Foo Fighters Release Free Five-Song EP

What should have been an exciting new set of songs for the Foo Fighters has turned into something a little bittersweet for the iconic band. After weeks of teasing fans that something was going to happen once the countdown clock on their website hit zero, the Foo Fighters have finally unveiled just what was waiting on the other side. Like most of their fans, who speculated new music, that is exactly what the band released.

On Monday (Nov. 23), the band’s countdown clock hit zero which led to the release of a five-song EP titled, The Saint Cecilia EP. The album was named after the Saint Cecilia Hotel which the band stayed at during their time at 2013’s Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, TX. In a lengthy letter, Grohl explained just how the short album came together which apparently took a lot (and we mean a lot) of people coming in and out of the hotel during their two-week stay.

But before the letter got to just how the recording session happened, frontman Dave Grohl wrote a preface in which he dedicated the album to those who lost their lives during the ruthless and uncalled for killing in Paris back on Nov. 13.

“The Saint Cecilia EP was put into motion back in October of this year as a celebration of life and music. The concept being that, as our world tour [the “Sonic Highways Tour”/”Broken Leg Tour”] drew to a close this week, we wanted to share our love of both with you in return for everything you have given us.

Now, there is a new, hopeful intention that, even in the smallest way, perhaps these songs can bring a little light into this sometimes dark world. To remind us that music is life, and that hope and healing go hand in hand with song. That much can never be taken away.

To all who were affected by the atrocities in Paris, loved ones and friends, our hearts go out to you and your families. We will return and celebrate life and love with you once again someday with our music. As it should be done.”

But with the sadness also came the bright and cheerfulness of the letter where Grohl talks about what catapulted him and rest of the guys to make Sonic Highways, the issue of his broken leg, and how the five-song EP came to be. To read Grohl’s complete letter or to download the free, five-song EP, head on over here, to the album’s website, to get it.

Watch the Foo Fighters Hit the Stage for Fourth of July

Injury be damned, at least that was the message Dave Grohl was sending out on the first stop of the Foo Fighters’ North American tour which kicked off on Saturday (July 4) in Washington D.C. in celebration of not only the nation, but also the 20th anniversary of the band’s self-titled, debut record.

Up until last week, the status of the tour was still unknown since Grohl’s infamous fall in Sweden. Fans were beginning to speculate that a cancellation was set to happen, but lo and behold, being the true rock stars that they are, the band decided to go forward with the three-month long tour which will wrap up in early October.

Thanks to several YouTube users, videos from the kick-off show/Fourth of July blow out was uploaded online. Not only do we see the group perform some of their biggest songs, we were also given a look at the new stage set up for the band which includes a rock and roll version of the Game of Thrones Iron Throne for Grohl to sit on during the shows.

Kind of bad-ass.

Instead of playing off the severe injury, Grohl decided to address it directly before beginning on “Big Me.” In his speech to the audience, he explained how it all happened on a “beautiful night like tonight in a stadium full of people” and how he “fell off the fucking stage.” He even played the footage of the fall on the big screen behind the band as he continued to ask the crowd if they saw the video on YouTube.

It’s nice to know that he’s got such a good sense of humor about it because he even replayed it again.

Check out the videos from the show below, but try to ignore the annoying ass commentary on the videos.

Foo Fighters July 4 Washington D.C. RFK Stadium Set List

1. “Everlong”
2. “Monkey Wrench”
3. “Learn to Fly”
4. “Something From Nothing”
5. “The Pretender”
6. “Cold Day in the Sun”
7. “Congregation”
8. “Walk”
9. “Big Me”
10. “My Hero” (acoustic)
11. “Times Like These” (acoustic)
12. “Under Pressure” (Queen & David Bowie cover)
13. “All My Life”
14. “These Days’
15. “Outside”
16. “Breakout”
17. “For All the Cows”
18. “Alone + Easy Target”
19. “This Is a Call”
20. “Generator”
21. “Best of You”

Foo Fighters Confirm North American Tour is Still On

Following the massive injury Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl suffered after missing the edge of the stage in Sweden a couple of weeks ago, the band, reluctantly, had to cancel all European tour dates they had previously scheduled including last weekend’s Glastonbury Festival.

