Rocker Horror Picture Show

New York Post, Feb 21st 2022

Foo Fighters star in fright flick

When it came to Foo Fighters making "Studio 666" - their new horror comedy that opens in theaters on Friday - Dave Grohl's gang took unlikely inspiration from another band: Spinal Tap.
  "In our way, it was like this ultimate gore 'Spinal Tap,' " Grohl told The Post, referencing the fictional band's 1984 mockumentary "This Is Spinal Tap." "It was one of the most inspiring rock 'n' roll films because it made everyone take a look at themselves and think, 'Oh shit, I hope I'm not like that.' And so it was kind of a manual of what not to do - or else you might become Spinal Tap."
  But unlike the pretentious, fictitious band Spinal Tap, Foo Fighters have proven to be the real deal - and then some - with hits such as "Learn to Fly," "Best of You" and, of course, "Times Like These." The 11-time Grammy-winning group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last October in its first year of eligibility.

After the Foo Fighters found themselves enshrined in the pantheon of rock immortals, "Studio 666" - in which the band plays and pokes fun at themselves during some haunted sessions - might seem like a strange choice for an encore. But the project developed organically while the Foos were recording their 10th studio album, 2021's "Medicine at Midnight," at a mansion in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles.
  "It is something I never wanted to or expected to do. It just kinda happened," said Grohl, 53. "A friend of mine . . . had a meeting with these people that said that they want to make a horror film with Foo Fighters. I was like, 'That's the stupidest fucking idea I've ever heard in my life. There's no way we'd do that shit.'
  "And then when we started making this new record, we rented this house - the house in the movie. And while we were in there writing, I'm like, 'Wait a second. We have this creepy old house. We might as well make the record, take a two-week break, and then just make some silly little horror film.' . . . It snowballed into a fulllength feature film and just kind of took off, man, like a crazy train."

Along with all that fake blood, "Studio 666" is splattered with comic talent, including Whitney Cummings, Will Forte and former "The Goldbergs" star Jeff Garlin. And there's even a funny cameo from, wait for it, Lionel Richie.
  "In true Foo Fighters fashion, we just opened up our phones and started calling our friends," said Grohl. "And it makes it more fun because then it's . . . just all of us hanging out, having drinks and laughing as we're filming this f--ked up movie. But yeah, we got really lucky. I mean, fortunately, we've been around long enough that we've met a lot of really great people."
  Over the years, Foo Fighters have been known for not taking themselves too seriously, displaying their comedic chops in music videos such as "Everlong," "Learn to Fly" and "Long Road to Ruin."
  "It's one of the reasons why we're still a fucking band after 26 years," said Grohl. "Sometimes people, you know, they try to make themselves look cool, make themselves look good, make themselves look sexy. That's not gonna happen in this band."
  But when it's time to play, it's no joke for the Foos. "When it comes to writing records and making music, we take that very seriously," said Grohl. "When it comes to getting onstage and being a live band, we take that very seriously - we want to be the best f - - king live band you have ever seen in your life. We play those two-, three-hour shows, give 150 percent every night."

In addition to the comedy, Grohl also connected with the horror element of "Studio 666."
"I grew up in Washington, DC, my favorite film of all time is 'The Exorcist,' and 'The Exorcist' was filmed in DC," he said. "And so when I was a punk rock kid . . . we would sit on those steps, the steps of 'The Exorcist.' That's where all the punk rockers would get drunk."

Of course, Grohl would eventually make his way to the West Coast, moving from Los Angeles to Seattle to become Nirvana's new drummer in 1990. The band's classic "Nevermind" album turned 30 last September, and Grohl recalls "a beautiful innocence" surrounding the making of that masterpiece. "None of us imagined that we would get any bigger than we already were, just touring in a van loading stuff into clubs, playing for an hour and a half to 400 or 500 sweaty people, and then moving on to the next town," he said. "The album was recorded pretty quickly - it was maybe 12 days. We would do one or two takes of each song. And when I hear those songs today, there's this simplicity to them which is timeless."

Grohl was first inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Nirvana in 2014. Now he's a two-timer, just like the man who inducted Foo Fighters: Paul McCartney. "I mean, listen, I picked up an instrument because of The Beatles," he said. "I learned to play guitar with a Beatles songbook and a Beatles record. I didn't take lessons - I took lessons from The Beatles. And so that was the seed that grew into this thing now. "And so to watch Paul McCartney induct my band into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I can't even describe it. You can imagine the full-circle feeling, but I have no words."

Words: CHUCK ARNOLD    

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