Foo Fighters Research

2. Background
 The Foo Fighters are an American
rock band, formed in 1994 in
Seattle by the once drummer of
Nirvana, Dave Grohl.
 After Nirvana ended, Dave Grohl
set up the Foo Fighters and took
the role of lead singer. Other
members of the band include Chris
Shiflett (lead guitarist), Pat Smear
(guitarist), Nate Mendel (bass) and
Taylor Hawkins (drummer).

3. Discography
 Over the years, the Foo Fighters have released a total of 7 studio albums
and, as of this moment, are currently working on their 8th.
- The Colour and Shape (1994-1995)
- There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1998-2001)
- One by One (2001-2004)
- In Your Honour (2005-2006)
- Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace (2006-2007)
- Greatest Hits (2008-2009)
- Wasting Light (2010-2012)
- Sonic Highways (2013-Present)

4. Success
 Over the last 20 years, the Foo
Fighters have had great success
with the content they have
released, being nominated for a
total of 85 awards and winning 24,
including 11 Grammys.
 Of these awards, 4 have been for
‘Best Rock Album’ and 1 for
‘Album of the Year’.
 Singles such as “The Pretender”,
“Learn to Fly and “Best of You”
have also had a lot of success,
making it into the Top 40 of the
U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Foo_Fighters

5. Styles and
Influences
 The Foo Fighters have a widely
recognised style of music, dipping into
Dave Grohl’s old days of playing Grunge
with hit former band, Nirvana.
 The Foo Fighters also have a performing
style that feels quite relaxed and a ‘don’t
care attitude’, an aspect seen regularly in
the rock scene. This is shown through their
appearance in terms of their casual jeans
and t-shirt combo and rugged hair.
 Dave Grohl has mentioned in many
interviews that a lot of his inspiration
behind his songs are politically based,
allowing the audience to interpret the
song’s lyrics differently as everyone has

6. Everlong -
Inspiration
 Dave Grohl has mentioned in interviews
that the inspiration behind the song
‘Everlong’ was the bad habits and drug
addiction of former Nirvana member, Kurt
Cobain.
 Grohl has also spoke about how he was at
his lowest point when writing this song,
taking him only 45mins write. Despite this,
the song has had renowned success,
making it one of their most famous and
influential songs.

7. Target Audience
 Males and Females aged 16-30 in the
demographic groups D-B
 In terms of interacting with their target
audience, the Foo Fighters have multiple
media platforms in which they can share
news and promote themselves i.e. twitter,
Facebook and their website. Therefore,
their target audience will be those who are
able to access and use the internet to
reach these platforms.
 Audience would find the Foo Fighters on
TV and radio stations such as Kerrang and
Planet Rock

8. Music Videos
 When it comes to their music videos, the
Foo Fighters tend to stick to a certain style
and pattern. After looking at a number of
different Foo Fighters videos I came to
conclusion that they are predominantly
narrative/performance based. These
narratives also add a certain degree of
humour to the videos, reinforcing the laid
back/casual style that is often seen with
alternative rock. This is clear in the music
video “Learn To Fly” in which the band are
dressed as multiple characters.
 After looking at these videos it is clear that
the Foo Fighters image is that they don’t
take themselves to seriously but are also
passionate about their music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VQ_3sBZEm0