The gig that saw Pat Smear quit Foo Fighters: “I was sick of it”
Being in a group like the Foo Fighters feels like being a part of one big musical family. Whereas most legacy rock acts usually have members who don’t want to be in the same room with each other backstage, Dave Grohl has made sure that the entire operation has felt like the best family reunion that also happens to play music on the side. While Pat Smear had been there from the beginning, he had started to get completely sick of them by the late 1990s, and a gig at Radio City Music Hall led to him leaving the group.
If Smear really wanted to, he could have faded into obscurity after his stint in Nirvana. His legacy as one of the founders of hardcore punk was already secure with The Germs and his ability to perfectly complement Kurt Cobain whenever they locked in on a groove that you couldn’t replicate if you tried.
Once Cobain passed away, Smear had initially wanted to quit the music business until Grohl gave him the first Foo Fighters record. He told Back and Forth, “Dave sent me the first album, and I listened to that whole tape front to end and loved it.” After bringing in the rhythm section from Sunny Day Real Estate, Grohl had the makings of a great group. All he needed now was an album to introduce the rest of the band.
While the recording for The Colour and the Shape was marred by Grohl redoing all of drummer William Goldsmith’s parts, Smear was in the background festering, admitting, “I was sick of it. I was just so sick of the whole thing. I didn’t want to go out on another bazillion-show tour. I’m older, and I’m lazier.”
After convincing Smear to stick around so the tour could start, Grohl found his saviour in Franz Stahl, who had first introduced Grohl to the music world in the band Scream. If Smear was going to go out, he was going to do it in spectacular fashion on the top of the marquee in New York City.
During a promotional concert, the group tore through ‘Monkey Wrench’ before Smear got in front of the microphone. For all of the bad blood that comes with replacements, Smear couldn’t have been more diplomatic, saying, “The last song we played was my last song with the band. I will now be handing it over to Franz Stahl, who will be taking over. Rock on, guys.”
Granted, Stahl wouldn’t be long for Foo Fighters, either, never even getting to make a proper record with them before being replaced by Chris Shiflett. Smear was more than happy to retire then, but distance only makes the heart grow fonder when it comes to musicians.
Despite his step away from the fold, Smear would say, “Whenever a new Foo Fighters record, I would get really excited and miss it so bad.” While it’s always awkward for someone to ask for their old job back, Smear actually got a chance to return once they started expanding their sound, joining on acoustic guitar during live shows for In Your Honour before eventually turning the band into a three-guitar assault on Wasting Light.
Regardless of his time away from the group, Smear really belongs in Foo Fighters, whether he likes it or not. No matter how many times they try to make radio rock these days, it doesn’t really sound complete until the roar of his guitar comes in.
