SXSW 2013: Dave Grohl Leads Sound City Players in Last Show

Dave Grohl and Alain Johannes perform at Citi Presents Sound City Players Live at SXSW on March 14th, 2013 in Austin, Texas.

Dave Grohl made a promise when he took the stage with his Sound City Players last night in Austin for a performance that doubled as their SXSW debut and, he said, their last-ever show. "This is gonna be a long fuckin' night," the singer, guitarist, drummer and now documentarian announced at Stubb's.

True to his word, Grohl led the Sound City Players through a three hour and 20 minute concert comprising nearly 40 songs, featuring Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, Rick Springfield and more, backed by a house band made up mostly of Foo Fighters. All the acts have recorded at the beloved Sound City studios in Los Angeles, which was the subject of Grohl's recent documentary by the same name and the inspiration for the accompanying soundtrack album, Sound City – Real to Reel.

SXSW 2013: Dave Grohl's Keynote Speech

Afternoon rumors that Paul McCartney would make an appearance proved unfounded, but it's hard to imagine where they would have slotted him in. The show, presented by Citi, required seven different set lists as guests rotated through and the songs veered from heavy to poppy and back again.

Queens of the Stone Age collaborator Alain Johannes was the first to join the Sound City Players onstage, singing and playing thunderous guitar on a handful of songs, including "Hanging Tree," which he co-wrote for QOTSA, and "Reach Out" by his former band Eleven.

Nicks was next, and she surrounded a somber new song, "You Can't Fix This," with more familiar fare from her own catalog and Fleetwood Mac's, including a version of "Landslide" with Grohl accompanying her on a 12-string acoustic guitar. 

After Nicks finished with "Gold Dust Woman," given added heft by the Foo Fighters, she yielded to Chris Goss from Masters of Reality. Rage Against the Machine (and now Black Sabbath) drummer Brad Wilk laid down a speedy train rhythm that pushed through squalls of guitar on "She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On)," while "Time Slowing Down" was a mid-tempo brooder.

Fear leader Lee Ving joined Grohl and company for a quick tour of old-school hardcore, barking out lyrics in a voice with the gnarled bite of an old-growth thorn tree. "It may be short, but you still get the same number of notes because we play 'em fast," Ving said after the 60-second blast "Gimme Some Action."

Following Ving with Springfield was an incongruous choice, as Grohl acknowledged, but the singer launched into a string of catchy hits, including "I've Done Everything for You" and, of course, "Jessie's Girl," that served as a strong reminder of his pop bona fides.

That's about when things started getting loose. Grohl switched to drums as former Nirvana bandmates Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear joined him, Slipknot singer Corey Taylor and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen for a mini-set that slid quickly into sing-along, pump-your-fist versions of Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me" (with Taylor Hawkins trading off with Taylor on vocals) and "Surrender." 

Finally, Fogerty came out and shut things down with a quick spin through some Creedence Clearwater Revival songs and his own "Centerfield." Grohl looked positively delighted when Fogerty played the vibrato guitar lick that opens "Born on a Bayou," and the band rolled easily through "Bad Moon Rising" and "Proud Mary" before ending the show with a high-octane version of "Fortunate Son."

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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SXSW 2013: Dave Grohl Leads Sound City Players in Last Show

Dave Grohl and Alain Johannes perform at Citi Presents Sound City Players Live at SXSW on March 14th, 2013 in Austin, Texas.

Dave Grohl made a promise when he took the stage with his Sound City Players last night in Austin for a performance that doubled as their SXSW debut and, he said, their last-ever show. "This is gonna be a long fuckin' night," the singer, guitarist, drummer and now documentarian announced at Stubb's.

True to his word, Grohl led the Sound City Players through a three hour and 20 minute concert comprising nearly 40 songs, featuring Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, Rick Springfield and more, backed by a house band made up mostly of Foo Fighters. All the acts have recorded at the beloved Sound City studios in Los Angeles, which was the subject of Grohl's recent documentary by the same name and the inspiration for the accompanying soundtrack album, Sound City – Real to Reel.

SXSW 2013: Dave Grohl's Keynote Speech

Afternoon rumors that Paul McCartney would make an appearance proved unfounded, but it's hard to imagine where they would have slotted him in. The show, presented by Citi, required seven different set lists as guests rotated through and the songs veered from heavy to poppy and back again.

Queens of the Stone Age collaborator Alain Johannes was the first to join the Sound City Players onstage, singing and playing thunderous guitar on a handful of songs, including "Hanging Tree," which he co-wrote for QOTSA, and "Reach Out" by his former band Eleven.

