As a musician, I think it’s important to have role models, someone that embodies all that you want to achieve as a musician.  This isn’t just for rockstars, but anyone who’s ever taken up an instrument, whether it’s a guitar or a tuba, and anything in between.  You have to have goals, and what better goal is there than to be able to perform like someone you really admire?  Many of us may never get to that level, but it’s something worth striving for.  It’s better to aspire to be something than to give up and amount to nothing.  In my case, there are a couple of musicians that are the epitome of what I want to be in a musician.



Drums were my first love, and it makes sense that Travis Barker is someone I look up to in the percussive arts.  From my perspective, he’s always been an amazing drummer, but I think others may recognize him more as a pop culture personality (due to TV, hip-hop side projects and his infamous plane crash).  While Travis exhibits a lot of personality both in the entertainment industry and the internet (especially Twitter), it’s his stone-faced stoicism and perceived ease behind a drumset that really astonishes.  Nothing seems difficult to him when he’s got a stick in each hand, and his ridiculous precision adds to the prestige.  I’ve witnessed Travis Barker live with +44, Boxcar Racer, and Blink-182 seven times over the last 12 years, as well as countless hours of Youtube videos and televised footage.

So why do I idolize him?  First and foremost, he’s broken barriers to avoid being typecasted as a “punk drummer”.  He has roots in jazz, hip-hop and marching percussion.  He doesn’t play the same beat song after song.  As a drummer, I can respect how difficult it can be to think outside the 4/4 rhythm box and do all that you can to make a drum part interesting to listen to.  Travis crams all the beats he can into what little space he’s given.  His arms are a blur and he punishes his drums with over-exaggerated strikes.  He’s as fun to watch as he is to listen to, and his limits seem non-existent.  With every new album he’s a part of, I become amazed at the rhythms he creates in place of what could have been a standard, lazy drum beat.  Travis Barker has helped to elevate the role of drummers in modern rock music.  No longer are we the obscured, metronomic robots in the background.  Now drummers can frost the musical cake just as impressively as a talented guitarist or vocalist.



Like Dave Grohl, the drums are my roots, my humble beginnings.  But also like Dave Grohl, it wasn’t long before I wanted to spread my wings and learn more and more about rock music.  Dave went from iconic drummer of Nirvana to iconic frontman of Foo Fighters.  He’s a hard worker and an accomplished rocker, being prominently involved in the rock scene over the course of two decades without pause.  Even his work in Queens of the Stoneage deserves to be more than just a footnote.  He embodies rock music and does it with bravado and grace.  Dave Grohl has kicked people out of concerts for being too disruptive to other fans.  He’s all but condemned modern alternative bands for relying too heavily on computers, autotuning and effects.  He’s all about the raw sound of rock and roll, and he’s 100% correct as far as I’m concerned.

So why do I idolize him?  On top of everything that Dave Grohl has accomplished or been involved in, he’s a stand up guy.  Not only is his music catchy, but you catch a positively friendly vibe from him whether your watching an interview or standing before him in the crowd.  He likes to tell you stories and just feels like he’d be up for a backyard barbecue with you any time.  Charisma aside, he’s an incredible musician.  As if his prowess on the drumset and guitar wasn’t enough, he has an incredible and durable voice.  I witnessed the Foo Fighters play a 2½ hour show without a break.  Dave will be the first to tell you “Oh great, another song where I have to scream”, but all joking aside, he can do it well and with unwavering power.  What I couldn’t give to just have a beer and chat with Dave Grohl…

I’m all about getting my money’s worth, so to leave Lollapalooza a few hours early was a slight sting.  However, our reason for leaving early would become the remedy as I witnessed probably the best live show of my life.

I decided to go to Lollapalooza strictly for the sake of seeing two bands: The Foo Fighters and The Joy Formidable.  The day before Lollapalooza began, there was a post on facebook about a surprise show on Saturday evening at the Metro.  The show would feature the two bands I wanted to see most, and what’s more, we’d be able to see them at the Metro, a venue that holds 1100 people.  We were about 7 rows deep from the stage, a mere 20 feet from the performers we’d come to see.

I fell in love with The Joy Formidable earlier this year.  I compare them to Jimmy Eat World with a female singer, but they’re so much more than that.  They’re exciting and appreciative, thanking the audience after each song for their support.

