Edith Bowman If we'd have had the mics up for the last 20 seconds of that song you'd have heard backing vocals from Dave and Taylor. Hi.
Dave Grohl Hi.
Taylor Hawkins 'ello.
EB How's the 'jet slag' has it kicked in yet? You only arrived at 4am didn't you?
DG We've had it for a couple of days. We've been in Europe for what? Like a week now.
TH Like, five days?
DG We went to Berlin, did some Paris.
EB Nice to be here?
DG It's great to be here.
TH I don't even know what today is.
DG Thursday!
EB You're in London, you're on Radio One.
TH I know I'm in London. I just don't know what day it is.
DG Stick with us buddy. Stay in the game.
Colin Murray Foo Fighters in the studio!
EB A massive thank you for coming in and talking to us.
DG You're very welcome.
TH A massive.....you're welcome.
EB We've been inundated....shedloads of questions coming in from listeners.
DG & TH Shedloads?
EB A small rainforest worth of paper!
DG What've you got? Hit me!
EB This first one I just think is hilarious. Peter from Cornwall said; 'I wanted to name my baby daughter after the legendary Dave - but my wife wouldn't let me.'
DG Yeah......that's a man's name isn't it?
EB But you could call a girl Dave.
DG Could you? You can't do that. She'll be a lesbian no question.
EB Ben wants to know if there's an album released this year that you could suggest to someone to get, what is it?
DG Released this year? Uhhhhhhhhhh.....uuuuhhhhhh....uhhhh
EB Do you have a favourite album so far this year?
DG Uhhhhh...uhhhh.....uhhhhhhhh
EB He's doing Tenacious D's 'Inward Singing'.
DG Y'know I love the Queens Of The Stone Age record.
CM That's great.
TH There's some good stuff on the Kaiser Chiefs record.
DG Yeah. There's good stuff on the record too.
CM Listen, the double album is something that many bands shy away from. It's taken as the ultimate challenge.
DG That's because they're scared.
CM A lot of bands write a double album, chicken out, drop 5 tracks and release a longer one album.
DG That kinda, usually happens to us. It always works out that we write twice as many songs that we eventually use because about half of what we write sucks. Just this time we wrote 40 songs and 20 of them were genius so we decided to use those.
CM You want this to be the definitive Foos album, but that's a hard task considering what went before.
DG Well, when we make records....Pardon my voice, I've been screaming for the last week....the other albums that we've made, when we make a record I sort of imagine it to be our last one because we're so lucky. I feel like the luckiest person in the world that I've managed to be in more than one really cool band. It's almost too good to be true, you think 'Ok, we're gonna make one more then we're gonna go home make babies, get fat and go bald and just do normal stuff.' But it doesn't really work that way and with this record we made something that helps me imagine making albums for years and years to come. We finally broke out of this mould we'd been in for 10 years and with the acoustic CD we've opened up this whole new dynamic to the band where we can do something completely different and new and beautiful. I'm really into it.
EB Was there something in particular that made you break out of that mould then?
DG Yeah, it was just the fifth record. 10 years y'know?
EB Big anniversary.
DG You just get to the point where you can only do the same thing for so long. I mean, God bless AC/DC and The Ramones and bands like that, but I could never do that. I'd go insane.
CM When you go in to record an album is there insecurity & paranoia even when you are the Foo Fighters? It's 10 years, five albums...
DG Yeah.
TH We didn't know that we had a great record till maybe a month and a half ago or something like that. I kinda takes you a while because you are so 'in it' y'know? But I don't think that we think before we go in......you might because you have to write the songs.
EB You wrote and sang on one Taylor.
TH Yeah, I did.
DG (whistles & claps) My little baby is all grown up. My little T is gonna leave the nest.
EB Did you go in and plan it was going to be two albums?
Yeah, we did yeah. At first I thought we should just make an acoustic record. I thought; 'forget about all the rock stuff it's time to do something different.' But then I thought about how much fun we have doing the rock thing and the big festivals and the volume....
EB And the videos.
DG The videos too. Another part of the concept was not only did we make 2 records but we'd have 2 separate live shows so we wouldn't have to incorporate the acoustic stuff into the rock. Like, Friday night we could go do the big massive laser show then Saturday a renaissance fair or something like that.
TH It's almost like two bands in a weird way. I didn't think of it till now, but it's definitely like 2 different records not like a double record in the classic sense of 'The Wall'....
CM 'The White Album'.
TH 'The White Album'. There's no, (adopts British accent) "Number Nine, Number Nine, Number Nine......"
CM No songs about pigs?
TH No songs about pigs or anything. It's almost like 2 bands and I think that in a way that's the plan for the live thing. All these bands they go and do these rock shows then they bring a couch out and do the 5 acoustic songs. We're not gonna do that. It's retarded. For us anyway.
CM We'll play 'Best Of You' and while the nation listens to it I'll sing Rocky Raccoon' to you.
TH (sings) "Rocky Raccoon...."
DG I don't even wanna tell you that story. I'll tell you as you're playing the song.