Nicks was next, and she surrounded a somber new song, "You Can't Fix This," with more familiar fare from her own catalog and Fleetwood Mac's, including a version of "Landslide" with Grohl accompanying her on a 12-string acoustic guitar. 

After Nicks finished with "Gold Dust Woman," given added heft by the Foo Fighters, she yielded to Chris Goss from Masters of Reality. Rage Against the Machine (and now Black Sabbath) drummer Brad Wilk laid down a speedy train rhythm that pushed through squalls of guitar on "She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On)," while "Time Slowing Down" was a mid-tempo brooder.

Fear leader Lee Ving joined Grohl and company for a quick tour of old-school hardcore, barking out lyrics in a voice with the gnarled bite of an old-growth thorn tree. "It may be short, but you still get the same number of notes because we play 'em fast," Ving said after the 60-second blast "Gimme Some Action."

Following Ving with Springfield was an incongruous choice, as Grohl acknowledged, but the singer launched into a string of catchy hits, including "I've Done Everything for You" and, of course, "Jessie's Girl," that served as a strong reminder of his pop bona fides.

That's about when things started getting loose. Grohl switched to drums as former Nirvana bandmates Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear joined him, Slipknot singer Corey Taylor and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen for a mini-set that slid quickly into sing-along, pump-your-fist versions of Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me" (with Taylor Hawkins trading off with Taylor on vocals) and "Surrender." 

Finally, Fogerty came out and shut things down with a quick spin through some Creedence Clearwater Revival songs and his own "Centerfield." Grohl looked positively delighted when Fogerty played the vibrato guitar lick that opens "Born on a Bayou," and the band rolled easily through "Bad Moon Rising" and "Proud Mary" before ending the show with a high-octane version of "Fortunate Son."

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Dave Grohl, John Fogerty Lead Sound City Players on 'Kimmel'

Dave Grohl, John Fogerty Lead Sound City Players on 'Kimmel'Group burns through Creedence Clearwater song 'Fortunate Son' $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); By

Dave Grohl's Sound City Players keep rolling, with the all-star jam session packing Hollywood Boulevard last night as part of a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Grohl and John Fogerty anchored a scorching version of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son," trading verses and singing harmony on the chorus while Taylor Hawkins propelled the tune with a loose, rollicking backbeat. It was the latest in a growing string of gigs by the Sound City Players, who will also be performing at SXSW in Austin on March 14th. The group grew out Grohl's recent Sound City documentary, about the famed L.A. recording studio.

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Dave Grohl, John Fogerty Lead Sound City Players on 'Kimmel'

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Dave Grohl's Sound City Players keep rolling, with the all-star jam session packing Hollywood Boulevard last night as part of a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Grohl and John Fogerty anchored a scorching version of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son," trading verses and singing harmony on the chorus while Taylor Hawkins propelled the tune with a loose, rollicking backbeat. It was the latest in a growing string of gigs by the Sound City Players, who will also be performing at SXSW in Austin on March 14th. The group grew out Grohl's recent Sound City documentary, about the famed L.A. recording studio.

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Dave Grohl Directs Soundgarden's Raucous 'By Crooked Steps'

Dave Grohl Directs Soundgarden's Raucous 'By Crooked Steps' Grunge heroes make riding Segways look cooler than ever $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); });

Dave Grohl's already got one directorial project already under his belt – his upcoming documentary Sound City – and now he's trying his hand at a music video by helming the new clip for Soundgarden's "By Crooked Steps," off last year's King Animal. The video finds Chris Cornell and his bandmates playing cards, then suiting up in some badass leather jackets and hopping on their sweet rides – that is, Segways – and heading to a gig. After rolling up in style, Soundgarden plugs in and kicks out the jams for the moshing hordes, but only after they shut down a flustered laptop DJ who sics the cops on the grunge heroes. 

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Dave Grohl Directs Soundgarden's Raucous 'By Crooked Steps'

Dave Grohl Directs Soundgarden's Raucous 'By Crooked Steps' Grunge heroes make riding Segways look cooler than ever $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); });

Dave Grohl's already got one directorial project already under his belt – his upcoming documentary Sound City – and now he's trying his hand at a music video by helming the new clip for Soundgarden's "By Crooked Steps," off last year's King Animal. The video finds Chris Cornell and his bandmates playing cards, then suiting up in some badass leather jackets and hopping on their sweet rides – that is, Segways – and heading to a gig. After rolling up in style, Soundgarden plugs in and kicks out the jams for the moshing hordes, but only after they shut down a flustered laptop DJ who sics the cops on the grunge heroes. 

