The Foo Fighters have been rock n ’ roll staples for over 20 years , but in the beginning the band was nothing more than therapy for Dave Grohl . After Kurt Cobain ’ s passing and Nirvana ’ s dissolution , Grohl had plenty of offers to play drums from other bands , most notably from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers . None of them felt like the right fit though , with Grohl saying he “ didn ’ t want to stay behind a drum kit and think about Nirvana for the rest of my life .” Instead , Grohl booked a week to record some tracks he wrote at Seattle ’ s Robert Lang Studios with producer Barrett Jones , who helped Grohl with his ‘ 92 demo tape Pocketwatch .
Using only his Gibson Trini Lopez ES-335 and a Marshall JCM900 miked with a Shure SM57 , Grohl recorded all the vocals and instruments for the Foo Fighters debut album himself in the span of four days , diving back and forth between rooms to lay down guitar , bass , or drum parts . The average time to complete a track was 45 minutes , with the single “ Big Me ” being mixed in half an hour . Grohl ’ s vocals were double- and then quadrupletracked because he still wasn ’ t confident in his singing voice . Most of the lyrics were purposefully nonsensical , with some not even being real words . In the wake of Cobain ’ s death he felt “ there was too much to say .”
Grohl had a hundred cassette tapes printed to give out and his new project quickly gained word of mouth . After assembling a proper band with the former rhythm section of Sunny Day Real Estate and Nirvana ’ s own Pat Smear on guitar , the Foos ’ debut came out the following July and the rest is history . Not bad for four days work .
FOO FIGHTERS ’ DEBUT ALBUM
The Foo Fighters have been rock n ’ roll staples for over 20 years , but in the beginning the band was nothing more than therapy for Dave Grohl . After Kurt Cobain ’ s passing and Nirvana ’ s dissolution , Grohl had plenty of offers to play drums from other bands , most notably from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers . None of them felt like the right fit though , with Grohl saying he “ didn ’ t want to stay behind a drum kit and think about Nirvana for the rest of my life .” Instead , Grohl booked a week to record some tracks he wrote at Seattle ’ s Robert Lang Studios with producer Barrett Jones , who helped Grohl with his ‘ 92 demo tape Pocketwatch .
Using only his Gibson Trini Lopez ES-335 and a Marshall JCM900 miked with a Shure SM57 , Grohl recorded all the vocals and instruments for the Foo Fighters debut album himself in the span of four days , diving back and forth between rooms to lay down guitar , bass , or drum parts . The average time to complete a track was 45 minutes , with the single “ Big Me ” being mixed in half an hour . Grohl ’ s vocals were double- and then quadrupletracked because he still wasn ’ t confident in his singing voice . Most of the lyrics were purposefully nonsensical , with some not even being real words . In the wake of Cobain ’ s death he felt “ there was too much to say .”
Grohl had a hundred cassette tapes printed to give out and his new project quickly gained word of mouth . After assembling a proper band with the former rhythm section of Sunny Day Real Estate and Nirvana ’ s own Pat Smear on guitar , the Foos ’ debut came out the following July and the rest is history . Not bad for four days work .