“Man, this is so great”: The album that made Dave Grohl want to play music forever
As strange as it seems, Dave Grohl took some time to gain the right momentum with Foo Fighters. It’s to be expected, of course—especially given the reasons why the project started in the first place—but in those early days, starting something solo that would eventually blossom into a full team project meant loosening his grip on the things he felt only he could pull off.
In Nirvana, Grohl really only had one sole focus. He might have gotten involved in other aspects from time to time, but as the drummer, that was all he ever really was to the unsuspecting outsider. And while that was all he ever really needed to be, starting Foo Fighters was a different game entirely. For starters, it allowed him to capture all of his interests, from science fiction to other parts of the creative process.
At the same time, it pushed him into a completely different role—from a somewhat sidelined character to someone suddenly in charge of his entire destiny. As the master puppeteer, he was the only overseer of the sounds that would eventually define this new chapter. It might have been a new lease on life in many ways, but it was also a way for him to explore something he had complete control over.
This, among many other reasons, is why some experienced clashes while recording the second album, The Colour and the Shape. Formerly only a drummer, Grohl took issue with some of the new drummer recruit William Goldsmith’s fills, later deciding to record over them himself, eventually pushing Goldsmith to leave the band with a bitter taste in his mouth. However, this was mainly Grohl learning how to manage without stepping on toes, something he had become well-versed in for the following records.
By the fifth, In Your Honour, Grohl rediscovered a new, unparalleled flavour of fun. In fact, Grohl enjoyed himself so much during the making of this record that it made him realise just how much he wanted to do the job forever, despite his previous opinions about how long bands should run for. In his mind, bands should stop after a certain amount of time to conserve their legacy, but In Your Honour made him think about what the alternative to this could be, and how much it would be worth it.
Discussing the record prior to its release, he explained this newfound mindset to The Music Week, saying, “I always thought bands should have expiration dates, but after making this record, I thought ‘I could do this for the rest of my life’.” He continued: “It’s so recording to make something so beautiful. I kinda thought the band was capable of doing something like this, but the first day we recorded one of those acoustic songs, I listened back to it and thought, ‘Man, this is so great I could make an album like this every six months.”
He even praised his team and work environment, saying: “The great thing about this band is we’re like a big family – from the guy thats done our monitors for 15 years, to the guys in the band, to the children, to our wives, to even our parents.”
It’s a far cry from the chaos that seemed to categorise those crucial early moments. While these high-stakes emotions no doubt pushed Foo Fighters to become the quintessential modern rock band they are today, the records that came after established new grounds for creativity and reinvention, allowing Grohl to relax into his position and let others do their job, all while doing the one thing that matters the most: having fun.