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Q&A: Dave Grohl on His 'Sound City' Doc and Taking Risks in Music

Dave Grohl attends the Cinema Cafe at Filmmaker Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on January 22nd, 2013.

After debuting his film Sound City – Real to Reel and his supergroup, the Sound City Players, at Sundance last week, Dave Grohl is finally ready to celebrate.

"Sundance was always our goal," he tells Rolling Stone. "If we could make the deadline, submit, get accepted, this is where we would premiere the movie. [Last year] we got trashed in a yurt up in the mountains and were like, if we come back, we're having the party here. That was exactly a year ago, and it actually fucking happened."

The Sound City Players are scheduled to play their next show in Los Angeles on January 31st, with other dates "coming soon in cool places," Grohl says. "The musicians have all really jumped on after the [Park City] show. I didn't know if Stevie [Nicks] was gonna be able to do New York, and after we did this she was like, 'I'm doing New York.'" Grohl says he'll keep crossing his fingers for an appearance from Paul McCartney.

Rolling Stone sat down with Grohl in a mountainside condo overlooking Park City and chatted with the drummer and first-time director about the Neve soundboard, sharing a stage with Lee Ving and why the film is the most important thing he's ever done.

Video: Peter Travers Picks 5 Great Films From Sundance 2013

I have a theory that Sound City is actually your memoir.
Oh yeah?

Well, it's framed with three guys from Seattle getting in a van.
The great thing about the Sound City story is that it's not just one story. I'm sure each one of these musicians would tell the story the exact same way. Their love for the studio, how important it was to them as a person, how that place changed their life, what technology has done to the way we make music and what technology has done to Sound City and the importance of the human element in making music. I bet you Neil Young and Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks and Rick Springfield could all make the same movie that I did. Because even in that introduction where I say, "We were just kids, we had these songs, and we had these dreams and we threw them in the back of a van," each one of those people can say the same thing.

I always had a strong connection to that studio because Nirvana wasn't meant to be the biggest band in the world. We just weren't. So when we went there for 16 days, we weren't making that album with the intention that we were going to change the fuckin' world. We just wanted it to sound good . . . The fact that what happened actually, happened, makes me think there's something a more than just wires and knobs in that place. Personally, I have a strong emotional connection to it.

Musically, there's something magical about that place, and when I heard that they were closing I thought, "I have a studio, I make records every day. If I could be reunited with this piece of equipment that I consider to be the best sounding board I've ever worked on and the board that's responsible for the person that I am, it would be a huge full-circle emotional reunion for me." And that's why I made the movie.

You sort of isolated the Neve, the soundboard, as the magic. Are there other elements that you think were also significant?
The room where everyone recorded, it used to be a warehouse. It's where they made Vox amplifiers. It was never acoustically designed, it was just a room. But for whatever reason, if you put a drum set in this one spot, it sounded incredible. I'm not an acoustic engineer, and I could never design a studio mathematically, because it's crazy what people go through to build these acoustically perfect rooms. But Sound City just happened. And the board and that room, those two things together. That's why everybody went there. And it wasn't planned.

How much did the aesthetic of the space affect the sound that came out of there?
Tons. You didn't feel like you were at the Mondrian. You didn't feel like you were in a laboratory – you felt like you were back to the garage where you started as a musician, and in a way it would remind you that the most important thing is how it sounds. And the most important thing is how it feels. It doesn't have anything to do with the glitz or the glamour – it's all about being badass and doing something real. And they never bought a Pro Tools rig because they thought, well, you can bring one in yourself. 

How did you end up there? How did you land on Sound City?
I don't remember. I think that Nirvana had signed with the David Geffen Company and they gave us . . . maybe $100,000 to make, or $60,000 to make a record. And rather than just send us a check to Seattle, they decided they wanted us to come to L.A. so they could keep an eye on us. We couldn't afford one of the fancy places downtown, so we found out about this place that had an old Neve board. None of us had ever been there before.

And how did you decide to invite all the different artists to record with you in the film?
Part of every discussion with the musicians was about the human element of making music. Feel, imperfection, emotion, the conversation as a player, conversation between players, craft. All of those things we talk about in the film, but I thought it would make those things more clear if we demonstrated them. If you're talking about spontaneity and connecting in a moment, the McCartney/Nirvana segment makes perfect sense. I wouldn't even have to say that, you just watch it and think, Wow, they just walked into a room together and made something explosive out of nothing because of the energy in the room. It could take years to explain how or why that happens, but if you see it, those seven minutes make perfect sense. 

