The Chief Foo Fighter is a self-confessed workaholic who winds down by sitting in traffic, shooting clay pigeons and eating as much as possible, as often as possible. Oh, and "freaking out" members of Slipknot . .
"It depends on what I did the night before, but I'm usually up at 8:30 or nine. Gotta have a big breakfast every day, I gotta fuckin' have a big'un; eggs, bacon and toast, with a nice strong black cup of coffee and some cranberry juice. I'm a skinny guy and my metabolism is that of a fucking mosquito, so I need to eat as musch as I can all day long. Which is not bad, I guess, I'm sure a lot of people wish they had the same affliction.
"And then I usually head out to the pool - I got a pool in the backyard - lie down, float around on an inflatable raft for maybe an hour, make the phone calls, figure out what's going on that day, get out of there. I haven't had a day off in a long time, so usually from there I would head up to one studio or another to work on Queens shit or some Fighters shit or whatever.
"Am I a workaholic? Well, kind of. It's strange, it becomes an addiction in a way, because you don't know how to fill your days. The other day, my girlfriend and I were lying watching TV, and I was sort of falling in and out of sleep, and I thought, wow, I'm actually relaxed. It felt weird.
"When I have time off I like skeet shooting. And eating more. And sitting in traffic in Los Angeles in my BMW - I wouldn't want to sit in fucking Los Angeles traffic in any other car. Those are my favourite things to do.
"I used to not like Los Angeles. I lived there on my own, this is maybe about five years ago, it just didn't feel like home. But now I've got a nice place with my girl and I live down the street from my sister, there's family in the neighbourhood, so I'm digging it, it's nice.
"At night I love seeing bands, it's just that there's not many bands I love to see. I mean if Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were in town, I'd definitely go see their show. If My Morning Jacket were playing, I'd definitely go see their show. I got to meet Joey Jordison the other night for the first time and I think I freaked him out because I'm such a superfan. I'm like, Oh my God, dude! Fucking argh! Then I made him do a shot. He didn't look too well.
"I never really get hassled when I go out, but people recognise me every now and again, and they're all very cool about it. It's really not that often that people come up and ask for autographs. Like this morning at breakfast there were some girls that were from Brisbane that had never seen a person in a band before, and were kind of taken aback that I was a human being. But, you know, if you go out to a nightclub it's not that bad. Shit, amn, people usually want to buy you drinks, you can't complain about that.
"Before a show I usually have a beer or two then just kinda jog in place for 15 minutes, get my body warmed up and shake off the nerves. Maybe I'll take a shot of whiskey, but that usually ends up giving me heartburn, you know? On the Chili Peppers tour we were knockin' off a bottle of Crown Royal a night, and we were playing four or five shows a week. After about four or five months of drinking a bottle every night your liver goes crying home to Mommy.
"I've been a little concerned about my throat lately, because I'm getting older and this new album's a lot more aggresive, there's a lot more fuckin' screaming going on than the last record. But I think it'll be fine. There's a few remedies: you've gotta turn off your AC when you get into your hotel room, have tea every now and again. Lay off the cigarettes, there's no voodoo to it.
"[If I wasn't in a successful band] I know that I'd still be playing music. But I remember when I was 19 maybe 20 years old, I decided that there were better ways to spend my life than sleeping on floors and pushing a broken down van to the nearest petrol station. But I know that I'd always be making music, because it becomes and obsession, an addiction you just can't not think about it."
Five records which make Dave's day...
Supergrass - Life On Other Planets (EMI, 2002)
Slipknot - Iowa (Roadrunner, 2001)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits (Universal, 1993)
My Morning Jacket / Songs: Ohia - Split EP (Jade Tree, 2002)
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (Atlantic 1975)