Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl Dares Mariah Carey To Collaborate With Them
They were labeled a “dad band” when they visited Singapore recently for a one-night only concert at the National Stadium. Speaking to Channel NewsAsia‘s Yvonne Chan, Dave Grohl said, “no one’s ever called us a ‘dad band’ before!” before exchanging high fives with the members of the Foo Fighters.
As the band turned 23-years-old this year, Grohl described getting old as something he didn’t realize with little changes and little things that hurt here and there.
“But you sort of imagine yourself to be 23-years-old, until you walk past a mirror or a window and you look at yourself and you’re like, ‘Jesus!’ and realize that you’re not that guy anymore,” he said animatedly.
He described being in a rock ‘n’ roll band though as something that might seem strange to some people because now they all have their respective families touring with them.
“If you were to take your family to Europe for two weeks with your friends and their kids, that’s kind of what it feels like,” the Foo Fighters lead said.
With their latest album, Concrete and Gold, Grohl said that this time they just went all out on it, describing it as their biggest sounding album ever.
“The intention was to make something that was sonically bigger than anything we’ve ever done, and melodically bigger than anything we’ve ever done.”
Working with Greg Kurstin for their ninth album, Grohl told Channel NewsAsia that he had known of the producer from an underground band called The Bird and The Bee, the first album of which was one of his favorite records of all time.
Kurstin, who happens to have produced albums for the likes of Adele, P!nk, and Beyonce, was at a restaurant in Hawaii four years ago when Grohl saw him and with no hesitation approached him as a fan. He described Kurstin as the most talented musician he’s ever met and a great producer, so it only made sense to make a record with him.
“It turned out exactly like I hoped it would. It has his sense of crazy production and melody, but then it has our trashy noise,” Grohl said.
It would surprise some, however, that Grohl and Taylor Hawkins share a love for disco-pop juggernaut ABBA, with both holding disco drumming and pop music drumming in high regard. Grohl described this kind of drumming, as not being as easy as it seems like it would be. He shares that some of his favorite drummers are the most simplistic, like ACDC, Tony Thomson from Chic and “real disco drummers that lay it down and make you move.”
Speaking of making people move, the Foo Fighters frontman remembers the 1,000 rockers in Italy who gathered together from all over the nation and played “Fly” as a way to urge the band to come over and play in the small town of Cesena. Grohl shares how it had blown him away when he saw the video.
“When we make records, we’re so focused on the studio and the song, that it’s hard to imagine its reach—that it actually goes out to the rest of the world and people are really affected by it.”
Grohl further said that when something like that happens, it blows his mind thinking that he wrote that song on the back of a pizza box, and that has resulted in a massive coming together of people who love the Foo Fighters’ music.
Meanwhile, after having collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music scene like Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones and members of Led Zepellin, and of course, Rick Astley—who Grohl said should be on top of Led Zepellin—the group said they would want to write music for Father John Misty’s new record, “and have him deal with us.”
Dave Grohl has someone particular in mind though, pointing to Pat Smear, the band’s guitarist and backing vocals. Who else than the diva Mariah Carey.
“So Mariah, if you’re watching, call us. We’ll talk about it,” Grohl declared before sending a flying kiss.
Watch the full interview here.
https://www.facebook.com/ChannelNewsAsia/videos/10154951423927934/
[Featured Image by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images]