And releasing an album was the next step?
I wanted to show that all of these musicians come from the same place. I wanted to mix up these combinations of people that might not normally make albums together. A guy from the Germs jamming with a Beatle. Rick Springfield jamming with the Foo Fighters. Those configurations are meant to show, we're all just people and we're just musicians. I started in the garage and you started in the garage and you might have gone this way and I may have gone that way, but deep down we're all still there where we began, hopefully. So it was fun to make new music and not just go back and do the old stuff.

And the Sound City Players were an outgrowth of that?
It's an extension of the same idea. You talk about music, and then show people what that means. Take it out of the movie and put it on a stage. I am not organized in the rest of my life, I can hardly fuckin' do my laundry, but for whatever reason, I can imagine these things happening, and if I can imagine them happening then I really try to make them happen. An hour beforehand, I didn't know if we were gonna be able to do it. It's hard for me to believe, but if you have these opportunities in life, why not do them? There are times where I get so nervous before performing that I almost ruin the moment, or the experience, and I've finally realized that in those moments you have to let go of that bullshit and say, "I can't ruin this moment by being scared or by being nervous, or by being insecure or thinking that I'm not going to be able to do it. It'll be much more rewarding if I actually just do it." I would be terrified to ask Tom Petty to be in my movie, but God, I'd be an idiot not to, and when I finally did he said, "Well, you can't have a movie about Sound City without me in it, now can you?" And it's like, that's the perfect answer.

What was the most surreal moment for you at the Park City show?
Having my heroes compliment me. I'm really used to praising these people that I love, but when they sort of send praise back, it's weird, man. When Fogerty's talking about, well, this couldn't have happened without Dave's childlike enthusiasm about music, I'm like, "Stop talking about me, stop talking about me!" To be onstage with Lee Ving from Fear – I swear to God, The Decline of Western Civilization, the Penelope Spheeris movie, I got the record when I was like 12, and that really inspired me to become a musician and start a band and play punk rock music. So to stand next to Lee Ving and play "Beef Bologna," it doesn't sound like it would be this profound, life-altering moment, but it really was. It was 30 years ago that I discovered this guy, and now I'm onstage playing the songs that inspired me to become a musician. That's fuckin' nuts.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Q&A: Dave Grohl on His 'Sound City' Doc and Taking Risks in Music

Dave Grohl attends the Cinema Cafe at Filmmaker Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on January 22nd, 2013.

After debuting his film Sound City – Real to Reel and his supergroup, the Sound City Players, at Sundance last week, Dave Grohl is finally ready to celebrate.

"Sundance was always our goal," he tells Rolling Stone. "If we could make the deadline, submit, get accepted, this is where we would premiere the movie. [Last year] we got trashed in a yurt up in the mountains and were like, if we come back, we're having the party here. That was exactly a year ago, and it actually fucking happened."

The Sound City Players are scheduled to play their next show in Los Angeles on January 31st, with other dates "coming soon in cool places," Grohl says. "The musicians have all really jumped on after the [Park City] show. I didn't know if Stevie [Nicks] was gonna be able to do New York, and after we did this she was like, 'I'm doing New York.'" Grohl says he'll keep crossing his fingers for an appearance from Paul McCartney.

Rolling Stone sat down with Grohl in a mountainside condo overlooking Park City and chatted with the drummer and first-time director about the Neve soundboard, sharing a stage with Lee Ving and why the film is the most important thing he's ever done.

Video: Peter Travers Picks 5 Great Films From Sundance 2013

I have a theory that Sound City is actually your memoir.
Oh yeah?

Well, it's framed with three guys from Seattle getting in a van.
The great thing about the Sound City story is that it's not just one story. I'm sure each one of these musicians would tell the story the exact same way. Their love for the studio, how important it was to them as a person, how that place changed their life, what technology has done to the way we make music and what technology has done to Sound City and the importance of the human element in making music. I bet you Neil Young and Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks and Rick Springfield could all make the same movie that I did. Because even in that introduction where I say, "We were just kids, we had these songs, and we had these dreams and we threw them in the back of a van," each one of those people can say the same thing.

I always had a strong connection to that studio because Nirvana wasn't meant to be the biggest band in the world. We just weren't. So when we went there for 16 days, we weren't making that album with the intention that we were going to change the fuckin' world. We just wanted it to sound good . . . The fact that what happened actually, happened, makes me think there's something a more than just wires and knobs in that place. Personally, I have a strong emotional connection to it.

Musically, there's something magical about that place, and when I heard that they were closing I thought, "I have a studio, I make records every day. If I could be reunited with this piece of equipment that I consider to be the best sounding board I've ever worked on and the board that's responsible for the person that I am, it would be a huge full-circle emotional reunion for me." And that's why I made the movie.

