A Deep Dive Into The Foo Fighters

The Foo Fighters are hitting the road as they announce their 12-show tour. The Everything or Nothing At All Tour surrounds their 2023 album, But Here We Are. Featured artists on the tour include The Hives and Pretenders.

However, the band’s influence on the rock world did not start here but rather with the band Nirvana. Current Foo Fighters frontman, Dave Grohl, got his start as the drummer in the world-famous band. Grohl wrote many songs during his time with Nirvana but never shared them with his bandmates out of fear that they were inadequate compared to lead singer Kurt Cobain.

Following the death of Cobain and Nirvana’s disbanding, Grohl started recording demos at Robert Lang Studios in 1994. This would soon become the first Foo Fighters album, which was self-titled. The project was not intended to become anything, but after industry interest, Grohl formed a band to play with him. 

The original members of the band consisted of bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both of which came from the former band Sunny Day Real Estate. The second guitarist, Pat Smear, was the touring guitarist of Nirvana. With this, the band released the first album under Grohl’s new label, Roswell Records. 

The band members have changed quite a bit between 1994 and now. During the recording of their second album, The Colour and The Shape, Goldsmith left the band followed closely by Smear (who would later rejoin in 2006). They were soon replaced by Taylor Hawkins and Franz Stahl, but Stahl had a short run in the band and was fired before their third studio album, There Is Nothing Left To Lose. They went on to hire Chris Shiflett as lead guitarist following the completion of this album.

The band has released 11 studio albums and won a total of 15 Grammys over their career, five of which are for Best Rock Album. The Foo Fighters were also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

While touring this past year, the band was struck by tragedy as their drummer Taylor Hawkins passed away. Following his death, the band performed tributes at both Wembley Stadium and Kia Forum. Hawkins' 16-year-old son, Shane played drums on the band’s song “My Hero” in honor of his father.

The band has since released their newest album But Here We Are and announced drummer Josh Freese as a member. The album was released on June 2 and is available for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.

What is your favorite Foo Fighters’ song? Comment down below.