MY ADVENTURES WITH DAVE GROHL & THE FOO FIGHTERS
Out of the Wishing Well
Coming Soon! A Documentary Film by Josh Shuman
THE EDITING ROOM FLOOR
A few stories had to be cut...
The Troubadour
West Hollywood, CA - Summer 2001
The Paladino's show was amazing! It doesn't get any more raw than that! Despite being insanely homesick, I was glad I stuck around.
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The next day a bunch of people from my group of Foo Fighter friends flew in and crashed at the apartment I was staying in. (Fun fact: I was living in the same apartment complex where Nirvana lived during the recording of Nevermind).
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The final warmup gig before the band left for Europe was at the world-famous Troubadour! The Troubadour is a small club were countless famous bands and acts have played at over the years. Everyone from Elton John and Bruce Springstein to Neil Diamond and Pearl Jam.
This show was a bit more laid back. Rumor had it, the Foo Fighters had done a few shots of Sambuca after the show at Paladino's :) There were a bunch of celebrities at the show too. Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers was there and even played drums on a song with the opening band. Jimmy Chamberlin from the Smashing Pumpkins was there as well (sadly he didn't drum that night!). ​​
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It was a fun night! The opening band was the Van Halen cover band The Atomic Punks! I couldn't think of a better way to close out the summer in Los Angeles than seeing the Foo Fighters live once again. The next day I jumped in my car and began my 3000 mile drive back home.
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Foo Fighters then New Way Home
Despite being exhausted from a wild and crazy summer living on my own in Los Angeles for the first time, seeing the Foo Fighters before packing up to leave was an amazing way to end my 10 week summer program.
Taylor Hawkins made sure our group had tickets
We were all hanging out on the sidewalk when Taylor arrived at the venue. Before heading inside, he walked up to our group and said, "You all have tickets right!? I want you all in there rocking out with us!" The picture below is Taylor playing a tune with the opening band The Atomic Punks.
Chris brought some country vibes
Here's Chris Shiflett playing a steel slide guitar donning a cowboy hat. I believe the song he played on steel guitar was Ain't it the Life.
Dave Grohl rocking out
Most of the shows my group of Foo Fighters friends and I would travel to were on the east coast. It was super cool to be together with everyone on the opposite coast seeing our favorite band play.
I met my childhood idol Weird Al
Turns out Weird Al Yankovic is a Foo Fighters fan and was at the Troubadour show! Not only is he a fan but he is the only celebrity I've ever run after to try and get a picture with lol. I couldn't pass up the chance to meet the man that starred in UHF and wrote the parody Smells Like Nirvana!
Chad Smith damn near broke the drum set
You think Dave Grohl hits hard? Enter Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Chad jumped on stage and played a song with the opening band. I wasn't sure if the drum kit was going to survive the whole song!
Still open to this day
The Troubadour has been around since 1957. It's an iconic place that has hosted some of the most successful acts in the world. I can't imagine if the walls could talk. What an experience seeing the Foo Fighters in a club that only holds 500 people when nowadays they're playing places as big as Wembly Stadium!