You sort of isolated the Neve, the soundboard, as the magic. Are there other elements that you think were also significant?
The room where everyone recorded, it used to be a warehouse. It's where they made Vox amplifiers. It was never acoustically designed, it was just a room. But for whatever reason, if you put a drum set in this one spot, it sounded incredible. I'm not an acoustic engineer, and I could never design a studio mathematically, because it's crazy what people go through to build these acoustically perfect rooms. But Sound City just happened. And the board and that room, those two things together. That's why everybody went there. And it wasn't planned.

How much did the aesthetic of the space affect the sound that came out of there?
Tons. You didn't feel like you were at the Mondrian. You didn't feel like you were in a laboratory – you felt like you were back to the garage where you started as a musician, and in a way it would remind you that the most important thing is how it sounds. And the most important thing is how it feels. It doesn't have anything to do with the glitz or the glamour – it's all about being badass and doing something real. And they never bought a Pro Tools rig because they thought, well, you can bring one in yourself. 

How did you end up there? How did you land on Sound City?
I don't remember. I think that Nirvana had signed with the David Geffen Company and they gave us . . . maybe $100,000 to make, or $60,000 to make a record. And rather than just send us a check to Seattle, they decided they wanted us to come to L.A. so they could keep an eye on us. We couldn't afford one of the fancy places downtown, so we found out about this place that had an old Neve board. None of us had ever been there before.

And how did you decide to invite all the different artists to record with you in the film?
Part of every discussion with the musicians was about the human element of making music. Feel, imperfection, emotion, the conversation as a player, conversation between players, craft. All of those things we talk about in the film, but I thought it would make those things more clear if we demonstrated them. If you're talking about spontaneity and connecting in a moment, the McCartney/Nirvana segment makes perfect sense. I wouldn't even have to say that, you just watch it and think, Wow, they just walked into a room together and made something explosive out of nothing because of the energy in the room. It could take years to explain how or why that happens, but if you see it, those seven minutes make perfect sense. 

And releasing an album was the next step?
I wanted to show that all of these musicians come from the same place. I wanted to mix up these combinations of people that might not normally make albums together. A guy from the Germs jamming with a Beatle. Rick Springfield jamming with the Foo Fighters. Those configurations are meant to show, we're all just people and we're just musicians. I started in the garage and you started in the garage and you might have gone this way and I may have gone that way, but deep down we're all still there where we began, hopefully. So it was fun to make new music and not just go back and do the old stuff.

And the Sound City Players were an outgrowth of that?
It's an extension of the same idea. You talk about music, and then show people what that means. Take it out of the movie and put it on a stage. I am not organized in the rest of my life, I can hardly fuckin' do my laundry, but for whatever reason, I can imagine these things happening, and if I can imagine them happening then I really try to make them happen. An hour beforehand, I didn't know if we were gonna be able to do it. It's hard for me to believe, but if you have these opportunities in life, why not do them? There are times where I get so nervous before performing that I almost ruin the moment, or the experience, and I've finally realized that in those moments you have to let go of that bullshit and say, "I can't ruin this moment by being scared or by being nervous, or by being insecure or thinking that I'm not going to be able to do it. It'll be much more rewarding if I actually just do it." I would be terrified to ask Tom Petty to be in my movie, but God, I'd be an idiot not to, and when I finally did he said, "Well, you can't have a movie about Sound City without me in it, now can you?" And it's like, that's the perfect answer.

What was the most surreal moment for you at the Park City show?
Having my heroes compliment me. I'm really used to praising these people that I love, but when they sort of send praise back, it's weird, man. When Fogerty's talking about, well, this couldn't have happened without Dave's childlike enthusiasm about music, I'm like, "Stop talking about me, stop talking about me!" To be onstage with Lee Ving from Fear – I swear to God, The Decline of Western Civilization, the Penelope Spheeris movie, I got the record when I was like 12, and that really inspired me to become a musician and start a band and play punk rock music. So to stand next to Lee Ving and play "Beef Bologna," it doesn't sound like it would be this profound, life-altering moment, but it really was. It was 30 years ago that I discovered this guy, and now I'm onstage playing the songs that inspired me to become a musician. That's fuckin' nuts.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Dave Grohl to Keynote SXSW 2013

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/GettyImages

Dave Grohl will give the keynote address next March at the South By Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival in Austin. The Foo Fighters leader, whose band is currently taking a break, succeeds Bruce Springsteen, who gave this year's speech. The keynote will take place March 14th at the Austin Convention Center. SXSW 2013 is scheduled for March 12th through March 17th. For more information, visit the SXSW website.

