May 5, 2009

The Foo Fighters - Birth of a Band

From the ashes of one popular band rises another. After Nirvana broke up, former member David Grohl opted to launch his own band. Many were surprised at this move since the talented musician received a number of solid offers from stable bands such as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Undaunted, Grohl struck out on his own and opted to form his own band.

Grohl procured the services of Nate Mendel, William Goldsmith, and Pat Smear to fill out the band which he dubbed The Foofighters. At the time, some looked at the name of the band and immediately dismissed it as a novelty act. The unique name derives from the World World Two term for unidentified flying objects.

In a way, this is an appropriate name for the band since it appeared out of the blue to much unexpected success. Keep in mind, when members of a popular band launch their own new band, success is minuscule. As such, many did not believe that The Foofighters would have a chance at being successful. Clearly, the band proved the critics wrong.

The Foo Fighters first album originally circulated as what was essentially a demo tape. It seemed that Grohl was not completely open about his concepts for the band. This is why he declined interviews and kept a low profile. The debut album was eventually acquired by Capital Records and the label gave it a huge release. The album was wildly successful and it led to Foo Fighters merch moving faster than anyone anticipated. Of course, people were more interested than just acquiring more Foo Fighters merch.

They wanted to get their hands on another album. The Foo Fighters delivered in this regard and their second album "The Colour and the Shape" was released in 1996. A subsequent tour was launched and the band played to huge audiences. Of course, with more tickets, albums, and Foo Fighters merch being sold, the music industry realized it had a very special band in its midst. The Foo Fighters were not a fly by night band that was going to disappear from the entertainment landscape. They were definitely a band that had legs.

 
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