Posts Tagged ‘fighters’

Dave Grohl: Foo Fighters Are Beginning Work on New Album

Liz Ramanand, Loudwire So much for that Foo Fighters hiatus announced in October 2012! According to frontman Dave Grohl , work on a new Foo Fighters album is set to begin this week. Dave Grohl may be the hardest working man in rock today, having just premiered his ‘Sound City’ documentary, rolling out shows with his Sound City Players supergroup and recording a track with Paul McCartney and the surviving members of Nirvana . And instead of taking a presumed long break from his main gig, Grohl is already at work on a new Foo Fighters album. The Foo’s most recent album, ‘Wasting Light,’ was unleashed in 2011 to much acclaim, earning the band a handful of Grammy Awards. According to NME , Grohl has decided that it’s time to work on another effort. “I return to Los Angeles tomorrow to start work on a Foo Fighters record,” Grohl divulged on Feb. 19, only four months after announcing a Foo Fighters hiatus in 2012. In an earlier NME news piece, Grohl spoke of his plans  for Foo Fighters after the ‘Sound City’ engagements were finished, and the frontman has since stuck with those plans. “We have a plan,” begins Grohl. “We know exactly what’s coming next, and I have the music for the next record and we’re going to start working on it once we finish doing all this stuff … And we have really awesome, big plans for the next album and I’m really excited about it.” Stay tuned for more Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters news as it continues to break. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/dave-grohl-talks-sound-city-documentary-more-the-colbert-report/” title=”Watch Dave Grohl on ‘The Colbert Report'” align=”center”]

Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl + Taylor Hawkins Swap Places To Honor Led Zeppelin

Kevin Winter, Getty Images Over the weekend (Dec. 2), several rockers descended upon Washington, D.C., to pay homage to one of the most influential rock bands of all time – the legendary Led Zeppelin . The tribute performances for the annual Kennedy Center Honors show would see the combined talents of Foo Fighters , Lenny Kravitz and Kid Rock all take the stage to play classics from Led Zeppelin and attempt to do them justice. It was in the practice stages for this main event that Foo Fighters lead vocalist Dave Grohl had an epiphany, thinking he might want to return to the drum kit for this one. Grohl told the Washington Post that the decision came during a practice run when he asked himself, “Can I sing Zep? I can drum Zep,” concluding with he and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins swapping roles for the evening with Grohl taking over the drum kit and Hawkins providing vocals. Together, Foo Fighters conjured up their versions of  Zeppelin tunes ‘Black Dog’ and ‘Rock and Roll.’ Grohl also spoke about the impact late Led Zeppelin drummer Jon Bonham had on him as a player. “I was completely obsessed with John Bonham,” Grohl gushed. “So much so, that I knew that I would never be technically able to do what he did. But I wanted to see if I could crack open his instinct and see why he did the things that he did.” He continued singing Bonham’s praises, “Because, as any musician or producer will tell you, John Bonham’s feel was legendary. Just the way that he held down a back beat was something that no one had ever heard. And no one has been able to recreate since.” It wasn’t just Bonham that Grohl had kind words for though, he called Led Zep “the most powerful musical entity in the world when they were together,” and said that “No one could touch them.” From one musical great to another, Grohl summed it up, saying, “They were fearless because they were so confident. And they had the chops to back it up.” Fans can tune in to see the Foo Fighters and many more honor Led Zeppelin when the Kennedy Center Honors award show airs on CBS on Dec. 26 at 9PM ET. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/eddie-vedder-dave-grohl-12-12-12-hurricane-sandy-relief-show-madison-square-garden/” title=”Dave Grohl To Perform at 12-12-12 Benefit Concert” align=”center”]

