Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose told Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins that Dave Grohl is the ‘greatest’ drummer of the 90’s, according to a new Howard Stern interview. Ultimate-Guitar transcribed their comments.
“I think because Dave was the drummer, and the drummer is, like, you say, ‘Ah, who cares about the drummer?’ That’s the hot seat, and if the gig goes bad, it’s the drummer’s fault.”
After Grohl chimed in with, “The band is as good as the drummer,” Hawkins continued:
“Yeah, and as bad as the drummer. Dave is never a dick about it, really, but it is intimidating, there’s no question. When I joined the band, I was super intimidated.
“When I met Axl Rose for the first time, he was like, ‘What’s it like being a drummer for the greatest drummer of the ’90s?’ And I was like, ‘Ah, hard.'”
Stern asked, “And Dave, when you write the new album, when you sit down with the band – are you open to their changes and new ideas, or you just say, ‘Look, guys, I’ve heard this in my head already, I know how I want it to go…’?”
Grohl responded, “The first five to seven years of the band, I was like, ‘It’s gotta sound like this!’ And I finally realized, ‘What am I doing?’ This album, in particular, I was like, ‘I’m walking out of the room, I’m getting in the way of a good Foo Fighters record.’
“I’m the guy that’s hovering over the producer, engineer, going, ‘No, do this and this.’ And I finally realized that I’m probably the band’s biggest problem, I should just get the fuck out of the room and let the band do the thing that the band does, and then come in and be happily surprised.
“And ultimately, an album like this goes beyond my imagination in a lot of ways because I got the fuck out of the room for a few minutes and let everybody do their thing.”
