Foo Fighters: Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins open up on life and music | 60 Minutes Australia

an invitation to spend a couple of days with dave grohl and taylor hawkins from the hugely successful band foo fighters is not something to knock back it comes with a sense of foreboding though because you're never quite sure what's about to happen or why groll and hawkins have well and truly worked out that every waking moment is for living as well as not having an off switch they also have no filter which is a nice way of saying you'll be hearing plenty of swearing but more than anything these rock legends are great fun their music's not too bad either foo fighter 60 minutes interview take one how many takes are you expecting we could take a lot actually might take a few [Music] months there are some certainties when it comes to interviewing the foo fighters there'll be a liberal dose of expletives i gotta pee really [ __ ] bad right now that long black was a long black some jaw-dropping story okay we're gonna do it right [Laughter] expect the unexpected particularly when these hyperactive rock and rollers are in their fifth time zone in five days what is time right you know wow guys we're he's been awake for a while hasn't he tripping balls right now people [Music] you don't take yourselves too seriously do you what makes you say that um well you know for some things yeah we take we take our music very seriously but everything else is just such a circus that i think the only way to survive is to take everything with a grain of salt and just go with it born out of the ashes of 90s grunge band nirvana foo fighters have been going hard at it for 23 years [Music] dave groll is the founder and front man and taylor hawkins the drum pounding backbone of one of the most successful rock hacks of all time today they're soaking up the nostalgia at salinas i remember more about the aftershow than the show the iconic sydney pub they last played two decades ago it was to us this was a big deal isn't that amazing once upon a time you dreamed of playing in a venue this big yeah absolutely and nirvana 92 oh really oh my god we did didn't we wow and there's the drum set you play and there it is oh my this is my life amazing sound check it's almost like you meet couples or you know people in relationships where they're just like but you know they'll stay together forever um we're not like that we've never really had that um creative friction so this is a genuine friendship no we're just [ __ ] great actors yeah this is the best role i've ever played taylor's friend yep that's not an easy one no i deserve an academy award for this [ __ ] oh my god dave and taylor are in australia for the release of their ninth studio album concrete and gold dude have you seen the surf go down to bandai right now enjoying some rare down time before embarking on yet another world tour dave's in charge am i in charge really yeah what kind of whiskies do you have he's seriously gonna be whiskey before i mean you [ __ ] you threw the gauntlet down what am i gonna do if you want to hang with foo fighters you're expected to keep up okay we're not driving are we up no we're not we got nothing to do gentlemen cheers great to see you again just please thanks for lunch i'm assuming you're paying for it yeah sure ooh this is on 60 minutes right your latest album you collaborated with a pop producer yeah i thought that pop and rock were sworn enemies well i don't think so actually pop music just means a good that means a song that's popular because it's good you know and memorable remember the freddie spears quote britney spears what did you say she said anybody can make a radiohead record that's easy trying to write a hit song now that's hard it might be the only brilliant thing she's ever said the foo fighters have never been afraid to throw out the rock star rule book whether it's poking fun at their aging selves in their latest music video our new best friend rick astley right now performing live with 80s pop star rick astley [Applause] [Music] or getting dave's eight-year-old daughter harper on stage to play drums we were in iceland and i said hey you want to get up in front of 20 000 people and do that we will rocky thing she's like okay [Music] [Applause] she was so calm she didn't appear she's a girl man come on what are you talking about that's the dna right there she grows with it let's get on the roller coaster for a little while [Applause] all of the band members are now proud family men just don't take it too far oh that was great the other day this like real sort of news presenter she's like right out of the gate first question so you're a dad band and we're like no one had ever called us a dad band before they're a dad band though [ __ ] you man dad rock dad rock i'd heard dad rock before the dad band [Music] i first met foo fighters two and a half years ago at their studio in l.a [Music] black and white as always there were plenty of laughs crosstalk months later though came a defining moment during a show in sweden dave fell off the stage well i fall and then i go to stand up and i don't feel any pain i go to stand up and it's just like a sack of sausage there's just [ __ ] nothing in there i'm like oh my god and i sit down and i and these guys are still waiting [Applause] i think i just broke my leg i see our security guard and i he looks at me and i go hey i broke my leg he's like you for real i'm like i broke my [ __ ] leg what happened next would immortalize dave groll in rock and roll history with his leg badly broken he was carried onto the stage to finish the show perfect timing because it was right in that section of under pressure where i go [Music] is that what happened yes like like right there i was just so funny man it was so perfect [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's definitely the weirdest and then maybe the greatest show we've ever played determined not to disappoint fans dave went on to perform the rest of the tour from a custom-built throne i'll tell you that was [ __ ] great because i just had to sit there like a roman emperor with a shot of jagermeister it has to be something [ __ ] yeah like you know some of our best shots great it was so much fun i i thought we were doomed all the great stadium front men need to have that stage and be this big giant thing you know and i'm thinking there's no way he can do it from a throne and he did now that's called a big personality right there when dave grohl fell off the stage and broke his leg he surprised everyone including bandmate taylor hawkins by continuing the foo fighters world tour performing from a throne i think in a way dave had been running around so much on stage for the last 15 years or whatever that for the first time people could just like have him they could just see him just sit there and sing [Music] but a busted leg and the strain constantly being on the road proved too much at a concert in chicago dave lost it i walked off stage and fully broke down in the dressing room tease it was like i mean it was like wailing sobbing it was really embarrassing it's like when your parents are crying i've got my head in the towel just going and the other guys are like putting on their socks and changing our underwear is all quiet like are you okay dave i'm like i'm fine i fully had him i totally had a breakdown and then when we stopped touring we got home i'd like grew the beard and i had the weird robe and i didn't leave the house for weeks and i told everybody like listen i don't want to do anything for a year like let's just stop let's take a break burning it too hard we got to stop blackbirds singing in the band's hiatus and dave's solo performance at the 2016 oscars led to speculation of a looming split how did you find having the stage to yourself um i loved it i found it to be um a lot easier and i i kind of i feel like it sounded better than i do with the other guys okay so one finger right just takes one finger the music is right at your fingers in typical foo fighters style they lampooned breakup rumors with a spoof video of dave's new solo direction but six months on it was time to get back to making music for real come on baby what i have learned is that when you're going that hard for that long you start to blame the music for all of your problems and then you step away from it and you start to realize that the music was the one thing that healed you the whole time you took yourself off to a house i think you bought a case of wine and you wrote your undies for five days yeah i'm just imagining that apocalypse now scene it was like that i punched a mirror spread the blood all over my naked body and wrote some songs [Music] the result was their latest album one of foo fighters most ambitious proving these rockers are as together as they've ever been do you feel that you know the pressure of the band a lot of that is on your shoulders yeah for sure thanks yeah i mean you know i know that at the end at the end of the day it's my name at the bottom of the check you know i got to make sure that whatever we do is up to snuff make sure it's good and there's a lot of pressure but i mean honestly like i've had shitty jobs i worked at shaky's pizza you don't want that pressure so this is our house today though there's something else on the menu big mac attack how are you dave and taylor have invited themselves over to my place to cook dinner what is that mama does this make him miss your kids well it's nice to hold something that doesn't weigh 75 pounds missing comforts of home too much party this self-confessed barbecue addict can't wait to pick up the tone yeah when i came off the road it had nothing to do i sat in front of a smoker and watched briskets for alone how many were you cooking like once or one a week i was doing a couple of weeks but i was also doing pork butts and ribs and turkeys and chickens and i went nuts dave growl proving it's not just guitar chops that are his specialty oh not you good i want it right there [Applause] but before these two foo fighters leave australia they have one final thing to do hello to form a secret gig at a tiny venue in sydney so size doesn't matter uh not when it comes to the chevy medal it's all a bit of fun for dave grohl taylor hawkins and their mates playing their favorite rock songs as their alter ego chevy metal surely the world's most talented cover band there's good and bad things about going on tour for years at a time you know the one thing that keeps you going is that two or three hours on stage because that kind of reminds you that you're alive and then while you're there and then afterwards you're like oh that was the best night of my [ __ ] life yeah it's i think that's why you do it just trying to make the foo fighters great again good luck with that [Music] hello i'm sarah arbo thanks for watching 60 minutes australia subscribe to our channel now for brand new stories and exclusive clips every week and don't miss out on our extra minute segments and full episodes of 60 minutes on ninenow.com.eiu and the nine now app