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Dave Grohl to Keynote SXSW 2013

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/GettyImages

Dave Grohl will give the keynote address next March at the South By Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival in Austin. The Foo Fighters leader, whose band is currently taking a break, succeeds Bruce Springsteen, who gave this year's speech. The keynote will take place March 14th at the Austin Convention Center. SXSW 2013 is scheduled for March 12th through March 17th. For more information, visit the SXSW website.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Bonnie Raitt and Dave Grohl Form Mutual Admiration Society

Bonnie Raitt arrives at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Dave Grohl was talking to Rolling Stone on the red carpet of the MusiCares Salute to Paul McCartney when he spotted Bonnie Raitt. "Oh my god, there’s Bonnie Raitt. Holy shit, that’s huge, that’s the last one on the list," Grohl said, all excited. When we pointed out to him that both of them had covered a Gerry Rafferty song, with Foos having done "Baker Street" and Raitt's new single being "Right Down The Line," he smiled and said, "Have fun, I'm gonna go talk to her."

Inside the L.A. Convention Center a few moments later, we bumped into Grohl again and asked him if he had mentioned the Rafferty connection. "No, I just freaked out all over her," he said, laughing.

The mutual admiration society was in full effect. Raitt said the props meant a lot to her. "It really blew me away, I was so surprised," she said. "And I’m a huge fan of theirs, so I was able to tell him that. But I would have not expected that. I don’t know why, but it really boosted me."

And as an added bonus, Raitt got some serious cool points with her family. "I immediately emailed my nephews and grandnephews and said, 'Guess what?'" she said. "I’m instantly cool, but, for me, musician to musician, it meant a lot. "

Flattery and coolness aside, it also helped confirm Raitt's decision to go indie with her upcoming album, Slipstream, due April 10th. "I could’ve gone with a couple of great labels that were offering to partner with me, but I have a really good team and I have the right pieces in place and I’ve been established," she said. "I’ve been around a long enough time, I think my fanbase is pretty secure."

The album was launched with her take on Rafferty's "Right Down The Line." Where did the idea for that song come from? "I just heard it and I went, 'Man, I just love that song so much,'" she said. "And I immediately thought of the guitar part of how to do it in my style and I had it way before I knew he was ill and was passing away. I wish I could’ve met him, huge fan, and that song in particular. I really love it."

The rest of the record features a mix of songs she had singer/songwriter Joe Henry produce and some some she self-produced. "Bill Frissell is my special guest on the record, and the rest of the tracks are going to be coming out later, the ones I did with Joe," she said. "And then I did eight tracks with my band, and we’re just smoking."

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Dave Grohl Clarifies Grammy Rant

Dave Grohl gives his acceptance speech at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

Dave Grohl is making a point of clarifying comments he made while accepting a Grammy on Sunday night for the Foo Fighters' most recent album, Wasting Light. Grohl has taken heat for complaining about a lack of "human element" in contemporary music, which has been widely interpreted as a broadside against all manner of non-rock music.

"I love ALL kinds of music," Grohl said in a statement released earlier today. "Electronic or acoustic, it doesn't matter to me. The simple act of creating music is a beautiful gift that ALL human beings are blessed with. And the diversity of one musician's personality to the next is what makes music so exciting and . . . human."

He went on to explain he was talking about technology, not styles. "That's exactly what I was referring to, the 'human element,'" he said. "That thing that happens when a song speeds up slightly, or a vocal goes a little sharp. That thing that makes people sound like PEOPLE. Somewhere along the line those things became 'bad' things, and with the great advances in digital recording technology over the years they became easily 'fixed.' The end result? In my humble opinion . . . a lot of music that sounds perfect, but lacks personality. The one thing that makes music so exciting in the first place.

"I try really fucking hard so that I don't have to rely on anything but my hands and my heart to play a song," Grohl said. "I do the best that I possibly can within my limitations, and accept that it sounds like me. Because that's what I think is most important. It should be real, right? Everybody wants something real."

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Bonnie Raitt and Dave Grohl Form Mutual Admiration Society

Bonnie Raitt arrives at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Dave Grohl was talking to Rolling Stone on the red carpet of the MusiCares Salute to Paul McCartney when he spotted Bonnie Raitt. "Oh my god, there’s Bonnie Raitt. Holy shit, that’s huge, that’s the last one on the list," Grohl said, all excited. When we pointed out to him that both of them had covered a Gerry Rafferty song, with Foos having done "Baker Street" and Raitt's new single being "Right Down The Line," he smiled and said, "Have fun, I'm gonna go talk to her."

