Foo Fighters

Summersault official programme, 1995

Prior to jumping on to the tour, Dave Grohl jumps on the phone

What do you think of festivals? Do you think they're good value for money or too much like sensory overload?
I think its good. Obviously it depends on the line-up, if there's a pretty diverse line-up happening then it's always good fun. I think it's good for someone to go out and in one shot see eight totally different bands You know, instead of going to the Donnington Monsters of Rock Metal Festival where you see seven hair glam metal bands in a row. You get to see everything from Sonic Youth to the Beastie Boys to Bikini Kill, its pretty cool. I think as long as the line up is diverse then its exciting. I think if it's not, it can be a kind of drag and sort of get tiring I suppose. But you know the line-up on this is so good.

Do you think It's like, fun to play festivals?
Yeah, it depends on again the type of festival or whatever but I like playing outside. And especially at that time of year, I think it's great. We've only done maybe like eight or nine festivals and they were in Europe and it was cold and rainy. Even still I think they're pretty cool. I dunno, I go back and forth, I hate playing big places but I love playing big places outside because then they don't seem contained, you know, it doesn't seem like a big arena rock show.

Do you feel, being part of a festival that you should have or take any responsibility for the involvement of kids and environmental issues, say recycling or the well being and safety of kids?
Yeah, definitely. I suppose if you're going to support the festival you should have everything to do with everything the festivals about really, and yeah, as far as safety with kids, they're sorta the reason why you're there and vice-versa. I mean it seems like it's sort of a give and take.. you know, you have to give a little and you know, a family affair... takin' care of the family.

Alright. Dave, do you feel any affinity to Phil Collins?
With Phil Collins? None whatsoever thankyou!

C'mon!
Phil Collins!?!

official Summersault tour programme You can't relate to a man steppin' out from behind the kit goin' up front on the mic?
How about, well... who else has done that?

Ahh.. I dunno.
Stuart Copeland did it! Stuart Copeland did the Klark Kent record you ever heard that record?

No. What's that all about?
It's fucking an amazing record, the reason you've never heard it is because he made this record, he didn't put his name on it, so it's like a totally anonymous thing. It's a fucking amazing record, he plays all the instruments... I don't know whether he played any shows but dont mention Phil Collins!

Okay we'll drop Phil and we'll go for the Copeland... I guess it's a lot different being out front.
It's kinda cool. It feels like I've ever been in in a way because I've only ever done this. So, the first few shows we played I was just kind of BLAHH!! I had no idea. I was just kind of like, I dunno. God, what the hell am I supposed to do? I wasn't within the confines of the drum set anymore. I wasn't safe on my litte stool back there hiding behind the drums. It's kinda freaky. It's kinda scary. It's not so scary to jump around and play guitar and sing, that's the fun part The scary part comes when the song ends and someone's changing the guitar or someone's broken a string and everyone's staring at me. I'm supposed to say something and that's the part that scares me. I have a tendency to choke and make an ass of myself.

You don't go for the bad jokes?
No. I think that all my jokes are actually kinda bad, so there's no two ways around it.

What's it like playing with Pat, were you a fan of The Germs?
Totally, I had the soundtrack to The Decline Of Western Civilisation when I was 12 or 13 years old. So his interview parts on there.... I knew the album by heart so I knew every single piece of interview and every song. I loved The Germs and when he joined Nirvana, before we found out he was joining the band I hadn't met him and I just imagined the worst, a big fat, wheezing guy, you know, some really big, scary. old, bitter junkie.. Then he showed up and I swear to God he's like the greatest person I've ever met in my life.

Totally sweet?
He really is and whenever I have a bad show, if I'm not having fun, all I have to do is look over to Pat and it sorta makes everything okay. And it's true too and then when I don't feel like talking I'll just go over and Pat and I will sorta talk on the stage and smoke cigarettes together and everyone gets kinda pissed and think we suck.

And what about the other guys is the band?
They're awesome. William is an amazing drummer. He's a really, really great drummer. And our bass player as well, I mean he's a bass player and the stuff on the record, the bass playing, is so not a bass player! He really adds so much to everything, he rounds it out.
They're kind of a package deal, coming from Sunny Day Real Estate. They've played with each other for years.

Are you writing songs with those guys now?
Yeah, we've written a couple of songs together. We haven't had any time really to sit down and record or get much stuff together. I mean we probably have three or four new songs that we've worked out and a few that we do live all the time. So if Pat was in Los Angeles usually when we come home we sort of go our separate ways and meet up and try to get things together with sound checks and stuff. It's kinda weird. we've only really been a band for about eight, nine months, you know?

You're playing in Sydney on New Years Eve... what's the best New Years you've ver had and what did it involve?
I think it might have been when I was eleven years old and it was the first time I ever got drunk. No it wasn't' It was when I was sixteen and a friend of mine gave me mushrooms for Christmas! So I ate all these mushrooms and we had a party at my house and all my friends were there, all my Mom's friends were there, all my Sister's friends were there and I was trippin' my ass off and having this greatest time and I'd never experienced anything like this before. I was driving my mum's car with my head out the sunroof pretending it was a tank... this friend of my Mom's brought me into the bathroom and he said, "David have you been, doing cocaine?" (laughs) 'No man I swear to God, I swear to fucking God I've never touched the stuff!' Then I went into my room and played guitar for like six hours... I was scared to come out.

