Releases Album

Wasting Light

“Wasting Light” was the answer to a very simple question: What if Foo Fighters recorded an album without the safety net of a recording studio? The experiment saw them setting up camp in Dave Grohl’s own garage, with long-time friend Butch Vig at the controls. Armed with a solid supply of material written and jammed on the road, the band were ready to get out of their comfort zone and into the garage

Cars, bikes and kids toys were moved out of the garage to make room for a drum kit, a makeshift control room constructed in the room above. Dave’s marital home was very much taken over. No one was quite sure how it was going to turn out, but for Foo Fighters that was half the fun.

Recording began in September by which time songs were tightly rehearsed and most issues with the garage were remedied. A goal of completing one song per week was set, powering through with a focus on performance, not precision. Adding to the challenge was the rule that they’d record to analog tape with no digital crutches. If a tape was at risk of being lost, they were committed to recording it all over again. Just like the good old days.

With Pat Smear officially reunited with the family, and guest collaborations with Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) and Bob Mould (Husker Du), “Wasting Light” stated its case for the craft of creating music from scratch. Dave’s garage seemed like an unconventional environment, but the method came to represent the band and the perfectly imperfect spirit of making music: The “human element”.

The album was released on April 12, 2011, led by the single ‘Rope’, the second song in Foo Fighters history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Rock Songs Chart. “Wasting Light” earned the band four Grammy awards and remains a firm fan favourite.