DAVE GROHL: I Knew Nothing About New Orleans Or Jazz Before 'Sonic Highways'

November 27, 2014

FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl admitted in a new interview with Rolling Stone that he knew nothing about the history and culture of New Orleans before he and the band traveled there for the sixth episode of their HBO series "Sonic Highways". According to The Pulse Of Radio, Grohl explained, "Before I turned on the camera with Ben Jaffe from PRESERVATION HALL (JAZZ BAND),I said, 'I don't know shit about jazz and I don't know shit about New Orleans'… A lot of the interviews were like that. I'm a music nerd, but I'm not a musicologist. I love talking about music and hearing these stories, but I also love not knowing everything."

The New Orleans episode aired this past Friday night (November 21) and featured interviews with Jaffe, the BLACK KEYS' Dan Auerbach, Trombone Shorty and Bonnie Raitt, while also focusing on the careers of Big Easy legends like Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and THE METERS.

Asked why he included New Orleans in the series, Grohl said, "The celebration of life in that city is unlike anywhere else I've ever been… there's a soundtrack to that city everywhere, 24 hours a day. You're just immersed in music. It makes people smile and dance and drink and celebrate life."

Drummer Taylor Hawkins told The Pulse Of Radio that the FOO FIGHTERS felt more welcomed by the musical community in New Orleans than any other city. "The thing about New Orleans is all those musicians — it's like they all wrapped their arms around us as soon as we got there. They were all like, 'We're gonna be part of this too.' Because they wanna play. They're there to play. They were involved from second one, and that's the spirit of that place. We're here to play, everybody's gonna play. It's all about that shared sort of experience."

New Orleans was one of eight cities in which FOO FIGHTERS recorded its new album, also titled "Sonic Highways", which the HBO series has chronicled. There are two episodes of the series left.

FOO FIGHTERS will tour North American stadiums and arenas next year in support of the album, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart last week.

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