Dave Grohl has confirmed what many fans suspected, he played all of the drum tracks recorded for the new Foo Fighters album But Here We Are. Grohl revealed this fact during Monday mornings global-streaming event Preparing Music For Concerts, and event which also saw them reveal their new touring drummer, Josh Freese. The Freese reveal made headlines worldwide. The drummer for punk veterans The Vandals and post-punk legends Devo, Freese has played with may of the biggest stars in rock, pop and metal, prior to joining the Foo Fighters, with stints behind the skins in Guns N Roses, A Perfect Circle, Nine Inche Nails, Weezer and Sublime with Rome. He's also contributed drums to over 400 albums, with massive records by everyone from Evanescence to The Offspring to Avril Lavigne and Katy Perry. It is not known yet whether plans are in place for Freese to record drums for the Foo Fighters but he has officially joined them in the live capacity as of the streaming event. Freese has previously performed with the Foo Fighters during their Taylor Hawkins' tribute concert.
Grohl laying down the drums for But Here We Are marks the first time he has tracked drums on a Foo Fighters album since he recorded the song Cold Day In The Sun on 2005's In Your Honor. That song of course featured late-Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins on guitar and vocals. Grohl picking up the sticks again in the wake of his dear friend's passing feels like it could be part of the grieving process and it may well be, however the public unveiling that he did so was made almost completely by accident, with an off-hand comment from Freese during the stream inspiring Grohl to spill the beans.
After playing the unreleased song Nothing At All on the stream, Freese commented "When you explained the beat on the record and you’re like, ‘I think I played it with one hand,’ and I’m kinda doing the same thing. It feels good and sounds cool, you know?” to which Grohl replied “It was unintentional, I did it when I demoed it at my house, and I’d just woken up and I was tired. But on the shitty drum set at my house, it just kinda sounded better. You’re not hitting the hi-hat and the snare at the same time, so it sort of has more space.”
Grohl's last full album on the drums for the Foo Fighters was 1997's The Colour and The Shape.
Foo Fighters recently shared a heartfelt new song Under You. A reflective modern rock song with some understated '90s emo elements, Under You sounds like the product of a band processing their collective grief through music.
Frontman Dave Grohl's voice evokes a sense of heavy longing as he sings the lines "Someone said I’ll never see your face again/ Part of me just can’t believe it’s true/ Pictures of us sharing songs and cigarettes/ This is how I’ll always picture you.” that partners well with the desperation of previous single Rescued. The drumes on these tracks are now confirmed as being performed by Grohl.
Watch the lyric video for Under You below.
Both songs are set to feature on the forthcoming album But Here We Are, which is scheduled for release on June 2nd. But Here We Are will be the first recorded output from the Foos since the passing of beloved drummer Taylor Hawkins, and it is evident from the two singles released so far, it will be an emotional listen for fans. Described in a statement as "the first chapter of the band's new life" and a “brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year,” the band once again worked with co-producer Greg Kurstin to create But Here We Are.
Taylor Hawkins was last seen in Australia playing a massive one-off show at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong, Victoria, earlier this month where he was his usual energetic, captivating self, dominating behind the kit and then leading the crowd in a massive cover of Queen's Somebody To Love on vocals. His last known recorded output with the Foo Fighters was their 2021 record Medicine At Midnight, which picked up three Grammy Awards in April.
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