Dave Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana and is the driving force behind Foo Fighters. After Kurt Cobain's death, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters, one of many post-grunge bands to pop up in the mid-‘90s and one of the few who became a lasting, successful band.



In the late ‘80s, Grohl began playing drums for Washington DC hardcore band, Scream, after drumming for a slew of bands that rocked to varying degrees. Unsure of what his next move would be upon the sudden demise of Scream, Grohl, whose drumming had been witnessed by both Krist Novoselic and Kurt Cobain at a recent west coast show, was invited to Seattle by Novoselic to watch Nirvana play. Shortly thereafter, he became the band's drummer.



Grohl had recorded a cassette in 1994 on which he played every instrument on every track, except a guitar part on “X-Static” which was played by Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs. After Kurt Cobain's death, Grohl began generating a quiet buzz for the cassette, only making 100 copies for friends. Things quickly caught fire, however, and his new project was fought over by record companies. Not wanting to record as a solo artist, he went about assembling a band which consisted of Nate Mendel (Sunny Day Real Estate), guitarist William Goldsmith, and former Nirvana and Germs guitarist Pat Smear. Naming themselves after unexplained World War II era aerial phenomena, Foo Fighters were officially born.



The presence and leadership of ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl is no doubt what gave the Foos their footing, which initially made it difficult to view the Foo Fighters as anything but a Dave Grohl solo project. The lineup has changed over the years and Grohl is the only musician present on their first LP. However, once Grohl found a drummer he respected in Taylor Hawkins, the group started to take on a team-minded mentality and released a truly collaborative third album, There is Nothing Left to Lose (1999, RCA). Their most recent studio album (their seventh record), Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace (RCA), was released in 2007. In late 2008, the band released Live at Wembley Stadium, a DVD that showcased the performance at one of their biggest concerts to date to an audience of over 160,000 fans.