Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways
| Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Rockumentary |
| Created by | Dave Grohl |
| Written by | Mark Monroe |
| Directed by | Dave Grohl |
| Starring | Dave Grohl Taylor Hawkins Nate Mendel Chris Shiflett Pat Smear Rami Jaffee Butch Vig |
| Opening theme | "Something From Nothing" by Foo Fighters |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | James A. Rota John Ramsay Dave Grohl |
| Producers | John Silva Gaby Skolnek John Cutcliffe Kristen Welsh |
| Production location | |
| Cinematography | Kenny Stoff Jessica Young |
| Editor | Meg Ramsay |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | October 17, 2014 – present |
Foo Fighters Sonic Highways is an American TV documentary series created for HBO by Dave Grohl. The documentary was made concurrently with Foo Fighters' upcoming eighth album Sonic Highways.[1] Grohl described the project as "a love letter to the history of American music".[2] The series debuted on October 17, 2014.[3]
Development
After the success of Grohl's 2013 documentary film Sound City, he expressed interest to Billboard of doing something similar.[4] According to Grohl,
After making Sound City, I realized that the pairing of music and documentary works well because the stories give substance and depth to the song, which makes for a stronger emotional connection. So I thought, ‘I want to do this again, but instead of just walking into a studio and telling its story, I want to travel across America and tell its story.[5]
On May 15, 2014, it was announced that the Foo Fighters' eighth album would be released in the fall of 2014, and that the Foo Fighters would commemorate the album and 20th anniversary with the TV series.[1][6] Each song on the new album was recorded in a different city, featuring “local legends” on each song and lyrics inspired by the ”experiences, interviews and personalities that became part of the process.”[1]
On May 31, 2014, a 20-second video was uploaded to YouTube announcing the series.[7] On August 21, 2014, a trailer, lasting 3 minutes and 31 seconds, was uploaded to YouTube showing most of the people interviewed in the series.[8]
Overview
The series is set to have eight episodes where the Foo Fighters travel to eight legendary studios in eight different cities across the United States of America to write and record their album.[9] The cities will be Chicago, Austin, Nashville, Los Angeles, Seattle, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and New York.[2] Studios involved with the project include Steve Albini's Electrical Audio in Chicago; Rancho de Luna in California; Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, and Washington D.C.’s Inner Ear Studios.[10] Each episode features interviews with artists who recorded at the respective studios. Among them are Dolly Parton, Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi, Paul Stanley of Kiss, Joe Walsh of Eagles, Nancy Wilson of Heart, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Zac Brown,[11] and Gary Clark, Jr.[4] There was also collaboration with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans, which led to a live performance with Arcade Fire and Trombone Shorty.[11] The episode begins with a quote from a song that was recorded in their respective location and ends with a music video for that same song with animated lyrics appearing in the background.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chicago" | October 17, 2014 | |
|
Chicago has been a mecca for such diverse acts as Cheap Trick, Etta James, Smashing Pumpkins, Herbie Hancock, Chicago and Kanye West. This episode chronicles the city's musical evolution from the blues of Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters in the '50s and '60s, to the quintessentially midwestern rock of Cheap Trick in the '70s and the punk rock of the '80s, as exemplified by Naked Raygun. At Electrical Audio studios, Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters connect with owner Steve Albini, a Chicago musical icon as a founding member of Big Black and Shellac, who produced and recorded Nirvana's third album, "In Utero." Later, they're joined by Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen to record "Something from Nothing," the first song on Foo Fighters' new album. | |||
| 2 | "Washington D.C." | October 24, 2014 | |
|
A transient town where few are born and raised, Washington, D.C. is in many ways a city of extremes. Starland Vocal Band, Marvin Gaye, Duke Ellington, Nils Lofgren, Chuck Brown, Henry Rollins, Fugazi and Trouble Funk all hail from D.C. In the early '70s, the music style go-go originated here, and has remained a local craze ever since. Dave Grohl sits down with Trouble Funk's Big Tony Fisher to talk about go-go, and explores its origins with Chuck Brown, the genre's undisputed godfather. He also chats with Don Zientara, owner of Inner Ear Studio, which the Virginia-raised Grohl says "produced the entire soundtrack of my youth," as well as with members of the punk band Bad Brains and Ian MacKaye of Teen Idles, Minor Threat and Fugazi, who all recorded at Inner Ear over the decades. | |||
| 3 | "Nashville" | October 31, 2014 | |
|
The band heads to Nashville, Tenn. Dave sits down with Dolly Parton, Tony Joe White, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and producer Tony Bown to discuss Nashville's musical influences. Foo Fighters prepare to record at Southern Ground studio. | |||
| 4 | "Austin" | November 7, 2014 | |
|
Foo Fighters prepare to record at the Austin City Limits Studio. Dave chats with Terry Lickona, the executive producer of Austin City Limits. Examining the roots of Austin's music scene. | |||
| 5 | "Los Angeles" | November 14, 2014 | |
| 6 | "New Orleans" | November 21, 2014 | |
| 7 | "Seattle" | November 28, 2014 | |
| 8 | "New York" | December 5, 2014 | |
Surprise concerts
On May 5, 2014, Foo Fighters gave a surprise two-hour concert at 9:30 Club in Washington D.C.[12][13]
On May 7, 2014, Grohl performed a surprise hour-long solo set at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville to a crowd of approximately 100 people.[13]
On May 17, 2014, after a week of recording at Preservation Hall, the band played a surprise show for 90-minutes, which proceeded to shut down an entire block of St. Peter Street in New Orleans.[14]
References
- ^ a b c AlternativeNation.net | Foo Fighters Release Trailer For Upcoming HBO Series ‘Sonic Highways’
- ^ a b Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl teases 'Sonic Highways' television series with trailer - watch | News | NME.COM
- ^ Foo Fighters Sonic Highways | The Official Website of the HBO series
- ^ a b Dave Grohl on Foo Fighters’ new album: we didn’t want to “make some crazy, bleak Radiohead record” | Consequence of Sound
- ^ Rock Hall of Fame: Dave Grohl on Nirvana Honors, Reuniting with Courtney Love: 'It Was Beautiful' (Q&A) - The Hollywood Reporter
- ^ "Foo Fighters To Commemorate Eighth Album & 20th Anniversary With HBO Series Documenting Eight-City Recording Odyssey". FooFighters.com. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
- ^ Twitter / HBO: .@foofighters Sonic Highways
- ^ Youtube: Foo Fighters Sonic Highways: Trailer (HBO)
- ^ Watch Foo Fighters Roam 'Sonic Highways' in New Doc Series Teaser - Video | Rolling Stone
- ^ Dave Grohl reveals title for HBO show, Sonic Highways, shares trailer | Consequence of Sound
- ^ a b Foo Fighters release ‘Sonic Highways’ teaser
- ^ Foo Fighters Play Career-Spanning Surprise Show in D.C. | SPIN | Music News
- ^ a b Dave Grohl Sang Foo Fighters Songs to 100 People and Filmed It | SPIN | Music News
- ^ Foo Fighters Shut Down a New Orleans Block With Secret Show | SPIN | Music News
