The Foo Fighters have been around the block a few times. The rock band, which was founded in 1994, may be a little more under the radar than they once were, but they are still going strong. However, despite all the time they have spent under the public eye, there are still some things that many people don’t know about them. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 facts you probably didn’t know about the Foo Fighters.
Number Fifteen: Taylor Hawkins Was in a Group With Alanis Morissette.
During Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill era, Hawkins was her drummer! Both Flea and Dave Navarro were part of her posse at the time as well.
Number Fourteen: Wasting Light Was Inspired by Abba and the Bee Gees
Though frontman Dave Grohl has been very public about his distaste for pop music. The Foo Fighters’ 2011 album, Wasting Light, was actually inspired by Abba and Bee Gees.
Number Thirteen: Foo Fighters Have an Interesting Connection to Prince
Foo Fighters covered Prince’s “Darling Nikki” in 2003, and Prince was not very happy about it. Four years later, Prince covered their hit “Best of You” during his Super Bowl halftime performance.
Number Twelve: They Fine Venues
Specifically, Foo Fighters fine venues if they misspell anything. The promoter is fined $100 every time there are misspellings at the venues where they are set to play.
Number Eleven: Dave Grohl Was Never Classically Trained
Though Grohl is touted as one of the most talented musicians of his time, he was never actually classically trained. In fact, he has said that he treats the guitar sort of like a drum, and this is how he has explained the way he performs “Everlong.”
Number Ten: David Letterman Loves Them
Foo Fighters played on Letterman’s very last show, and Letterman has said that they are his favorite band, and “Everlong” is his favorite song.
Number Nine: Dave Grohl Only Wrote One Song About Nirvana
Explicitly, anyway. The only song that has anything to do with Kurt Cobain or Nirvana is “Friend of a Friend,” which is a song that Grohl wrote when he was still in Nirvana.
Number Eight: One of Their Songs Cannot Physically Be Performed at Shows
The song “Monkey Wrench” is so complex and difficult that frontman Dave Grohl cannot physically perform it at live shows. It took him five hours to get a usable take when recording the song in the studio.
Number Seven: They Do Not Do Anniversary Shows
Grohl is very much against re-releasing old material or doing “anniversary tours” like many other bands have done in the past and continue to do today.
Number Six: Grohl Has Used His Grammy as a Doorstop
In a radio interview, Grohl admitted, “For the longest time I used a Grammy to hold my bedroom door open because it would never stay open. And now I have them on a shelf.” Well, at least they’re on a shelf now.
Number Five: Grohl Has His Own Road
In 2009, Grohl was given the key to his hometown city of Warren, Ohio. There is now a street named after him, which is called Dave Grohl Alley.
Number Four: Grohl Does Not Like to Cash in on His Stardom
Tyler Hawkins recounted a story to Rolling Stone about how he once gave a hotel employee tickets and passes to a Foo Fighters show in exchange for a room upgrade. Upon seeing his new suite, Grohl berated Hawkins for using his fame that way.
Number Three: They Value Backstage Hospitality
In 1998, Foo Fighters were called in to be part of an Ozzfest in England, and they were supposed to go on after Pantera. They were concerned that the audience would riot after hearing them; however, the members of Pantera were stoked to hear them play. Because Pantera was so nice to them, now they make a point of being nice to everybody backstage at their shows.
Number Two: They Consider Their Crew Their Family
When asked what the hardest thing about being in Foo Fighters is, bassist Nate Mendel replied, “The hardest thing about the job is getting fired.” The crew is very close with all of the band members, and even though things can reportedly become very personal, the fact that they’re all family is what keeps them together.
Number One: Grohl Gets Stage Fright
But you would never know it! Grohl reportedly gets very nervous, but he does not outwardly show it. For him, it’s all about the mindset of being ready to perform.