Plus, the Foos prepare for free global streaming event Sunday, May 21.
“Under You” is the second advance offering from the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers' 11th album, But Here We Are, out June 2 on Roswell Records/RCA Records. The new song follows the aforementioned “Rescued”—which has generated raves including “driven by a fresh sense of pathos and urgency” (The New York Times), “Foo Fighters have never sounded more vital” (Consequence),” "one of the Foos’ most immediate, emotional songs” (Vulture), “delivers everything fans have come to know and love” (Revolver) and more. Listen to “Under You” HERE and pre-order But Here We Are on you choice of Black Vinyl, White Vinyl, CD or cassette HERE.
Today also marks the announcement of Foo Fighters: Preparing Music For Concerts, a global streaming event packed with rock & roll (including debut performances of songs from But Here We Are), exclusive behind the scenes footage, and a few surprises—all captured in the spacious yet homey confines of the band’s own 606 studios. Foo Fighters: Preparing Music For Concerts will premiere May 21 at 8pm BST / 3pm EST / 12pm PST exclusively at https://foofighters.veeps.com/, with on-demand repeat viewing enabled through May 24. Whether you’ve got tickets for an upcoming Foo Fighters show or not, don’t miss this chance to get intimate—and LOUD—with the last great American rock band.
Foo Fighters - Under You (Lyric Video)
"Shows like this don't happen every day. To take this moment to gather fans worldwide, to give people an opportunity to share in the experience no matter where they are, is a gift. Having a place to make these moments accessible is why we built Veeps and we're honored to be trusted with delivering this incredible show for Foo Fighters and all of their fans,” said Joel Madden, CEO and Founder, Veeps.
Foo Fighters’ upcoming tour will kick off May 24 at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford, NH. For a complete list of dates, go to: https://foofighters.lnk.to/Shows
Climb inside riffs inspired by one of rock’s biggest bands.
Chops: Beginner
Theory: Beginner
Lesson Overview:
• Learn how to create rhythmically compelling power-chord riffs.
• Add open strings to barre chords.
• Create melodic octave-based solos.
Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation.
The Foo Fighters are one of the most successful bands to emerge from Seattle’s post-grunge scene. While drumming for Nirvana, Dave Grohl was quietly writing material, and after Kurt Cobain’s death, he entered the studio to record the group’s self-titled debut album. He’d played all the instruments on the record, so once the buzz began to spread, Grohl had to put a band together for live shows. Lineups have shifted over the years, but currently the band includes drummer Taylor Hawkins, bassist Nate Mendel, and guitarists Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett.
Mixing melodic hard rock with punk and blues elements, the Foos draw their influences from many bands and artists, including Black Flag, Queen, and Tom Petty. Their latest album, Sonic Highways, is an epic project that spawned a series of documentaries about legendary studios around the United States. The band spent a week in each studio’s respective city, soaking up the area’s culture and vibe before writing and recording a song inspired by the experience.
For this lesson I’ve drawn ideas from such tracks as “My Hero,” “Monkey Wrench,” and “All My Life.” We’ll focus on tight power-chord riffs, chords that contain fretted notes and open strings, and melodic octave-based lines and figures.
Click here for Ex. 1
The etude kicks off with a riff based on a standard B5 chord, but also throws in the open 5th string. Notice how the rhythm produces a very tight, punchy sound when locked in with the drums and bass. On the last beat of measures two and four, we give the harmony a bit of movement by throwing in a D5 and an E5. Simply shifting the start of a riff from beat 1 to beat 2 can really change a rhythm part’s sound and feel. Check it out.
In the next section, our riff repeats, but we change the ending by going to an E/G# chord before hitting a huge E5 shape and then building tension with the D5 chord. The second half of the verse is mostly the same as the first eight measures, but with a simple twist: In the last measure we move to a D6(add9) to set up the chorus. This is a great demonstration of how a basic power chord can be embellished by simply including some open strings to add color. You should also notice that the second half of the verse concludes with an eighth-note rhythm as opposed to the tight 16th-note rhythm from measure eight.
Open strings play an essential part in the chorus riff that starts in measure 17. Throughout this section we let the top two strings ring out while moving chord shapes underneath. Check out how the A(add9) chord comes in on beat 4 rather than the start of the next measure. The second half of the chorus goes from F#7(add11) to E5 (keep those open strings ringing) before returning to the D6(add9).
The bridge starts with a melodic section that is reminiscent to the intro of “My Hero.” For this I composed a simple melodic figure based in E major (E–F#–G#–A–B–C#–D#) that continues to use the open 1st and 2nd strings to create some dissonance. As always, where there’s tension there must be resolution.
Distorted octaves pop up in the last section. This progression is very similar to the verse, with the exception of the A(add9) chord. The octave melody follows the rhythm of our accompanying riff, although in places it includes some fast 16th-note rhythmic ideas.
Recording details. Grohl’s main guitar is his signature Gibson DG-335, but he also uses Explorers, Les Pauls, and even Telecasters on occasion. For our lesson I used my Music Man Axis Super Sport guitar and a Music Man StingRay bass. I used Steinberg’s Cubasis on my iPad to record the tracks, and Positive Grid’s JamUp Pro app provided the guitar and bass tones. For the guitar, I dialed up a model based on a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier and a vintage Ampeg-style setting for the bass. The drums were programmed with the Drums HD app, but I chopped a lot of the fills to create the final drum part. When it comes to Grohl’s tone, opt for a thick overdrive sound, but avoid saturation—we need to hear those open strings!
The signature model exhibits visual characteristics of the Trini Lopez model of the ’60s.
Nashville, TN (November 12, 2014) -- In his successful segue from drummer with legendary Nirvana to guitarist, singer and songwriter with Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl has eternally secured his reputation as one of the most influential alternative rockers of our time. Dave’s choice of electric guitar—surprising to some, a traditionally inspired semi-acoustic—further emphasizes his individuality, and declares his dedication to tone, style, and classic Gibson quality. To celebrate Dave’s achievements, Gibson Memphis introduces the Dave Grohl ES-335, a guitar made in the tradition of the great thinline vintage semi-acoustics, with Dave’s signature apparent from every angle in its distinctive looks, sound and feel.
Built to the specs of a great vintage ES-335, the Dave Grohl signature model also exhibits visual characteristics of the Trini Lopez model of the ’60s, a guitar that Dave has played on several Foo Fighter tours and recordings. The foundation follows the familiar laminated maple top and back, with a solid maple core with cedar rim liners, with characteristic diamond f-holes in the guitar’s top like the Trini model that inspired it. The mahogany neck is glued in with a historic large mortise-and-tenon joint, and has a hand-selected dark, one-piece rosewood fingerboard with acrylic split-diamond inlays and a Corian nut cut to perfection on our PLEK. A superb playing feel is assured by a neck profile with optimum comfort, with stand-out looks from the striking Firebird-style six-a-side headstock. Stellar tone from mean to mellow is assured by a pair of Dave’s preferred Burstbucker pickups, a #2 in the neck and a hotter #3 in the bridge, with the classic control assembly and hardware complement. This limited edition sees 200 available in Pelham Blue Metallic and 400 in Gold Metallic finish.
MSRP: Starting at $3,699
For more information:
Gibson