Since the cancellation announcement was made, fans of the band in North America were beginning to wonder if their upcoming tour would also be affected because of Grohl’s injuries. Turns out, the North American tour is completely safe from cancellation and will go on as scheduled.

Taking to Twitter, the band posted a simple tweet confirming the tour will kick off this Saturday, July 4, at the R.F.K. Stadium in Washington D.C. for the band’s Fourth of July Bash.

Can’t f***ing wait for the 4th!!! See you at home, DC. http://t.co/4gp3vpVOLz—
Foo Fighters (@foofighters) June 29, 2015

The Fourth of July Bash kick off is not going to be like any other tour stops; it’s going to be a party. The band had announced that the fourth of July tour stop is going to be a party to celebrate the band’s self-titled, debut record which will officially turn 20 on the Fourth of July.

Like the band needed any other reason to light up fireworks and rock out.

Special guests like Joan Jett, Heart, LL Cool J, and many more are slated to appear at the show on Saturday.

The complete list of Summer/Fall tour dates can be seen below.

2015 FOO FIGHTERS NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:

7/4/15 – Washington DC – RFK Stadium

7/6/15 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center *

7/9/15 – Toronto, ON – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre *

7/16/15 – New York, NY – Citi Field *

7/18/15 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park **

7/19/15 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park *

8/12/15 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place *

8/13/15 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome *

8/17/15 – Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre *

8/19/15 – Maryland Heights, MO – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater *

8/21/15 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center *

8/22/15 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center *

8/24/15 – Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre *

8/25/15 – Pittsburgh, PA – First Niagara Pavilion *

8/27/15 – Indianapolis, IN – Klipsch Music Center

8/29/15 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field (SOLD OUT)

9/11/15 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena

9/12/15 – George, WA – Gorge Amphitheatre

9/14/15 – Portland, OR – Moda Center

9/16/15 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre

9/18/15 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center

9/21/15 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum

9/25/15 – Phoenix, AZ – AK-Chin Pavilion

9/27/15 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater

9/29/15 – Oklahoma City, OK – Chesapeake Energy Arena

9/30/15 – Wichita, KS – INTRUST Bank Arena

10/4/15 – Atlanta, GA – Centennial Olympic Park

10/5/15 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena

10/7/15 – Memphis, TN – FedExForum

* w/ special guest Royal Blood
** w/ special guest Mission of Burma

BBC Form Supergroup to Cover Beach Boys Song

What happens when you get together tons of musicians for a worthy cause? Usually one hell of a song.

Thanks to the BBC, tons of musicians were asked to come together to cover the Beach Boys “God Only Knows” from Pet Sounds to officially launch of BBC Music. The TV spot featuring the reported 27 artists began to air yesterday (Oct. 7).

Pharrell Williams, Elton John, Chris Martin, Florence Welch, Stevie Wonder, Brian May, One Direction, Chrissie Hynde, Baaba Maal, Sam Smith, Lorde, Dave Grohl and many more can be spotted in the video. Also making the list of performers was Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys; how else do you pay homage to the guy (or band) that wrote and the song.

As if the long list of singers on the track wasn’t enough to get your head spinning, the BBC also used their 80-piece BBC Concert Orchestra on the song.

We warned you, epic might be an understatement. Give the track as listen.

When asked by The Guardian about the remake of the song, Wilson said: “All the artists did such a beautiful job. I can’t thank them enough. I’m just honored ‘God Only Knows’ was chosen. ‘God Only Knows’ is a very special song. An extremely spiritual song and one of the best I’ve ever written.”

The cover will be released as a single to raise funds for the BBC’s Children in Need charity. This isn’t the first time the BBC has done such a supergroup for charity. Back in 1997, the network released a version of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” featuring Elton John, Bono, and Reed himself.