Inside the L.A. Convention Center a few moments later, we bumped into Grohl again and asked him if he had mentioned the Rafferty connection. "No, I just freaked out all over her," he said, laughing.

The mutual admiration society was in full effect. Raitt said the props meant a lot to her. "It really blew me away, I was so surprised," she said. "And I’m a huge fan of theirs, so I was able to tell him that. But I would have not expected that. I don’t know why, but it really boosted me."

And as an added bonus, Raitt got some serious cool points with her family. "I immediately emailed my nephews and grandnephews and said, 'Guess what?'" she said. "I’m instantly cool, but, for me, musician to musician, it meant a lot. "

Flattery and coolness aside, it also helped confirm Raitt's decision to go indie with her upcoming album, Slipstream, due April 10th. "I could’ve gone with a couple of great labels that were offering to partner with me, but I have a really good team and I have the right pieces in place and I’ve been established," she said. "I’ve been around a long enough time, I think my fanbase is pretty secure."

The album was launched with her take on Rafferty's "Right Down The Line." Where did the idea for that song come from? "I just heard it and I went, 'Man, I just love that song so much,'" she said. "And I immediately thought of the guitar part of how to do it in my style and I had it way before I knew he was ill and was passing away. I wish I could’ve met him, huge fan, and that song in particular. I really love it."

The rest of the record features a mix of songs she had singer/songwriter Joe Henry produce and some some she self-produced. "Bill Frissell is my special guest on the record, and the rest of the tracks are going to be coming out later, the ones I did with Joe," she said. "And then I did eight tracks with my band, and we’re just smoking."

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Dave Grohl Clarifies Grammy Rant

Dave Grohl gives his acceptance speech at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

Dave Grohl is making a point of clarifying comments he made while accepting a Grammy on Sunday night for the Foo Fighters' most recent album, Wasting Light. Grohl has taken heat for complaining about a lack of "human element" in contemporary music, which has been widely interpreted as a broadside against all manner of non-rock music.

"I love ALL kinds of music," Grohl said in a statement released earlier today. "Electronic or acoustic, it doesn't matter to me. The simple act of creating music is a beautiful gift that ALL human beings are blessed with. And the diversity of one musician's personality to the next is what makes music so exciting and . . . human."

He went on to explain he was talking about technology, not styles. "That's exactly what I was referring to, the 'human element,'" he said. "That thing that happens when a song speeds up slightly, or a vocal goes a little sharp. That thing that makes people sound like PEOPLE. Somewhere along the line those things became 'bad' things, and with the great advances in digital recording technology over the years they became easily 'fixed.' The end result? In my humble opinion . . . a lot of music that sounds perfect, but lacks personality. The one thing that makes music so exciting in the first place.

"I try really fucking hard so that I don't have to rely on anything but my hands and my heart to play a song," Grohl said. "I do the best that I possibly can within my limitations, and accept that it sounds like me. Because that's what I think is most important. It should be real, right? Everybody wants something real."

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Dave Grohl on the Foo Fighters' Grammy Success and Going Analog

Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Nate Mendel of The Foo Fighters backstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.Larry Busacca/Getty Images For The Recording Academy

The Foo Fighters took home five Grammy awards Sunday night, including Best Rock Album, and delivered two memorable performances, one of them rocking with Deadmau5 on the first ever EDM segment of the Grammys. But their biggest triumph of the night may have been Dave Grohl's  Best Rock Performance acceptance speech, which has taken the web by storm. "Dave Grohl Grammy Speech" is the second subject that comes up when you type his name into Google.

Accepting the award, Grohl said, "To me, this award means a lot because it shows the human element of music is what's important. Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that's the most impotant thing for people to do...It's not about being perfect, it's not about sounding absolutely correct, it's not about what goes on in a computer. It's about what goes on in here [your heart] and what goes on in here [your head]."

When Rolling Stone spent some time with Grohl at various Grammy events over the weekend, he echoed those sentiments as he talked about the bare bones recording of Wasting Light, which was recorded in analog in a garage. "To me the biggest advantage of going analog is the restrictions that it implies, which gets you to perform in a way that you’re actually being a human being," Grohl said. "We thought about heart and performance. And I would rather people not tune their vocals, I would rather people not grid their drums."

Will their success then Sunday night inspire other bands to pick up that challenge? Emily Lazar, who mastered the album and became the first woman ever nominated for mastering a Best Album nominee, hopes so. "I think that would be a phenomenal response because there’s nothing like real organic old-school rock and roll," she told us. "I think part of the charm and integrity of this record and the reason it rocks so hard is because it’s real and there are moments that are not perfect. They’re absolutely fantastic musicians, each and every one of them, but there are still human moments. And that’s what makes it so wonderful, to me anyway."

