Foo Fighters discussed Dave Grohl’s ‘benign dictatorship’ of the band in a new Rolling Stone article.
“This band works because it’s not a democracy,” says Chris Shiflett. “People can read into that what they want – but it’s a big reason why the band hasn’t broken up.”
“It’s a benign dictatorship,” says Taylor Hawkins. “I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut until Dave’s really looking for input.”
Dave Grohl prefers to think of the band more as a family. “I mean, I know at the end of the day it’s my name at the bottom of the check,” he says. “But we all hold different responsibilities that keep the thing fucking going.”
Grohl also discussed President Trump’s influence on Concrete and Gold.
The album’s opening track, “T-Shirt,” came after Trump’s inauguration, but it shared some of the same concerns. “I watched the infamous press conference in the East Room – the one that turned into a screaming match. The fucking WWE one. All that gross ambition for power and control freaked me out. I was like, ‘Oh, my God. This is what we’ve become.’ ”
That said, if you didn’t know the backstory, there’s nothing explicitly political about the album. “When the Foo Fighters go out and tour, we play to everyone,” he says. “I like to think that music is something that can bring two opposite sides of the spectrum into the same arena for three hours of relief. There’s a part of me that thinks I’m better at giving people hope. So that’s where I’d rather be.”