Jack White and Dave Grohl Release Statement About White’s Recent Rant

In case you have been asleep most of the day, you probably have heard about Jack White and his Boston rant last night against Rolling Stone. The former White Stripes frontman stopped himself and deemed the rant to be “Kanye West-esque.”

The rant, like you probably read took jabs at Rolling Stone and how they sold their musical soul to the paparazzi devil by posting such riveting article like “What Taylor Swift Wore” and even took a jab at the Foo Fighters and the fact that they have three guitarists.

Instead of getting into a word debate with White, the Foo Fighters took to their Twitter and posted a playful response to the word vomit with the caption, “Busted…behold, the secret of the Foo Fighters sound….”

Busted….behold, the secret of the Foo Fighters sound…. pic.twitter.com/xbUUTwuyAt

— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) September 18, 2014

Classic.

Instead of letting this spin out of control and become a tabloid making headline (like it hadn’t already), both White and Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl have responded to the audio in a joint statement, well kind of; both White and Grohl actually have the same publicist.

What a way to keep it in the family.

Read the statement below and hear the audio after that.

“Dear dream-makers of the media….

Last night Jack White made a joke on stage!

There was a minor equipment mishap, specifically with his guitar, and in an effort to keep his audience engaged, he made a joke! It was meant to be funny and self deprecating: “hey sorry, you’re stuck with just me up here…” vs the Foo Fighters who have three guitar players on stage and regularly play stadium shows.

Jack has the upmost respect for the Foo Fighters and communicated with Grohl this morning.

So if you’ll let us, we’ll all continue with our day and we assure you: All is well in the rock n roll world.”

Do you think White was just being sarcastic or was it a case of narcissist douchebaggery? You be the judge of that and for the record, White was in Boston (like we said earlier), not Cleveland. When you listen to the audio, you’ll understand.

Foo Fighters Shut Down New Orleans Block

How does one shut down an entire block with music? Simple, ask The Foo Fighters because the iconic rock band managed to do just that over the weekend in New Orleans.

Ever since announcing that a new LP was on the horizon for the band, they have revealed it would be different with them recording at studios all over the country instead of sticking to just one.

During the weekend, they made their stop in New Orleans, setting up shop at Preservation Hall for a few days with Butch Vig. Then on Saturday, they decided to treat the people with an impromptu show which lasted 90 minutes in Preservation Hall’s courtyard which lead to an entire block being shut down.

According to The Times-Picayune, the show began just after 9:00 p.m. with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band performing a set. The Foo Fighters then took the stage for their set including some of their hits like “Times Like These,” “My Hero” and “Learn to Fly” on the list.

During the set frontman Dave Grohl discussed the album’s recording process as well as his experience while being in New Orleans. He also talked about how he wrote lyrics to new songs after immersing himself into the city and the musicians that call New Orleans home after interviewing them for his HBO series.

There is so far no word on what the name of the new studio album will be or when it is scheduled to be released, but on thing that is for sure is that it is happening.

Watch the one of the videos from New Orleans below. 

Artists Come Together to Celebrate Nirvana

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have finally been admitted to the museum and how else do you celebrate the honor than to host a big ceremony and then follow it up with an invite-only, intimate show?

That is exactly what went on last night. The remaining members of Nirvana -Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear- reunited at St. Vitus in Brooklyn, New York for an intimate set of Nirvana songs. Though Kurt Cobain left big shoes to fill, Joan Jett, St. Vincent, Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis, and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon all did their best to fill the role, even for one song.

Jett sang “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” St. Vincent performed “Lithium,” Gordon also sat in throughout the jam session while surprise guest Lorde took on “All Apologies.”

As for the ceremony, R.E.M. frontman, Michael Stipe was chosen to honor the band and that he did when he proclaimed that they “tapped into a voice that was yearning to be heard.” It also helped that Stipe was the godfather to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s daughter, Frances Bean.

