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 "Foo
fighter" was a semi-derogatory reference used in a World War
II era comic book for Japanese fighter pilots known for their
erratic flying and extreme maneuvering, and eventually became a
catch-all term to describe flying objects frequently associated
with the UFO hysteria of the time-period. Ah yes, it is indeed
the perfect band name to describe the Foo Fighters front man
Dave Grohl and his perpetual evolutionary dynamic, changeable
gymnastics and on-stage performance style... Combine all of this
with the personality of Grohl then add an electric mix of rock,
alternative tinges of blues, melodic chords strummed softly— or
as softly as the Foo Fighters can strum— with post rock-grunge
effects and you get an amazingly grounded musical prodigy.
Having said that, Dave Grohl brings such a wild frenzy to his
performances with his intense raw vocals, guitar dexterity, and
working of the stage's long catwalk to get closer to more fans.
He performs with a generosity toward the crowd in an almost
"hammish" sort of way. It's been 16 years since Dave Grohl first
announced himself to a world beyond grubby punk clubs. The
robust volley of drums at the start of Nirvana's Smells Like
Teen Spirit kicked off one of the most significant singles and
albums of modern times. Nevermind is, as Grohl puts it, "the
reason why I'm talking to you right now". Though this is
probably true, Grohl has always made his own luck. He had
already been in four obscure punk bands— Freak Baby, Mission
Impossible, Dain Bramage and Scream— before joining Nirvana and
against expectations, including his own, he has flourished since
Kurt Cobain took his own life in 1994.
 As
the Foo Fighters have snowballed from being a compendious
and daring solo experiment undertaken in the wake of Nirvana's
inevitable demise, so Grohl has become the complete rock star.
His lifestyle is both simple (he prefers a boozy barbecue
soundtracked by Led Zeppelin to PR-driven red-carpet posing) and
extravagant (hiring Lear jets is a favorite luxury). Musically,
he has drifted from his hard core roots a bit, but his
unassuming musical attitude all stems from the DIY ethic of his
early career. "There are times when I feel a million miles away
from Washington, DC in the '80's, and then there are others
where I feel like we're one of the punkest bands in the world,"
says Grohl. "I go back and forth. For me, the most important
thing is integrity." Away from the Foo Fighters, Grohl has
become the drummer of choice for, well, pretty much anyone who
can get his phone number. He has contributed to albums by the
likes of Tenacious D, David Bowie, Cat Power, Garbage, Queens Of
The Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails. "Trent Reznor was recording
and giving directions to the drummer that maybe he should do
this like Dave Grohl would do it," he says. "Finally he thought,
Why don't I just call Dave?" There are, though, some limits on
Grohl's availability as a session player. "I wouldn't play on a
band's record that I don't enjoy. Or play for money."
 Having
commemorated their tenth anniversary with a year-plus run
commencing with a double studio album hailed by the New York
Times critics as "an unexpected magnum opus," a sold out arena
tour built on that first disc's rock foundation was followed by
a toned down and intimate theater trek that highlighted the
band's softer side showcased on that record's second half and
capped off by a headlining gig at London's Hyde Park for a crowd
of 85,000, the question looms larger than any in the Foo
Fighters' career to date: What do they do for an encore? The
answer comes in the form of the band's sixth studio album
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Produced by Gil Norton, who
last worked with the band on 1997's smash hit double-platinum
The Color and The Shape (recently reissued in deluxe 10th
anniversary form), Dave Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, drummer
Taylor Hawkins and guitarist Chris Shiflett have crafted a
12-track milestone that showcases and reconciles the band's
every strength and sensibility in the most complex and confident
Foo Fighters album to date. Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
opens with two prime examples of the newest weapon in the
formidable Foo Fighters arsenal: First single "The Pretender"
and second salvo "Let It Die" both begin with sparse, ominous
minor key single guitar and vocal intros and build gradually
into frenetic, explosive anthems that stop on a dime in just
enough time to leave the listener fully winded but wanting more.
The trademark FF hooks upon hooks style is still
represented in the propulsive riffing of "Erase/Replace," the
undeniable sing-along refrain of "Long Road To Ruin," and the
hyper-melodic centerpiece of the record "Cheer Up Boys (Your
Make-Up Is Running)," all of which stand to become instant fan
favorites and staples of the FF live set for years to come. It's
the surprises, however, that truly define Echoes, Silence,
Patience & Grace.
 The
stark and confessional "Stranger Things Have
Happened," the ever loamy sunset tinged shuffle style of
"Summer's End," guitar prodigy Kaki King's guest appearance on
the perfectly constructed acoustic instrumental) "The Ballad Of
The Beaconsfield Miners" (dedicated to the courageous miners
trapped in the headline April 2006 Australian goldmine collapse—
one of whom took Grohl up on his offer of free tickets and beer
later that year at the Sydney Opera House), and a pair of
majestic ballads featuring Grohl's debut on piano, "Statues" and
the album closer "Home," which features the album's namesake
lyric. The road to Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace has been
anything but easy— even the formation of Foo Fighters as a band
is hard to pin down to a concrete date or circumstance, 1995's
now classic self-titled debut itself evolving from home
recordings of compositions created largely during Grohl's tenure
in Nirvana.