Dave Grohl Named Keynote Speaker at 2013 South by Southwest Conference

John Shearer, Getty Images Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has a little more time on his hands during the band’s hiatus , and he’ll use part of it to travel to Austin next March, where he’ll be the keynote speaker at the annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival. Grohl will speak to the audience of industry members and music lovers Thursday, March 14, at the Austin Convention Center, which houses most of the South by Southwest’s speakers during the week. The musician should have plenty to discuss, reflecting on his experiences in two of rock’s most iconic bands — Nirvana and Foo Fighters. He’s also been one to lend a hand to other acts and almost became drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers before ultimately deciding to launch Foo Fighters in his post-Nirvana period. Grohl has previously drummed with Queens of the Stone Age , as well, and is  back with that group as they prepare their 2013 release. On top of that, Grohl has spent much of the last year working behind the scenes with some of music’s biggest names on a documentary about the legendary recording board at Los Angeles’ Sound City studio. It was at the studio that the musician played drums on Nirvana’s breakout album, ‘Nevermind.’ The film, titled ‘ Sound City: Real to Reel ,’ is expected to surface in 2013. South by Southwest runs March 12-17, 2013 in Austin, Texas. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-foo-fighters-songs/” title=”Next: 10 Best Foo Fighters Songs” align=”center”]

10 Best Foo Fighters Songs

Larry Busacca, Getty Images Foo Fighters recently announced they were going on hiatus , which made us think it was perfect time to reflect on the band's career so far and count down the 10 Best Foo Fighters Songs. Who knew that the demos that Dave Grohl recorded in 1994 on his own would serve as the spark for what became one of the biggest rock bands in music? With the help of his Foo Fighters bandmates, Grohl has created a string of infectious, yet still hard-rocking hits. So, in their honor, let's rock through the 10 Best Foo Fighters Songs: ? 10 'Learn to Fly' From: 'There Is Nothing Left to Lose' (1999) ? ? If there is a choice for the most melodic, radio-friendly track in the Foo Fighters catalog, 'Learn to Fly' would have to be right up there. The lead single from the band's 'There Is Nothing Left to Lose' album was a critical one for the group, as they were once again in the process of trying to replace a guitarist and working in drummer Taylor Hawkins on an album for the first time. Not so coincidentally, the song itself deals with the struggle for inspiration and “looking for a sign of life.” Listen to 'Learn to Fly' ? ? 9 'This Is a Call' From: 'Foo Fighters' (1995) ? ? 'This Is a Call' is a must for the 10 Best Foo Fighters Songs. The track introduced Dave Grohl as someone other than the guy who played drums in Nirvana , and guess what? He rocked! With the song, Grohl offers, “This is a call to all my past resignation,” which is his way of saying thank you to everyone from who was there for him along the way and announcing his arrival as an artist. Listen to 'This Is a Call' ? ? 8 'Stacked Actors' From: 'There Is Nothing Left to Lose' (1999) ? ? The album 'There Is Nothing Left to Lose' found Dave Grohl escaping the glitter of Los Angeles for his more peaceful Virginia home, and the change of environment worked its way into song on the fan favorite track, 'Stacked Actors.' Dave Grohl told SwayMag.com , “'Stacked Actors' is a response to living in Hollywood for about a year and a half, and my disdain and disgust of everything plastic and phony, which is the foundation of that city.” Listen to 'Stacked Actors' ? ? 