My Year

Kerrang!


Another great year for the nicest man in rock.

Dave

HOW WAS YOUR YEAR?
"This year I think would be close to a 10. Probably a nine and a half."

THAT'S A PRETTY HIGH SCORE. ALTHOUGH ADMITTEDLY NO ONE EVER SAYS. 'I'VE HAD A SHIT YEAR,I'M GONNA GIVE IT TWO OUT OF 10 ...
"Well, I can't imagine how this year could have been any better. But at the same time, I can't believe that this will be the best year of my life because they just keep on getting better."

YOU'VE BEEN BUSY. YOU COULD DO WITH A REST, SURELY?
"Depends what day you catch me. If you catch me on the right day I'll tell you I've got 10 songs ready to go and we're making an album before this one's even finished! But if you catch me on a bad day then I really don't know. Today? Today, I'm not sure."

IT WAS YOUR DAUGHTER'S FIRST BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR. THAT MUST HAVE BEEN NICE...
"Yeah, she's a toddler! Having a daughter has been a life-changing event for me. She's out on tour with me now, with my wife. Touring 10 years ago I'd have had a room full of beer bongs, and now look at me. But my favourite way to warm up for a show now is to play with my kid for a half an hour. Whereas before I'd be listening to Voivod, now I'm getting half an hour with my baby before I hit the stage. That just levels everything out; it gets me on an even keel before I hit the stage. It's tough to be away fram her. She's my pride and joy. She's the love of my life."

WHAT'S THE BEST THING THAT'S HAPPENED TO YOU THIS YEAR?
"Outside of family stuff the best thing that's happened to me this year was playing that Live Earth gig. That was really special for the band. We were there for specific reasons, but those 25 minutes we played confirmed to me a lot of things about the band. I realised that we could jump into a stadium like that, somewhere that size, and feel like we owned the place for the time that we were onstage."

DID ANYTHING SUCK THIS YEAR? DID YOU GET A PARKING TICKET OR ANYTHING?
"No. I don't think anything really sucked this year."

YOU DIDN'T GET TORCHED BY THE FLAMES OF DISASTER IN CALIFORNIA, THEN?
"No, they didn't get too close. Although I did watch the fires from my back yard. But it's pretty weird watching the hills burn in California. They have these things called the St Anne winds, which is the westward wind from the desert. It's hot air, so dry that you can feel it in your throat and in your nose. It becomes so dry that anything can become a fire hazard. A bird getting shocked on an electricity cable can fall into some tall grass and burn 500 acres. Suddenly you're in your back yard watching the hills glow red at night. I've had fires burning five blocks from my house, with the helicopters dumping water going right over my head. My wife and I will be standing there watching the neighbours climbing into their cars and leaving town. We'd be, like, 'Shall we go too...?'."

THERE SEEMS TO BE NO LET UP IN BRITAIN'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE FOO FIGHTERS THIS YEAR, EITHER.
"There doesn't, does there? You know, I remember at one point thinking, 'God, I wish our band was as big in America as it is in Britain'. Over here we're treated like this world-class rock band. Then we go home and we're playing in theatres, much smaller places. This is a few years ago now, but I remember going to a department store in Manchester and I could not take more than three steps without someone asking me to sign something, asking to pose for a picture, or to stop and chat. It was a fucking madhouse. I walked out of there thinking, Thank God our band is not as big as that in America!"

WHAT DO YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR CHRISTMAS?
"Well, our family has had a tradition of Christmas night parties that goes back years."

YOU MEAN A PARTY AT YOUR HOUSE?
"Yeah."

YOU'LL HAVE TO GIVE US THE ADDRESS, SO WE CAN ALL COME...
"Oh, sure! And anyway, it's got to the point where we don't even have to send out invitations. It's, like, it's Christmas night; everybody just comes to the Grohl's house. It's fucking epic. The first time I ever took mushrooms was at one of our Christmas parties, surrounded by my all my Mom's friends. That was weird. But the whole family lives within a few miles of each other, so this year the party is going to be at my Sister's, I think."