'Best Of You' plays

EB We have to get through some of theses questions. We've been quite selfish and asking our own. Jim in Sheffield wants to know if we can expect a drummers' dual between the pair of you at One Big Weekend.
DG A drummers jewel?
TH Dual.
DG Oh, a drummers' dual. No. No duals.
CM Nev in Plymoth wants to know who's the best drummer?
DG Taylor Hawkins, Foo Fighters. Number one!
TH Oh God. Shut up. It's like saying; 'Who's the best painter?'
DG Taylor Hawkins best painter. Number one!
TH I probably am the best painter.
EB So, five albums. How do you pick a set for a festival like this?
DG I guess it'll just have to be a greatest hits set. No, we'll do a bunch of new stuff, some old stuff...
EB A Rocky Raccoon moment.
TH Five song acoustic set in the middle!
CM You so always strike me as a band that if you get a chance to play a greatest hits set you look at it as a positive thing. A lot of bands shy away from it, and you wrote the first Foo Fighters album while you were still in Nirvana and you still seem to get enjoyment out of it ten years later.
DG I'll tell you what. One of the greatest feelings in the world is to go up and play a song that 50,000 people sing the chorus to. It's the best feeling in the world. These are things you've written on napkins or in the studio or things that came to mind when you were wanking in the shower or whatever. These are moments in your life that 50, 000 people share with you.
EB Izzy from Harrigate wants to know if you've any more plans to work with the legend that is Jack Black.
DG Yeah.
TH You just did a song with him didn't you.
DG We just did a new song with them about a week ago.
EB Tell us.
DG I can't tell. Big secret.
TH Did I just ruin it?
CM Do you dress up?
DG I don't. We have our own studio and we had them come in.
EB Jack & Kyle?
DG Yeah, Jack & Kyle. We had them come in and we did an 8 minute long epic which you'll love.
CB Just do "Play the greatest song in the world, or I'll eat your soul"
DG I don't even have a guitar or anything.
CM Just do it.
DG Listen to my voice.
TH He needs to save his voice y'know?
EB He has a job!
DG I DO! It might not seem like it to you, but I take this very seriously!
TH (mimicing Edith's voice) He's got a job!
EB No mocking me with my accent!
TH (mimicing Edith's voice) He's got a bloody job!
CM I don't know where you're from!
DG What was that?
CM Oh dear. Dave are you the type of person that says yes a lot? There's so many projects you've worked on outside of the Foo Fighters.
DG Yeah.
CM Is it a case in rock superstardom where people say; 'Ring Dave - he'll do it!'?
Honestly; it's usually people I know. Like the new Nine Inch Nails record I play drums on that. I don't know Trent, he's not like one of my best friends, but I met him over the years a bunch of times and he called up and said 'I need drums on my record' and I said 'Ok' and he said 'When can you do it?' I said 'I dunno. Tomorrow?'. We did it for 4 or 5 days and that was it. Then someone like Queens Of The Stone Age, I've known Josh for like 14 years.
EB Talking of mates. Paul in Liverpool* said that apparently on your fridge you've got a polaroid of yourself holding up a pair of Brian May's underpants.
DG I do.
EB what? How?
DG Shall we talk about that?
TH Well.....
EB Taylor, c'mon tell us the story.
DG Go on Taylor
TH We love you Brian....
DG I love you Brain.
TH ...and if you or your kids are listening we love you and you're the best guitar player in the world.
DG But!
TH He came down to do some guitars on the last record on 'Tired Of You' and because he was just visiting, obviously I don't think he lives in LA most of the time, he brought his laundry with him....and in his laundry was his underpants.
DG (laughs) Is that what happened?
TH Isn't it?
DG Sounds good to me?
CM (laughs)
TH I think it is. Right?
DG I think that's what happened.
TH It was clean!
DG It was green!
EB Urrrugh! Ok, we're gonna leave that story.
DG No. I mean they were green.
EB People are eating their lunch.
DG They were meant to be green. They were made green!
TH It's like, this shirt is blue. It's not blue because I spilt...
EB Blue beer over it?
CM I can't believe that's where we've ran out of time but we have. Thank you very much for coming in and being thoroughly sound blokes.
DG Thanks for having us.
EB We look forward to the weekend.
DG Me too. It's gonna be a lot of fun. Alright. See you then.

* that'd be me then.