Credit: Far Out / Raphael Pour-Hashemi
October 21st, 2026 · 8:00pm BST
Dave Grohl didn’t ever find it easy stepping out of the shadow of Nirvana with Foo Fighters.
The thought of continuing on and making music in the same vein would have been rough on anyone, and when you go through that sort of trauma in one band, no one really wants to be reminded of their old musical life every single time they are asked about their own music. But while Grohl had to fight questions about Kurt Cobain during the first few years of his career with the Foos, he knew that what would hold up were the songs.
And it’s not like he was wrong, either. While Nirvana still deserves a spot up there with the greatest rock and roll bands of all time, Grohl is still looking to keep making tunes that are a lot more ambitious than the last. ‘The Pretender’ has been around long enough to be considered a legitimate classic, and while there are so many opportunities for him to make songs that are a bit less radio-coated, it’s not like he couldn’t step outside of his comfort zone and make something like ‘The Teacher’ later in life.
But in those early days, there was no real rulebook for what he was doing on the band’s first record. He was the one playing nearly every single note on the thing, and while he did have some help filling out the sound when the rest of the band joined him on the road, it’s not like he was trying to be a commanding presence. He knew what the songs were supposed to sound like, though, and he wasn’t going to let William Goldsmith get in the way of that whenever he played.
Goldsmith wasn’t a bad drummer in any way, shape or form, but his drumming on The Colour and the Shape just didn’t sound right for the time. Grohl knew that the accents needed to be somewhere different, and while his decision to scrub all of the drums tracks and record them himself might not have been in the best taste, it was enough for him to realise that he needed someone else behind the kit if he was going to continue.
Since the band were still coming up in the world, though, getting Taylor Hawkins didn’t seem like a done deal just yet. Hawkins was already in one of the biggest touring bands in the world with Alanis Morrissette, and while putting his all into a song like ‘You Oughta Know’ was great to watch every single night, Grohl knew that there was no one else that could have that job once he and Hawkins met for the first time.
They were like a bunch of teenagers bouncing off the walls, and Grohl remembered that nothing could break that bond even after Hawkins passed away, saying, “[He is] my brother from another mother, my best friend, a man for whom I would take a bullet. Upon first meeting, our bond was immediate, and we grew closer every day, every song, every note that we played together. I am not afraid to say that our chance meeting was a kind of love at first sight, igniting a musical ‘twin flame’ that still burns to this day.”
Further reading: From The Vault
It’s tragic to think that more Foo Fighters shows are going to continue to happen without Hawkins, but it’s not like Grohl ever forgot about him. Even during shows to this day, he still gives his due credit to Hawkins’s memory, and even has that signature logo Hawkins put on every one of his drum heads onstage when Ilan Rubin fills in for the late drummer behind the kit now.
Because even if you’ve checked out of this side of reality, nothing breaks the bond between two best friends. Grohl and Hawkins went through all hell together, and while the world will keep spinning without Hawkins in it these days, it was never just about the drums when it came to Grohl. It was about finding that one person who could finish your sentences and make every jam session feel like the best thing in the world.
