The Foos Fight On

Maximum riffs, minimum drama and lots of barbecue: The sweet life and rock & roll faith of America’s biggest band

- Josh Eells

Dave Grohl says, barefoot in his kitchen in jeans and a biker T-shirt, big goofy Dave Grohl grin on his face. The 48-year-old Foo Fighters frontman doesn’t get much downtime these days, between making records, touring, directing documentaries and gigging with pretty much anyone who asks. (Grohl: “I just like to jam!”) But today, he finds himself uncharacteristically unoccupied. “What should we do?”

Grohl already dropped his two older daughters off at special-effects camp. His youngest, three-year-old Ophelia, is at pre-school, so now he has the day to himself. Next week, the Foos will hit the road in support of their ninth album, Concrete and Gold, flying first to Chicago, then Southeast Asia, Australia and Europe, then back home to throw their own festival, Cal Jam, on October 7th. So Grohl would be forgiven for taking just one day to chill. But “drummers are like sharks,” as Foos guitarist Pat Smear says. “They have to move all the time or they die.” So instead, we’re going to cross a few errands off his to-do list.

But wait – “Do you have anything you need to do?” Grohl asks. I do not. OK, then. Let’s go!

Casa Grohl is a two-acre spread on a resplendent Encino, California, hilltop, with sweeping views of the San Fernando Valley. “It used to be all orange groves around here,” Grohl says. “And 80 or 90 years ago, it’s where a lot of Hollywood actors had weekend homes.” This very neighborhood used to belong to Clark Gable. “Now it’s maybe the most unhip place to live in Los Angeles.”