Since the tragic passing of drummer Taylor Hawkins, the future of Foo Fighters has been unclear; naturally, the band cancelled all of their tour dates — save for two massive tribute concerts paying homage to their late bandmate, the second of which takes place tonight in L.A. with the likes of Alanis Morissette, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine.
Then, a couple weeks ago, they announced The Essential Foo Fighters collection, a move that could really indicate the pendulum swinging widely in either direction in terms of calling it quits, but guitarist Chris Shiflett seems to expect that there's still new material to come.
On the latest episode of the Plug with Justin Jay podcast [transcribed by NME], Shiflett indicated that he anticipates going through another Foos album cycle at some point.
When Jay asked if other interviewers had brought up the late drummer or if it had been an "elephant in the room," the guitarist answered: "Most people that I've encountered have been respectful about it or try to avoid it," adding that, "It probably will be [more of a thing] when we ever get around to putting out another Foo Fighters record and go back into the promo boogie woogie."
"I remember that when I joined Foo Fighters," Shiftlett reflected, "it was 1999 so it was a while after Kurt Cobain had died but I would watch interviewers twist themselves in knots trying to ask Dave [Grohl] about it but not ask. I would think it would turn into that kinda thing."
The guitarist went on to share that people have been pretty respectful about Hawkins' death, but it's made him reconsider "everything I thought I knew about Jim Morrison dying, or Randy Rhoads or any of those rock and roll tragedies."
He added: "Taylor was this big character and he meant a lot to millions of people so I get that fascination with [his death] but so much of what I've seen out there is so completely wrong." Shiflett slammed the conspiracy theories about the drummer's untimely death, including reports of him sharing discomfort about Foo Fighters' touring schedule prior that were later disavowed as "misleading."
"There's people out there saying shit like Dave killed Taylor by making him get the COVID vaccine," the musician said. "You're going to turn it into that? Fuck you. I try not to pay attention to it but it does make you angry because that shit is just disrespectful."
You can listen to the full interview below.
Then, a couple weeks ago, they announced The Essential Foo Fighters collection, a move that could really indicate the pendulum swinging widely in either direction in terms of calling it quits, but guitarist Chris Shiflett seems to expect that there's still new material to come.
On the latest episode of the Plug with Justin Jay podcast [transcribed by NME], Shiflett indicated that he anticipates going through another Foos album cycle at some point.
When Jay asked if other interviewers had brought up the late drummer or if it had been an "elephant in the room," the guitarist answered: "Most people that I've encountered have been respectful about it or try to avoid it," adding that, "It probably will be [more of a thing] when we ever get around to putting out another Foo Fighters record and go back into the promo boogie woogie."
"I remember that when I joined Foo Fighters," Shiftlett reflected, "it was 1999 so it was a while after Kurt Cobain had died but I would watch interviewers twist themselves in knots trying to ask Dave [Grohl] about it but not ask. I would think it would turn into that kinda thing."
The guitarist went on to share that people have been pretty respectful about Hawkins' death, but it's made him reconsider "everything I thought I knew about Jim Morrison dying, or Randy Rhoads or any of those rock and roll tragedies."
He added: "Taylor was this big character and he meant a lot to millions of people so I get that fascination with [his death] but so much of what I've seen out there is so completely wrong." Shiflett slammed the conspiracy theories about the drummer's untimely death, including reports of him sharing discomfort about Foo Fighters' touring schedule prior that were later disavowed as "misleading."
"There's people out there saying shit like Dave killed Taylor by making him get the COVID vaccine," the musician said. "You're going to turn it into that? Fuck you. I try not to pay attention to it but it does make you angry because that shit is just disrespectful."
You can listen to the full interview below.