Which of the other bands on Summersault are you into or most excited about seeing?
I'm very, very excited to see The Amps because Nirvana toured so much with the Breeders. They've always been one of my favourite bands. I think Kim is so amazing and Jim their drummer, is kinda like a pal. He's a great guy, I love him a lot. So I'm looking forward to them. I haven't see Bikini Kill play in years, so I'm very excited to see what's going on with them now because it's really like, been three or four years since I've seen them play, I remember seeing them when we lived in Olympia and when it was all new and they were really great and Jawbreaker too, Jawbreaker... God, all of these bands I'm excited about!

The Jawbreaker album is really cool.
I haven't really listened to much of it. But I remember when Jawbreaker was on tour with Nirvana we were sort of worried, like, we were throwing them into a situation where they had to play in front of like, six or eight thousand people a night, what the fuck's gonna happen? And we thought they'd kill us or something. And they get up there the first night and they're like 'Hey, how y'all doin?' They totally fit in and it was really cool. It was great and I haven't seen them since we played with them at the Reading Festival and I always enjoyed them, I thought they were cool.

How was the Reading Festival?
The last one was so fucking crazy man! It was soo crazy.

Did you play a tent or somethine?
We headlined the Melody Maker tent. The day before our day was Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, like a million and one sick American alternate bands, and then our day was Bjork and Tricky and all these kinda not rock bands then the day after ours was Neil Young and stuff like that. So on our day there really wasn't much rock happening, so I think out of the forty five thousand people that were there, twenty five thousand were watching Bjork and the other twenty thousand were trying to get into the tent. It was total mayhem. It was the first time that I was 'minister of crowd control' and I wasn't making any bad jokes at all, I was trying to get the security guys pulled out of the crowd because they were like packed out, you know? And it was fucking crazy and it was really the most exciting show we've ever played.

So what do you think about all this moshing?
Well it's kinda like the difference between 1982 when you would do a stage dive, people would catch you, if you hit the floor they'd pick you up. Nowadays you'd probably get trampled to death. It's just different nowadays. I stopped. The last time it was at a Sepultura show and I got punched in the face! I don't know, it's kinda like some bizarre, boring, testosterone thing and it's totally a guy thing and it's kinda scary you know? I think if you take the time and get up and sorta say, 'Okay everybody, please be nice, this could be so much fun so be nice to each other and we'll have a good time' a lot of the time that works.

I think people, as you say, need to assume the responsibility and be forward and say something.
It's kinda true, because you have to figure, if it weren't for those people, then you wouldn't be there. So you have to take care of them.

Do you do any covers in your live show?
We do a Gary Numan song.

Which one?
Down In The Park.

Excellent, With A Friend Called Five!
Oh man, we do a Journey song too.

A Journey song?
Yeah.

That's fucked up.
I know! We were doing it and Craig from Shudder to Think was singing it, because he's the only one with the good, subtle voice.

You toured with them, right?
We did a whole US tour with them They're great. They re fucking awesome. They were so good. They were fucking totally consistent, every night they were awesome. They were great, every night they put on a great show, they look so cool and slick and girls freak out and Craig is so fem that like, all the guys are like, 'You fag!' and all the girls are like, 'Ahhhh!' They were awesome, they were so fucking great.

So what CD's are you listening to? What records are you Into at the moment.
Oh. a guy by the name of Brendan Benson who has not released his record yet, but I swear to God, it's the most amazing thing, it's like Black Francis has handed down his crown to this guy. He's still working, he goes backwards and forwards for a really long time and he's one of the most talented guys I've heard in a really long tirne, in ye, it's like totally refreshing. It's like this woman allows these insects to come into her home and she trains them and then the insects take over the world and it's sort of this call to arms, men come with gasoline and torch the place, it's good.

So what's going on with silverchair?
They've taken over America now.

I never thought they'd do that.
If it wasn't enough that they took over European countries they've taken ours over as well.

You saw them last time you visted over here, you were like, 'what's up with these kids?'
Totally. When I first saw them I thought it was us. Wow, I was like, 'I've never seen that picture before' wait a minute that's not us!

Good luck to them. But I never, thought it would've gone any further than here. That's what I was gonna ask you, are you thinking of getting some sponsors in?
You know we did a deal with Budweiser in America and they're really fucking cool. You guys check it out, they're really fucking cool. We had to wear Budweiser clothing every night.

As long as you didn't have to wear jumpsuits.
Totally, we've got Jumpsuits happenin' ... but I've got a beer in my hand 24 hours a day and I'm as happy as a clam!

I mean you'd be needing to have a beer In your hand If your planning on catching up with Kim Deal, you'd need some serious social fitness.
Well, that's our goal for 1995. Wow. That's true.

Exactly, she'll fuck you up in minute.
Holy shit. Well, who are the other big drunks on the tour?

I'd have to say Bob from Pavement.
Oh, is he a big one?

Ahh, let's just say he likes an ale.
Hey, will you take us out to breakfast at that neat little place that has that fucking crazy syrup and all that weird porridge and shit?

Well you know I got all the crazy breakfast joints, I'll take are of you.
Okay cool. Alright man.

Dave you take care.
Alright, bye.

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