Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters Artistfacts

  • 1995-
    Dave GrohlVocals, guitar
    Pat SmearGuitar1995-1997; 2010-
    Nate MendelBass
    William GoldsmithDrums1995-1997
    Taylor HawkinsDrums1997-2022
    Franz StahlGuitar1998-1999
    Chris ShiflettGuitar1999-
    Josh FreeseDrums2023-
    Rami JaffeeKeyboards2017-
  • "Foo Fighters" are what the US Air Force calls UFOs. Dave Grohl has had a fascination with UFOs since childhood. "When I was 10 or 11, I had this romantic idea that there was something outside the world we know," he told Uncut magazine in 2007. "I've always done my own little investigations here and there. I've never been visited by aliens or had any sort of close encounter, but I've had a couple of dreams that were really vivid, dreams where the sky implodes and it's the dawn of this new era where we learn to live in the same world as things from other planets."
  • Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana. After Kurt Cobain died, he switched to guitar and formed The Foo Fighters.
  • The Foo Fighters impose a $100 fine for "any mispelling or other stupid typos" on advertising materials, as their 2000 concert rider reveals. The rider also notes that the guys would rather have the promoter buy their underwear. Much funnier is the band's US/Canada 2008 rider, where cereals are wanted unopened and "not recycled from last night Dio's show," dressing or ketchup is to be fresh, not with "the last 4 millimeters" in the bottle, lunch should include "soup of the day" but only vegetarian because "meaty soups make roadies fart," and many other food demands "since rock bands and their crews need to eat every 90 minutes or so."

    The 2008 rider also contains some advice on how meat should be prepared, as "lightly cooked chicken breasts with goo on them... are definitely not going to get you a hug from our bass player, Nate." The preferred meat for the Foo Fighters is "big ass kielbasas that make men self conscious" or bacon which is "god's currency."

    As a sort of an apology for all the whims of the band comes the last sentence of the rider food and drink part, "We are just another band trying to make enough money to fuel our private jet. Please help." The tour manager's sense of humor also manifests in the demand for specific cups – solo red or blue plastic cups, about which he says in the rider, "I will call out a catering jihad if we do not have these cups."

    Then there's the "Wow, rock stars ask for some stupid crap" part of the rider, where the Foo Fighters give a detailed request on DVDs, magazines and again underwear. The rider concludes with advice about leftover food, which is to be given to a local kitchen or shelter or collected by "our roadie that looks like Osama Bin Laden."
  • Grohl takes on a lot of side projects. He played drums for the band Queens Of The Stone Age and fronted the death-metal group Probot.
  • Their first album was a solo project for Dave Grohl because he didn't have a band yet.
  • Hawkins was part of the backing band for Alanis Morissette before he joined the Foo Fighters. She was devastated when he left but knew he was destined for greatness elsewhere. He appeared in the videos for "You Oughta Know," "You Learn," and "All I Really Want."
  • Grohl often chews gum before and during their sets, which keeps his mouth from getting dry. He prefers Dentyne Ice, and says, "Onstage, I need a minty-fresh microphone."
  • The bands debut album was written and recorded almost entirely by Grohl. He wrote just about all of the songs while he was still the drummer for Nirvana. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Mark - Chicago, IL
  • Their original second guitarist Pat Smear was also the second guitarist for Nirvana when they toured for In Utero. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Justin - Rochester, England
  • Grohl hates drum machines. He ranted to UK newspaper The Sun. "All that s--t ruins music these days," he said. "Drum machines work for pop artists, but when it comes to rock and roll, don't [mess around] with the human element. I had favorite drummers because of their inconsistencies. Modern production has robbed drummers of personalities, and it really pisses me off."
  • Keeping with his alien fascination, Grohl named his record company Roswell after the city in New Mexico where a supposed flying saucer crashed on a ranch in 1947. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Dave - Lowbanks, ON
  • Dave Grohl's greatest influence is John Bonham. He even has the Led Zep drummer's trademark three-circle logo tattooed on his wrist.
  • Dave Grohl plays guitar like a drummer. "I was never taught how to play the guitar. I don't know what the chords to 'Everlong' are," he told Rolling Stone. "I only know what happens when I put the fingers there. But that riff is a good example of how I look at the guitar."

    "The low E string is the kick drum," Grohl added. "The A and D strings are snares. The G, B and high E are the cymbals. So you have a kick-snare relationship in the riff. Then when the chorus comes around, you wash all the high strings as you would wash a cymbal. It makes it percussive, and it gives that dynamic. It's why I play those Trini Lopez-model guitars – you can play them real soft. And you can beat the f--k out of them. They have that range."
  • While on tour in Auckland, New Zealand, Foo Fighters inspired an audience of 50,000 to dance so hard that it registered as seismic activity by volcanic watchdog site GeoNet. Two separate monitoring stations picked up the ground shaking three times per second, which registered as a steady rhythmic motion - about the same level as a volcanic tremor.
  • In 2011, the Foo Fighters had a 52-page tour rider that was filled with such fun activities as coloring book pages and word searches.
  • Dave Grohl's mother, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, is a former English teacher, who published her first book at the age of 79 in 2017. From Cradle to Stage is a collection of interviews with the mothers of other famous musicians including the moms of Pharrell Williams, Kelly Clarkson and Dr. Dre.
  • The first song to get Dave Grohl's attention for its drumming was... The Edgar Winter Group's "Frankenstein."