7 'Walk' From: 'Wasting Light' (2011) ? ? That never-give-up-spirit is at the heart of the Foo Fighters single 'Walk.' The final track on the 'Wasting Light' album leaves the listener on a high note, as Grohl sings about taking the next steps in life after believing he's “waited long enough” for everything to begin. The video for the song also left a memorable mark, as the band offered up their take on the Michael Douglas film 'Falling Down.' Listen to 'Walk' ? ? 6 'The Pretender' From: 'Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace' (2007) ? ? 'The Pretender' makes the Top 10 Foo Fighters Songs because it represents what the band does best. The opening of the track is a moody, haunting, melodic piece that pulls you in, while the remainder of the song is an amped-up infusion of hard rock goodness. Grohl told England's XFM that the song is about being f—ed over and not getting what they were promised. Listen to 'The Pretender' ? ? 5 'Monkey Wrench' From: 'The Colour and the Shape' (1997) ? ? To intoduce 1997's 'The Colour and the Shape' album, Dave Grohl laid his soul bare on the lead single 'Monkey Wrench.' The track, which was an anthem for those frustrated by their place in a relationship, was penned as the singer's first marriage was falling apart. Grohl lets fly a feverish rant during the bridge that was captured in one shot during the album session, and there's emotion in track not heard on prior tracks. Listen to 'Monkey Wrench' ? ? 4 'All My Life' From: 'One by One' (2002) ? ? There may not be a harder driving song than 'All My Life,' which finds bassist Nate Mendel keeping the band on course while Grohl, guitarist Chris Shiflett and drummer Taylor Hawkins unleash the fury at several points during the song. Grohl revealed that the song started as an instrumental before it evolved into what we hear now. As for the lyrical content, Grohl would reveal to Q magazine , “That song is a little dirty. Use your imagination.” Listen to 'All My Life' ? ? 3 'My Hero' From: 'The Colour and the Shape' (1997) ? ? While some may be quick to attach the song 'My Hero' to any big time star or celebrity, that's not what the track is about. Grohl explained , “That's my way of saying that when I was young, I didn't have big rock heroes … My heroes were ordinary people and the people that I have a lot of respect for are just solid everyday people – people you can rely on.” With the Foo Fighters dealing with the exit of drummer William Goldsmith during sessions, Grohl played hero by returning to the kit on the song. Listen to 'My Hero' ? ? 2 'Best of You' From: 'In Your Honor' (2005) ? ? 'Best of You' makes the Top 10 Foo Fighters Songs list as perhaps the most inspirational song the band has recorded. Filmmaker Mark Pellington, whose wife had died months earlier, reached out to the band to direct the video after the lyrical content helped him through a difficult time. Grohl revealed that the song actually almost never was, as the band had demoed so many tracks that it got lost in the shuffle until the group's manager asked him what happened to it. The song cracked the Top 10 on Loudwire's Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs list . Listen to 'Best of You' ? ? 1 'Everlong' From: 'The Colour and the Shape' (1997) ? ? 'Everlong' headlines our list of the Top 10 Foo Fighters Songs. The track has become a fan favorite over the years, in both fully rocked-out band style and with Grohl playing it acoustically by himself on occasion. The track came about during a low point in Grohl's life, and speaks to the immense feelings brought about by love. The singer told Mojo magazine that Bob Dylan once praised the song, saying that he should learn it, which was one of the biggest accolades he could have ever received. Listen to 'Everlong' ? ? What Is Your Favorite Foo Fighters Song? There you go, one by one we counted down the Top 10 Foo Fighters songs. Did we get the best for you, or is our list a pretender? It was hard narrowing it down to 10, so we know there are tracks you probably thought should have been there. Let us know what you would add and what you would drop in the comments section below: ?