When we first discussed this on Wednesday night we joked that the one problem is that most rock bands can't play like the Foo Fighters. But Lazar doesn't think that should stop other bands from at least trying the analog approach. "I think a lot of bands can do it," she says. "They might not be able to achieve the mass appeal that Foo Fighters did, but I think there are a lot of bands that can do it, I’d love to hear them try."

Grohl, for one, definitely concurs analog brings back the raw sound." I would rather that bands sound like bands and when you go analog that’s kind of what you get."

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Dave Grohl on the Foo Fighters' Grammy Success and Going Analog

Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Nate Mendel of The Foo Fighters backstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.Larry Busacca/Getty Images For The Recording Academy

The Foo Fighters took home five Grammy awards Sunday night, including Best Rock Album, and delivered two memorable performances, one of them rocking with Deadmau5 on the first ever EDM segment of the Grammys. But their biggest triumph of the night may have been Dave Grohl's  Best Rock Performance acceptance speech, which has taken the web by storm. "Dave Grohl Grammy Speech" is the second subject that comes up when you type his name into Google.

Accepting the award, Grohl said, "To me, this award means a lot because it shows the human element of music is what's important. Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that's the most impotant thing for people to do...It's not about being perfect, it's not about sounding absolutely correct, it's not about what goes on in a computer. It's about what goes on in here [your heart] and what goes on in here [your head]."

When Rolling Stone spent some time with Grohl at various Grammy events over the weekend, he echoed those sentiments as he talked about the bare bones recording of Wasting Light, which was recorded in analog in a garage. "To me the biggest advantage of going analog is the restrictions that it implies, which gets you to perform in a way that you’re actually being a human being," Grohl said. "We thought about heart and performance. And I would rather people not tune their vocals, I would rather people not grid their drums."

Will their success then Sunday night inspire other bands to pick up that challenge? Emily Lazar, who mastered the album and became the first woman ever nominated for mastering a Best Album nominee, hopes so. "I think that would be a phenomenal response because there’s nothing like real organic old-school rock and roll," she told us. "I think part of the charm and integrity of this record and the reason it rocks so hard is because it’s real and there are moments that are not perfect. They’re absolutely fantastic musicians, each and every one of them, but there are still human moments. And that’s what makes it so wonderful, to me anyway."

When we first discussed this on Wednesday night we joked that the one problem is that most rock bands can't play like the Foo Fighters. But Lazar doesn't think that should stop other bands from at least trying the analog approach. "I think a lot of bands can do it," she says. "They might not be able to achieve the mass appeal that Foo Fighters did, but I think there are a lot of bands that can do it, I’d love to hear them try."

Grohl, for one, definitely concurs analog brings back the raw sound." I would rather that bands sound like bands and when you go analog that’s kind of what you get."

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Dave Grohl Producing Rock Star Sitcom

Dave Grohl performs at a Rock for Teens event in Pacific Palisades, California.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has signed on to executive produce a new half-hour comedy for FX starring comedian Dana Gould. The show, to be written by Gould, will be about a rock band on the verge of stardom which must go into therapy in order to keep themselves from breaking up. Unfortunately for the band, they end up with a misanthropic couples therapist on the brink of divorce.

Gould approached Grohl to get involved with the project, largely based on the rocker's reputation as a very funny dude. It's unclear whether Grohl will appear in the as-yet untitled show, or provide music for its soundtrack.

This isn't the comedian's first time working on a sitcom. He previously starred in Nolan Knows Best, a 2010 pilot developed for ABC. Gould is also writing a movie, Moon People, for Sony, and he hosts a popular podcast called The Dana Gould Hour.

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Dave Grohl Producing Rock Star Sitcom

Dave Grohl performs at a Rock for Teens event in Pacific Palisades, California.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has signed on to executive produce a new half-hour comedy for FX starring comedian Dana Gould. The show, to be written by Gould, will be about a rock band on the verge of stardom which must go into therapy in order to keep themselves from breaking up. Unfortunately for the band, they end up with a misanthropic couples therapist on the brink of divorce.

Gould approached Grohl to get involved with the project, largely based on the rocker's reputation as a very funny dude. It's unclear whether Grohl will appear in the as-yet untitled show, or provide music for its soundtrack.

This isn't the comedian's first time working on a sitcom. He previously starred in Nolan Knows Best, a 2010 pilot developed for ABC. Gould is also writing a movie, Moon People, for Sony, and he hosts a popular podcast called The Dana Gould Hour.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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