From the conversations I heard of those around us, it seemed like many people didn’t know who The Joy Formidable was.  It was clear they came to the show to see Foo, and that they may have even had some reluctance about this first band.  As they took the stage, I even overheard someone nearby say “Alright little lady, let’s see what you can do.”  I’d like to think that the same person was one of the many people who seemed genuinely impressed after their set.

They rocked it out, and they proved that they were more than worthy of opening for the Foo Fighters.  Ritzy Bryan pounded the crap out of the gong next to her while the bassist punched an extra bass drum that was on stage.  The drummer, in his maniacal flailing, was captive and in control of the the audience.  The Joy Formidable won the hearts and minds of the crowd that night, and it was ample preparation for what came next…

“It’s going to be a long fucking night” says Dave Grohl as he takes the stage.  ”We’re going to do something we haven’t done in a long time.  We’re going to play our entire new album, and then we’ll play some old shit.”  The crowd roared as the band launched into the entirely of Wasting Light.

“Tomorrow we only get two hours to play,” Dave Grohl said in reference to the gig at Lollapalooza.  ”But tonight, we can play all fucking night long!”  And they did, they played for just over two and a half hours, about 25 songs.

Hearing the whole new album live was great, but hearing those older songs everyone knows and loves was incredible: All My Life, Best of You, The Pretender, My Hero, Learn to Fly, Monkey Wrench, Skin and Bones and more, including a solo rendition of Times Like These, a cover of The Who’s Young Man Blues, and closing with their epic power anthem Everlong.

At one point, Dave Grohl ran backstage and popped up in the balcony almost directly above me.  The band continued to play the riff to Stacked Actors as Dave shredded from high above the crowd.

He handed his guitar down to the crowd below as he ran back to the stage.  Once there, he pointed to the crowd and then asked them to pass the guitar back up with a wag of his fingers.  He received it out of tune and with a knob missing.  ”Who the fuck took the knob off my guitar?” he demanded.  ”Keep it!” he said with comical resentment.

As I said, this is probably the best show I’ve ever seen.  True, there wasn’t much production value, but I would think that people don’t go to a Foo Fighters show for lasers and lights.  To see someone with Dave Grohl’s raw talent, strumming and singing and screaming for 150 minutes without a break is simply remarkable.  I can’t even sing along to more than two consecutive Foo songs without feeling the fatigue in my voice.  To watch the creator of some of the most popular rock music in the last 20 years (16 of Foo, preceded by Nirvana of course) do what he does best in such a comfortably close environment was the chance of a lifetime, and I won’t soon forget it!

The universe is full of unbreakable constants, like gravity, matter and energy.  These things (in theory) should remain the same, unwavering and without recognition of time or nature.  A universal constant is dependable and will always lead to the same results.  In rock music, the Foo Fighters are a universal constant.

Since those Foo boys dropped a new album this week, they are the focus of my latest installment highlighting musicians.  I’m actually listening to the new album, Wasting Light, as I’m writing this piece.  I have this to say about it: If you are not tapping your foot by the 45^th second of the first track of this album, then you are dumb, deaf or dead.  I spoke of universal constants earlier, and rightfully so because Wasting Light (which is FF’s first new album in almost 4 years) delivers the same in your face rock style present on every Foo album since they formed in 1995.

The album is what you would expect of the Foo Fighters: power vocals, melodic choruses, tricky guitar work and interesting percussion.  Foo fans will immediately pick up on a style that is both unmistakable and timelessly deliberate.  They have found what works for engaging their audience and they will constantly reinvent and deliver.  It should be noted that fans may find this album a bit more brutal than prior releases.  The album features a few power-packed songs that absolutely feel like a musical kick to the face, which for those that don’t know, that’s a good thing.

Off topic of the new album, the Foo Fighters can be recognized as having something for everyone.  With over 15 years on the music scene, it’s impossible to think of a time when they weren’t relevant to modern music.  Even between their last album (Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace in 2007) and their newest, they released a greatest hits album with a new single, “Wheels”.  Otherwise, they consistently release albums every 2-3 years, standard in the rock industry.  Sure, the albums all feel similar, but within each microcosm is a great deal of variation.  No matter which album you pick up, you’re not getting 10-13 of the same songs over and over.  You’re getting a rich menu of diverse rock.

There is something for everyone in the history of the Foo Fighters.  Dave Grohl is a modern day Jesus of rock as well as Satan in a Tenacious D movie…