    "I remember being really inspired by that song," he told Mojo magazine. "Up to that point I would just listen to whatever my parents or my sister were listening to, things like the West Side Story soundtrack, Carly Simon and The Beatles."

Comments: 24

  • Luna Loud from Royal Woods, MichiganThey recently announced that Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, The Offspring, session musician) is going to be the new drummer for the 'Foos.
  • 10xtrivia from Somewhere In The Milky WayThis is one of my favorite artist facts pages yet! It shows the FF's have a fantastic f--king sense of humor!
  • Charles from Muncie, Ini think its funny that Them Crooked Vultures isn't even mentioned.
  • Austin from Nashville, TnGrohl plays drums for Probot.
  • Naioka from Sptsyltuckey, VaOh!!! I like the Foo Fighters! EVERLONG is Probably the prettiest song ever recorded.
  • Sam from Portsmouth, VaKrist Novosoelic was going to be bassist of Foo Fighters but both Dave and Krist decided not to do it because they think people will think they were a post-Nirvana supergroup.
  • Jordan from Richardson, TxOne question for Josh: Does October come before April in England? I think October of '94 comes after Kurt's death in April of '94.
  • Matt from Somewhere, Cadont tell me we're talking about kurt cobain on a foo fighters page! this is foo fighters, not nirvana. if you wanna babble about conspiracies, join the other lunatics on the nirvana page.

    btw nirvana rocks and so do foo fighters
  • Josh from New York, Nyhey frances shut ur retarded mouth of course he killed himself who would write a suicide note and not do it? considering how he shot himself w/ a shotgun after OD'ing on heroin, i'd say that qualifies as suicide... unless you're gonna say "oh courtney made him do it" or "the media made him do it," which is true but doesnt matter he didnt have to kill himself. so dont talk about stuff you clearly dont know anything about.
  • Max from Austin, TxPat Smear's real name is Georg Ruthenburg. He changed it after he learned about 'pap smears' in high school, and thought it was the grossest thing he had ever heard of.
  • Ken from Dupont, PaYeah, Kurt didn't kill himself! Yoko did it!
  • Danny from Sydney, AustraliaGrohl is best in QOTSA. QOTSA kick a**.
  • Vegard from Trondheim, NorwayEhhh, Probot is not Death-Metal, far from Death-Metal as a matter of fact.
  • Frances from Hartford, CtI think the Foo Fighters are really good, but i think dave has changed alot , and i'm not sure if it's good or bad, but one thing i do know is that i don't love him anymore, oh and josh , kurt did'nt kill himself you stupid idiot,don't talk about things you obviously don't know about
  • Micah from Huntington Beach, Cafoo fighters are great
    and they live right next to me!
  • Mark from Chicago, IlFROM 2 COMMENTS DOWN -"On a late night talk show, the Foo Fighters did a cover of Led Zeppelins 'Stairway to Heaven' Dave Grohl forgot the words of the first half, but made up for it in a quite loud, and rocking second half. All and all, not a bad recording.
    - Jason, Keizer, OR"

    Thats actually not true...Dave Grohl has been listening to Led Zeppelin since he was 12 and John Bohnam was his inspiration for playing drums...He purposely leans back to ask the drummer what the next line is as a joke...There are even versions of Nirvana covering this song...Trust me, Dave knew the words!
  • Jason from Keizer, OrOn a late night talk show, the Foo Fighters did a cover of Led Zeppelins "Stairway to Heaven"

    Dave Grohl forgot the words of the first half, but made up for it in a quite loud, and rocking second half. All and all, not a bad recording.
  • Jason from Keizer, OrDrummer Taylor Hawkins mentioned that the only gripe he has with the Foo Fighters is that they never play the song "Floaty" live.
  • Leia from New York, NyDave Grohl owns a house next to my aunts in Alexandria, VA and when i went to visit her once you could hear him playing guitar in his house (which he only stays at once in a while because he owns his main house in california). He has a soundproof basement there and it's where some of the FF's songs have been recorded. I never did get to meet him because I didn't want to ring his doorbell and invite myself over. My aunt says he and his wife are great people though!
  • Josh from Cambridge, EnglandFoo Fighters had already started the first album "Foo Fighters" before Kurt killed himself.Kurt died in April 1994 and the first album was recorded on 17-23 October 1994.
  • Scott Evans from Bradford, FinlandPat Smear appears in 'Don't Speak' by No Doubt. He is playing guitar alongside Tom Dumont in the durong the solo.
  • Lyndon from Christchurch, New ZealandPat Smear usted to play guitar in nirvana along with Dave, Kurt and Krist
  • Windle from Montgomery, AlFrench Pilots during World War One used the phrase "Foo Fighters" to describe UFO's...that's where it started...thanks....B)
  • Erin from Melbourne, AustraliaDave Grohl also drummed for the band Tenacious D, and featured in the video for Tenacioys D's Tribute as the demon in the middle of the road.

    The band has gone through three line-up changes. During the recording of their second album, The Colour And The Shape, drummer William Goldsmith left the band, citing creative tensions, leaving Dave to complete the rhythm tracks for that album. He was replaced by former Alanis Morissette drummer Taylor Hawkins.
    Guitarist Pat Smear also left the band just before the touring for TCATS was to begin. He was replaced by Franz Stahl, who left the band at the completion of that tour. The band recorded their third album as a trio, before taking on Chris Shifflet as guitarist, and it remains as such now.
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