Watch all the videos from the show here:

LORDE, “ALL APOLOGIES”:

JOAN JETT, “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT”:

ST. VINCENT, “HEART SHAPED BOX”:

ST. VINCENT, “LITHIUM”:

Also included in this year’s induction class were  Peter Gabriel, Cat Stevens, KISS, The E Street Band and many, many more.

 

Trent Reznor Receives Apology From Grammy Producer

It was probably one of the most anticipated performances of the Grammys,Trent Reznor, Queens of the Stone Age, Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsay Buckingham and Dave Grohl, but apparently that didn’t cross the mind of the people behind the yearly award show.

Instead of replacing one of the other lackluster performances during the three-hour show, the runner decided to end the show with a high by putting the show at the end.

Understandable, keep the best of last and end on a high note, but how they did it is what drove Reznor nuts to the point that he took to Twitter to air his grievance about the decision to cut the performance short and put in all the advertisements for the event in its place.

Reznor tweeted the following about the decision: “Music’s biggest night… to be disrespected. A heartfelt FUCK YOU guys.”

It took three days, by Reznor received an apology from Grammy executive producer, Ken Ehrlich. “I’m sorry he was upset,” Ehrlich told the Hollywood Reporter. “I was really thrilled that we were finally getting him on the Grammys.”

He continued, “The final jam started with Arcade Fire a few years ago, and LL Cool J last year. I want to end on a high, an up note. I did tell them we’d take it as long as we could. The number was about five, six minutes long, and we got to within a minute twenty of the end. We got as close as we could possibly get.”

Foo Fighters Confirm Eighth Album

After many rumors and lots of coy comments from band members, The Foo Fighters have finally confirmed that the band are in fact recording a new album.

Since last year, Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins had been dropping little hints in interviews that they had been working on new material. In an interview, Hawkins had said that Grohl was in the process of writing some new material while he was out on tour with his side project.

Late last night, the band posted a picture of the master tapes on shelf with labels that read, “Foo Fighters ‘LP 8.'” The caption that accompanied the picture was probably the icing on every Foo Fighter fans’ cake which simply read, “It’s Fucking ON!”

How else would one of the biggest rock bands of now announce their upcoming new album?

View this post on Instagram

It's Fucking ON

A post shared by Foo Fighters (@foofighters) on Jan 16, 2014 at 3:44pm PST

We can all rest assure that the new album will be coming out sometime in 2014, but there’s a slight chance that it might be sooner than most of us think. The band have been hinting at it for almost a year and even Grohl has said before that they had been working on it in secret.

Who knows, maybe they’ll be able to one-up Beyoncé’s secret album release.

Dave Grohl to Release Collaboration with Zac Brown Band

We know that Dave Grohl can do just about anything he puts his mind to, and now he might have his eyes set on country music….well, kind of.

Before you start converting to the Church of Country, you might want to back track a second and listen to (okay fine, read) what we have to say. When the Foo Fighter frontman was  at the 2013 Country Music Awards earlier this month, he was seated right next to the Zac Brown Band. Turns out, it might have not been one of those publicity stunts that award shows like to pull; Grohl and the group are actually releasing a real EP in December.

The collaboration that they worked on, “Day of the Dead,” will be featured on The Grohl Sessions Vol. 1 due out on December 10 through iTunes. The song also happens to be the same one that they performed on the CMAs. But, like anything that Grohl does, there is more to come. It was also announced that a Vol. 2 is currently in the works and should be out some time in 2014 right alongside the physical release of Vol. 1.

While speaking with AP, Brown described just how the meeting occurred between the country singer and the iconic drummer. They met while Brown was waiting in line at John Varvatos’ Hollywood store to pick up altered clothing for the Grammys when they struck up a conversation over their mutual  love of analog recording gear. From then on, you can say it was history.

“I don’t know how I tricked him into working with us, but it’s really cool,” Brown said, about Grohl and his desire to work with them. But then again, Grohl is a die-hard music fan, and if you don’t believe it, just look at his resume.

Check out some of the footage from their session in the studio.