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 938,529

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Tara Brown, Liam Bartlett, Tom Steinfort, Sarah Abo, karl stefanovic, 60Mins, #60Mins, foo fighters, everlong, dave grohl, taylor hawkins, rock, nirvana, death, cold day in the sun, music, live, rock and roll, smells like teen spirit, my hero, drummer, walk, all my life, monkey wrench, learn to fly, times like these, best of you, colour and the shape

Id: ZEL9LO_VXQA

Length: 15min 27sec (927 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 25 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/cguillou]

Thinking of Taylor's family, wife and kids especially but damn I can't imagine what Dave's going through.... 😥

[u/ItsWithTwoEs]

I've been haunted by wondering if Dave was with him when he died. If he called for help, I can't imagine him not calling his best friend...

[u/Chalms55]

My first thought when I heard the news was a tirade of expletives, then immediately shifted to "oh no, Dave!". I felt heartbroken multiple times in such a short amount of time. I can't imagine the pain he must feel. I hope he can feel the outpouring of love from all over the world, and I hope that helps him as he grieves.

Edit: spelling

[u/patrickstarburns]

They really had a special chemistry. I hope his family and the band are holding up.

Also, seeing a clip of the "breakup" video was a nice memory and gave me a much needed chuckle

[u/Rapist-withAIDS]

He keeps losing his best friends.

[u/FebruaryStars76]

I watched this yesterday and thought the same thing. I loved how goofy they were together, always laughing. True friendship.

[u/rmg3935]

Again

[u/screwthat4u]

Will this be the end of the foo fighters?

[u/icamom]

There isn't a lot we can do for Dave at this point. But we can stay away from diving into cause of death and other things that Taylor's family and Dave should be allowed to keep private.