Huw Stephens It's the first show of the new year, we're celebrating hot tips for 2005 and we're sort of guessing that the Foo Fighters might make it big this year. Dave Grohl is on the line - how are you?
Dave Grohl Alright man, how are you?
HS Good. So where are you Dave?
DG I'm in Los Angeles. I'm at home. I just woke up, I'm having coffee. I was at the studio until about 3 in the morning, so...
HS So you're working on a new album is that right?
DG Yeah, we've been working on the new stuff. We've been working on the new stuff for the better part of last year. All of 2004 we we're writing and rehearsing and we built a studio for ourselves here in Los Angeles. Our last two records we made in my basement in my home in Virginia and since everyone spends the majority of their time out here in Los Angeles now we decided to build a place here, and we bought an 8,000 square foot warehouse and turned it into one of the greatest studios in LA. It's like a complex. It's amazing.
HS Wow.
DG Yeah. We bought the building in April, we started building then and we finished about a month and a half ago and just immediately started recording.
HS So this is exclusively just for the Foo Fighters. You're not letting it out to anybody? No friends' bands or anything?
DG Well, I think eventually we probably will. But, we're gonna be in there for another few months and then we're gonna mix there and then hit the road for a year and a half and while we're away of course we'll let all our friends get in there and use it. People that we know can go in and work anytime they want and use it.
HS It's like going on holiday and giving your keys to a mate.
DG Exactly, it's like sub-letting to a mate.
HS Absolutely. So what can you tell us about the new album? It's out this year is it?
DG Yeah, we're planning on having it out either June or July I can't remember. I think June is the month that we're talking about. It's incredible. It's the most prepared we've ever been to make a record. Usually when we go into the studio we just sort of rush in, we have a couple of songs but then we write a lot of stuff when we're in the studio. This time, since we had almost a year off really, I just stayed at home and wrote so much music and when it was time to get together with the band to start rehearsing I had four or five hours of music so we just kinda pieced through it and decided rather than......This is our 5th record and our 10th year as a band. I thought "man, we can't just make another record we need to do something kinda special". So, seeing as we've always had rock songs and we've always had sleepy, acoustic, ballad, track-things, I thought "Instead of trying to fit all of those songs on one CD why don't we do a double album where there's one CD that's rock and the other CD is beautiful, Ry Cooder, sleepy, acoustic make-a-grown-man cry music".
HS Oh, nice!
DG It's really amazing. What we're doing now is finishing up the rock album in the next week and then we're starting on the acoustic thing. And the rock stuff's great, and the best thing about doing it that way is you split it up so that there's no middle ground. So the rock stuff is the most rocking stuff we've ever worked on ever. Then the acoustic stuff will be kinda the trippiest, most beautiful, sleepy music we've ever made, almost like a soundtrack. It's turning out to be pretty amazing.
HS Wow, so you're doing it completely separate, will it have different titles too?
DG No, it'll all be one CD....we don't really know. It's so weird; we've gone from everything from building the studio by ourselves, to writing music unlike anything we've ever done before. It's really kind of a departure for the band just because it's the best music we've ever made, but a lot of it is very different to anything we've ever done.
HS Sure.
DG And the idea was really to make it sound like a rock album with 12 songs, and that each song was recorded at a different session. So the sounds are really different and each song sounds like it was recorded at a different studio at a different time. It's pretty wild.
HS Sounds pretty ambitious. We're looking forward to hearing that. And there's going to be live dates, I know you've confirmed Oxygen.
DG We haven't announced a lot of the dates yet but we're spending our summer in Europe doing festivals. We're doing tonnes of 'em so we're gonna be over there for a lot of the summer doing gigs. Usually once we finish a record we leave for a year and a half and circle the planet a couple of times.
HS Do you like the touring element of it?
DG I do. I love playing, I really love playing and I really can't wait to play this new music because a lot of it is written as Wembley Stadium anthems that'll have 12,000 people screaming along with you, so I'm really looking forward to going out and playing and I do love touring but the traveling gets you after a while. I'm about to turn 36 and those kids from Good Charlotte I'm sure when they wake up in the morning their knees don't hurt but mine are starting to hurt. (laughs)
HS What does Dave Grohl do on a day off?
DG Well, I'm waiting for my car to be returned. My car is in the shop but it's on its way back. I'm gonna do a little shopping I think, gonna hit the grocery store.
HS Bit of breakfast?
DG Haven't had breakfast yet. I've had a cigarette and coffee, that's kinda my pre-breakfast ritual.
HS We were hoping Dave, I know you've just woken up and everything, can you do something acapella maybe?
DG Oh, of the new stuff?
HS Yeah.
DG No. Y'see that requires a good hour, an hour and a half of warm up for me to do that.
HS That's fair enough.
DG My vocal coach would kill me.
HS We thought we'd risk it and ask you.
DG Oh, good try.
HS All this week on Radio One we're doing tips for the next 12 months. Clothes. What are you tipping clothes wise?
DG Ooh, clothes. Y'know what? Usually, when anyone asks me what I wanted for Christmas I have no idea. I say; "Ah, Nothing" or "just a card" or "something funny".
HS A car?
DG No, a card. (laughs) "A car, something little y'know?" But this year I said; "I just need clothes man". The same pair of jeans can only last so long so I think 2005 is a good year to start cleaning up. I think people should start cleaning up, dressing smart. It feels good to run around in an oily pair of pants but, it's nice when you look nice and when you look nice you feel nice. I think it's time to start stepping up the game a little bit.
HS And any tips for food?
DG Y'know what: international cheeses. I've always been a cheese advocate I really like myself some cheese. The stuff that just kinda smells like vomit; that's kinda my favourite cheese.
HS Music wise then Dave for 2005?
DG 2005, there are gonna be a lot of amazing records coming out in 2005. The Queens Of The Stone Age record....
HS Have you heard it?
DG I have, it's unbelievable. The new Nine Inch Nails record; unbelievable! There's gonna be some great music coming out in 2005. I think it's gonna be an incredible year for music, y'know it goes in cycles and you go through these lulls, but 2005 is gonna be a really good year for interesting rock music, challenging stuff that'll hopefully make a difference and change the course of popular music. I think it will. I think 2005 is gonna make a big difference to people musically.
HS Thanks so much for coming on the show we can't wait to hear the new Foos album. We're gonna play The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster next.
DG Another great band.
HS You a fan?
DG I am. Absolutely. I think they're amazing.
HS Wicked. Have a brilliant day but more importantly have a wicked year Dave. Nice one.
DG Happy New Year.
HS Speak to you soon.
DG See ya Man.