 283 Songs for the Deaf 285 References Article Sources and Contributors 296 Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 304 Article Licenses License 306 1 Overview Foo Fighters Foo Fighters Foo Fighters performing in November 2007. Background information Origin Seattle, Washington, United States Genres [1] [2] [3] [4] Alternative rock, post-grunge, hard rock Years active 1994–present Labels RCA, Capitol Associated acts Nirvana, Sunny Day Real Estate, The Fire Theft, Scream Website [foofighters.com foofighters.com] Members Dave Grohl Nate Mendel Taylor Hawkins Chris Shiflett Pat Smear Past members William Goldsmith Franz Stahl The Foo Fighters are an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band 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. Prior to the release of the Foo Fighters' 1995 debut album Foo Fighters, which featured Grohl as the only official member, Grohl recruited bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both formerly of Sunny Day Real Estate, as well as fellow Nirvana touring bandmate Pat Smear as guitarist to complete the lineup. The band began with performances in Portland, Oregon. Goldsmith quit during the recording of the group's second album, The Colour and the Shape (1997) when most of the drum parts were re-recorded by Grohl himself. Smear's departure followed soon afterward. They were replaced by Taylor Hawkins and Franz Stahl, respectively, although Stahl was fired before the recording of the group's third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999). Foo Fighters 2 The band briefly continued as a trio until Chris Shiflett joined as the band's lead guitarist after the completion of There Is Nothing Left to Lose. The band released its fourth album, One by One, in 2002. The group followed that release with the two-disc In Your Honor (2005), which was split between acoustic songs and heavier material. Foo Fighters released its sixth album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, in 2007. In 2010, it was confirmed that Smear had officially rejoined the band after touring with the Foo Fighters as an unofficial member between 2006 and 2009. Over the course of the band's career, three of its albums have won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album, and all six albums have been nominated. The band's seventh studio album, Wasting Light, was released in 2011. History Formation and debut album (1994–1995) Dave Grohl joined the grunge group Nirvana as its drummer. During tours, he took a guitar with him and wrote some small songs. Grohl held back these songs from the rest of the band; he said in 1997, "I was in awe of [frontman Kurt Cobain's songs], and [I was] intimidated. I thought it was best that I keep my songs to myself."[5] Grohl occasionally booked studio time to record demos and covers of songs he liked and even issued a cassette of some of those songs called Pocketwatch under the pseudonym "Late!" in 1992.[6] Frontman Kurt Cobain was found dead after committing suicide in his Seattle home on April 8, 1994, and Nirvana subsequently disbanded. Grohl received offers to work with various artists; he almost accepted a permanent position as drummer in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Ultimately Grohl declined and instead entered Robert Lang Studios in October 1994 to record fifteen of the forty songs he had written.[6] With the exception of a guitar part on "X-Static," played by Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs, Grohl played every instrument and sang every vocal on the tracks.[7] "I was supposed to just join another band and be a drummer the rest of my life," Grohl later said. "I thought that I would rather do what no one expected me to do. I enjoy writing music and I enjoy trying to sing, and there's nothing anyone can really do to discourage me." Grohl completed an album's worth of material in five days and handed out cassette copies of the sessions to his friends for feedback.[6] Grohl hoped to keep his anonymity and release the recordings in a limited run under the title "Foo Fighters", taken from the World War II term "foo fighter", used to refer to unidentified flying objects.[6] However, the demo tape circulated in the music industry, creating interest among record labels.[8] Grohl formed a band to support the album. Initially, he talked to former Nirvana band mate Krist Novoselic about joining the group, but both decided against it. "For Krist and I, it would have felt really natural and really great", Grohl explained. "But for everyone else, it would have been weird, and it would have left me in a really bad position. Then I really would have been under the microscope."[9] Having heard about the disbanding of Seattle-based rock band Sunny Day Real Estate, Grohl drafted the group's bass player, Nate Mendel, and drummer, William Goldsmith. Grohl asked Pat Smear, who served as a touring guitarist for Nirvana after the release of its 1993 album, In Utero, to join as the group's second guitarist.[10] Grohl ultimately licensed the album to Capitol Records, releasing it on his new record label, Roswell Records.[6] Foo Fighters made their live debut on March 3, 1995 during a show at The Satyricon in Portland. They followed that with a show at the Velvet Elvis in Seattle on March 4. The first show had been part of a benefit gig to aid the finances of the investigation into the rape and murder of The Gits singer Mia Zapata. Grohl refused to do interviews or tour large venues to promote the album.[10] Foo Fighters undertook their first major tour in the spring of 1995, opening for Mike Watt. The band's first single, "This Is a Call", was released in June 1995,[7] and its debut album Foo Fighters was released the next month. "I'll Stick Around", "For All The Cows", and "Big Me" were released as subsequent singles. The band spent the following months on tour, including their first appearance at the Reading Festival in England in August.[10] Foo Fighters 3 The Colour and the Shape (1996–1997) After touring through the spring of 1996, Foo Fighters entered a studio in Woodinville, Washington with producer Gil Norton to record its second album. While Grohl once again wrote all the songs, the rest of the band collaborated on the arrangements. With the sessions nearly complete, Grohl took the rough mixes with him to Los Angeles, intending to finish up his vocal and guitar parts. While there, Grohl realized that he was not happy with how the mixes were turning out, and the band "basically re-recorded almost everything".[5] During the L.A. sessions, Grohl had played drums on the songs, removing Goldsmith's drumming part. Goldsmith said Grohl did not tell him that he recorded new drum parts for the record and, feeling betrayed, left the band.[11] In need of a replacement for Goldsmith, Grohl contacted Alanis Morissette's touring drummer Taylor Hawkins to see if he could recommend anybody. Grohl was surprised when Hawkins volunteered his own services as drummer.[5] Hawkins made his debut with the group in time for the release of its second album, The Colour and the Shape, in May 1997. The album included the singles "Monkey Wrench", "My Hero", and "Everlong". Pat Smear announced to the rest of the group that he wanted to leave the band to pursue other interests.