Twelve long
years in and still going stronger than ever, the band and
its catalogue of platinum-plus, multiple-Grammy-winning albums
and classic tracks. As for Dave? "I'd like to grow old
gracefully like Paul Weller," he says laughing. "That guy seems
to have his shit together." But there doesn't seem to any danger
of the grand master of us alt.rock growing old anytime soon. At
38, he's played a pivotal role in two of the biggest rock bands
of the past 20 years, and he shows no sign of running out of
steam. We sat down and asked Dave Grohl a few more questions...
you'll be a bit surprised [as we were] with his candid answers.
This guy tells it EXACTLY the way it is... which is why we all
love him here at UPBEAT!
 UPBEAT
On your debut album, you wrote and performed all the songs
yourself. At that point, did you intend to put together a band,
make more albums and tour?
Dave Grohl "No, the first
record was kind of an experiment. I had been recording stuff on
my own for about four or five years before that. I had an
8-track studio in my basement and I would go down there and
write and record songs all day long. I'd record the drums first
and layer guitars and bass and vocals over it. For years, I'd
been building up this mass of songs— maybe 40 or more songs—
some good, some of which totally sucked. I would experiment with
different styles. I'd say, 'Let's make a heavy metal song,' or
''Let's do a punk rock song,' or 'Let's do an acoustic thing.'
In 1994, I decided to go down the street to this really nice
24-track recording studio and record them there on my own. I was
gonna release it as a vinyl-only release on my own label, maybe
10,000 or 15,000 copies— I wasn't going to put my name or
picture on it— and call it 'Foo Fighters' so it sounded like a
group of people. I wanted people to grab it, listen to it and
judge it solely for its musical content and quality."
UPBEAT Have you given any thought to acting?
Dave Grohl "Funny you should
mention that. I just got asked to be in a movie with Mark
Wahlberg. They wanted me to be a truck driver. F&%K that! I
think that rock people who wind up in movies are f%$ing jerks.
The last thing in the world I want to see in a movie is some
rock guy. Like Jon Bon Jovi? I don't want to see him in a movie.
It'll ruin it for me. He's Jon Bon Jovi! He's not anybody else.
If I go to see a movie, I want to sit down and lose myself in a
film. If Mick Jagger walks through the scene, it's gonna ruin it
for me. As a musician, you spend your life trying to establish
yourself as an individual. That's what being a musician is all
about. You're growing as an individual, musically. Actors and
actresses spend their lives being other people. What the f%&k is
that? So f$%k that. I don't want to be in a film. I'm rich
enough. I don't need to act."
 UPBEAT
This seems like a natural point... to discuss your distaste and
hatred for the whole so-called "hip and cool L.A. scene"...
Dave Grohl "Yeah, I hate it.
That's why I choose to live in Virginia now. There's just
something about the East Coast. It's been here for a while.
People are used to it and are comfortable with being human
beings. That's just the way it is. Everybody that I know here
and everybody that I bump into everyday seem like good f$%king
American human beings to me— whatever the hell that's supposed
to mean. In Los Angeles, it's so f$%king superficial and people
are so concerned with everything on the outside. I had some
great friends there and I had a lot of fun there, but do I want
to live there? No. Do I want to consider that my home? No. Do I
want to be ''from'' Los Angeles? F%$K no! Everyone who lives in
Los Angeles is like, 'God, I f$%king hate it. I can't wait to
get out.' Well, go! Jesus Christ. If I did anything other than
being a musician, I probably wouldn't have as much trouble
there, but being in Los Angeles and seeing its seedy influence
infiltrate the soul of rock music makes me sick because I hate
the 'Los Angeles rock scene,' per se. I just hate it!
UPBEAT So you're definitely not that ''hang at the Rainbow''
guy?
Dave Grohl "F$%k no! That's
so gauche. When I first moved down there in the beginning of
1997, this friend of mine worked at the Viper Room. I'd go to
the Viper Room and get f$%ked up almost every night. I went
through this raging tequila phase for about two months. For
those two months, it was great. I had a blast. It's where I
discovered the comedy group Tenacious D, met a lot of really
nice people and made a lot of very cool friends. But after that,
I just said, ''Ugghhh.'' It's like waking up from a really nasty
hangover when you've got someone or something all over you and
you just want to take a shower and f$%king run home, you know?"
UPBEAT What instrument do you enjoy playing the most?
Dave Grohl "I feel most
confident playing the drums. Next to that, I like playing guitar
because it's portable and relaxing. And I f%$king hate singing."
 As
of this press date [October, 2008] Dave Grohl is preparing
to become a dad for the second time. Grohl and his wife Jordyn
Blum welcomed their first daughter Violet Maye back in April of
2006. At the time Dave talked about how much parenthood had
changed him saying it was a struggle to go on tour and leave the
baby behind. "We don't talk about how much we drank last night
[anymore]," Dave told us in 2007. "[Now] it's how much sleep we
got, how much sleep the baby got, diaper rash, formula. We used
to go on the road for three months at a time. It's a struggle
for me to leave for even 12 days. I realized the life I always
imagined beginning once the band ended has to begin now." Dave
also noted Violet's love of not-so-kid-friendly music. "Violet
loves the Amy Winehouse record," he explained. "It's all about
the 'Rehab' song. If she hears 'Try to make me go to rehab,'
Violet will go, 'No no no.' I know, it's a little weird, but
it's really cute!" UB
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