Funniest Guitar Faces

Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Oh, the guitar face – that magical place that rockers slip off to when they’ve been totally consumed by a song and the music is in total control. While some guitarists and bassists have truly signature mugs when they rip into a song, others allow the mood of the music to uniquely fashion their fantastical facial expressions — leading to the notorious guitar face. One this for sure though, when the music takes over the faces are truly unforgettable. When the guitar is removed from the equation it offers up a whole new world of possibilities from pure exhilaration to downright carnal. Check out the photos below where we zoomed in on some of our favorite metal and rock guitar faces of all time: Jason Hook of Five Finger Death Punch: Loudwire Zach Myers of Shinedown: Loudwire Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters: Dave M. Benett, Getty Images Nick Hipa of As I Lay Dying: Loudwire Mark Tremonti of Creed/Alter Bridge: Loudwire James Hetfield of Metallica: Ethan Miller, Getty Images Joey Jordison of Murderdolls: Loudwire Scott Ian of Anthrax: Kevin Winter, Getty Images Brad Walst of Three Days Grace: Loudwire Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 Loudwire [button href=”http://ultimateclassicrock.com/funniest-guitar-faces/” title=”Next: See More Funny Guitar Faces at Ultimate Classic Rock” align=”center”]

Foo Fighters Officially Announce Hiatus

Larry Busacca, Getty Images Frontman Dave Grohl  has officially announced that  Foo Fighters  will indeed be taking an extended hiatus. There’s no word on when Foo Fighters will play a show or record an album again, with Grohl himself writing, “I was serious. I’m not sure when the Foo Fighters are good to play again.” As we recently  reported , Grohl told a New York City crowd during his band’s set at the Global Citizen Festival on Saturday (Sept. 29) that Foo Fighters have no additional shows planned. “We’re not making a big deal out of this, but this is it,” stated Grohl. “We don’t have any more shows after this. This is it. We don’t have any ones after this. This is the show where we play as many songs as we can in a short period of time because honestly, I don’t know when we’re gonna do it again, but this is the perfect place to do it right now tonight.” Now, Grohl elaborates further in a post on Foo Fighters’ Facebook page: Hey everyone… Dave here. Just wanted to write and thank you all again from the bottom of my heart for another incredible year. (Our 18th, to be exact!) We truly never could have done any of this without you… Never in my wildest dreams did I think Foo Fighters would make it this far. I never thought we COULD make it this far, to be honest. There were times when I didn’t think the band would survive. There were times when I wanted to give up. But… I can’t give up this band. And I never will. Because it’s not just a band to me. It’s my life. It’s my family. It’s my world. Yes… I was serious. I’m not sure when the Foo Fighters are going to play again. It feels strange to say that, but it’s a good thing for all of us to go away for a while. It’s one of the reasons we’re still here. Make sense? I never want to NOT be in this band. So, sometimes it’s good to just… put it back in the garage for a while… But, no gold watches or vacations just yet… I’ll be focusing all of my energy on finishing up my Sound City documentary film and album for worldwide release in the very near future. A year in the making, it could be the biggest, most important project I’ve ever worked on. Get ready… it’s coming. Me, Taylor, Nate, Pat, Chris, and Rami… I’m sure we’ll all see you out there… somewhere… Thank you, thank you, thank you… Dave [button href=”http://loudwire.com/foo-fighters-best-of-you-top-21st-century-hard-rock-songs/” title=”Foo Fighters: Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs” align=”center”]

Foo Fighters Play Last Show for a Long While at New York’s Global Citizen Festival

Theo Wargo, Getty Images It was a bittersweet moment Saturday night in New York’s Park as the Foo Fighters played an electrifying set at the Global Citizen Festival, but also made the announcement during the show that it will be their last performance for an indefinite period of time. Singer Dave Grohl told the audience, “We’re not making a big deal out of this, but this is it. We don’t have any more shows after this. This is it. We don’t have any ones after this. This is the show where we play as many songs as we can in a short period of time because honestly, I don’t know when we’re gonna do it again, but this is the perfect place to do it right now tonight.” The Foo Fighters did make the most of their set time, rocking through nine songs and keeping the energy high throughout. The performance opened with Grohl alone onstage with his guitar, relying on the audience for backup during the opening verses of ‘Times Like These’ before the rest of his band joined midway through to provide the frantic closing to the song. An impressive display of hard-rocking power followed, with ‘All My Life,’ ‘My Hero,’ and ‘Arlandria’ leading the way. The band did work in a few of their mid-tempo favorites like ‘Learn to Fly,’ ‘These Days,’ and ‘Walk’ before rounding out their performance with ‘Best of You’ and ‘Everlong.’ Grohl admitted being torn during the performance, stating, “I wish we could play all night … but I wanna see Neil Young .” He followed that with his announcement about it being the band’s final show for some time. For those worried about the future, it should be noted that Grohl made a similar statement to fans in the U.K. at the end of their overseas tour and then after commentary on the Internet hit a certain point buzzing that a hiatus was coming, Grohl posted his own response downplaying the hiatus talk . What this likely suggests is that the Foo Fighters have come to the end of their ‘Wasting Light’ touring cycle, and will take however much time is needed to re-energize before approaching their next disc. Grohl would later return to the stage, as he and the Black Keys ‘ Dan Auerbach would join headliners Neil Young for the all-star finale of ‘Rockin’ in the Free World.’ In addition to the two musicians, members of Foo Fighters, Band of Horses , and opening act K’Naan all grabbed every available microphone to provide backing vocals on the track. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/foo-fighters-bizarre-tour-rider-requests/” title=”Next: Foo Fighters: Bizarre Tour Rider Requests” align=”center”] Watch Foo Fighters Perform ‘Everlong’ at the Global Citizen Festival Watch Foo Fighters Perform ‘Times Like These’ at the Global Citizen Festival Foo Fighters’ Global Citizen Festival Set ‘Times Like These’ ‘All My Life’ ‘My Hero’ ‘Learn to Fly’ ‘Arlandria’ ‘These Days’ ‘Walk’ ‘Best of You’ ‘Everlong’