Bourbon & Beyond

Members Dave Grohl, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear, Nate Mendel, and Taylor Hawkins have been bringing their brand of hard rock to the world since the release of their debut album Foo Fighters in 1995. A long list of EPs, studio albums, and world tours later, the band is still picking up fans from all across the globe.

The start of Foo Fighters was not, as many bands are, a meeting of minds — rather, it was the blossoming of a single mind. Lead singer and guitarist Dave Grohl had famously joined Nirvana in 1990 as a drummer, but frequently took his guitar along on tours to write songs. Too shy to share them with bandmates Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, he instead recorded his own material in private. In 1992 he released an album of demos called Pocketwatch.

When Cobain passed away in 1994, Grohl faced a crossroads: He could accept the numerous offers to play drums for acts like Pearl Jam and Tom Petty, or he could go his own route. He chose the latter, saying: “I would rather do what no one expected me to do.”

In October 1994, Grohl entered Robert Lang Studios in Shoreline, WA and recorded 15 of his original songs. Astoundingly, Grohl sang every vocal and played every single instrument on the album with the exception of a single guitar part on “X-Static”, which the Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli contributed. The whole process took five days. Grohl released the album as Foo Fighters, a name he later said is the “stupidest f***ing band name in the world.” Though he hoped to remain anonymous, record labels quickly developed interest in the project.

Capitol Records eventually signed the album. When it came time to form a band, Grohl pulled in drummer William Goldsmith and bassist Nate Mendel, both of whom had recently departed from the band Sunny Day Real Estate. Pat Smear came on board as a second guitarist.

The Foo Fighters’ debut gig was February 23, 1995 at Arcata’s Jambalaya Club. Grohl at first refused to play large venues or to conduct interviews, but caved after the album’s release in July 1995. Things took off from there with successful single releases and months of international touring.

The Foo Fighters toured through early 1996 before returning to the studio to record their sophomore album. Grohl wrote all the songs and got assistance from his band in arranging the parts. Grohl later found he was unsatisfied with the drumming, so he scrapped the drum tracks and re-recorded them himself, which caused Goldsmith to quit the band.

The Foo Fighters needed a drummer, and quickly. He contacted Taylor Hawkins, who had drummed for Alanis Morisette, for a recommendation. Hawkins had one ready: himself. The band released The Colour and the Shape in May 1997 with Hawkins debuting. It followed up with a year of heavy touring culminating in the Reading Festival and Glastonbury Festival.

The Foo Fighters’ alternative rock sound has been cultivated from the band’s love of various genres and other artists. The band is as much influenced by Dave Grohl’s former band-mate Kurt Cobain’s minimalist rock aesthetic as it is by the decadence of Queen and the melodic purity of bands like The Beatles.

Many of Foo Fighters’ hit songs, such as “Everlong” and “The Pretender”, have distinctive melodic cores which balance out the harder edge of the band’s thrashing rock sound. Gentle verses lead into powerful, shredding choruses, which encapsulate the songs' emotion.

The Foo Fighters have received a staggering 25 Grammy nominations over the past 18 years, and have managed to take home 11 awards, including four for Best Rock Album. The band has won accolades from all over the globe, with to albums such as 2011’s Wasting Light debuting at number one in 12 countries.

Sadly, long-time drummer Taylor Hawkins died on March 25, 2022, the day the band was supposed to perform at the Estéreo Picnic Festival. The band instead turned the stage into a candlelit vigil for their departed band member and friend. On September 3, it played a tribute concert to Hawkins at Wembley Stadium in London, UK and at Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

The Foo Fighters continue to play to sold-out crowds all over the world, managing to pack out small venues and huge arenas alike. In 2008 the band played two sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium in London, England, each night rocking the audience 86,000 people. With more material on the way, the Foo Fighters’ hard-earned success and popularity are not set to diminish any time soon.

It’s very telling that Foster The People frontman Mark Foster spent a year at a job writing commercial jingles. Not for the reason that one might think, however. Foster The People songs are far from soulless shards of pointlessly catchy noise wrenched into existence for no reason other than to get other people to give up their hard earned lucre.

Instead, they display a wonderfully deft ability to flit between genres that came from Foster being contractually obligated to write three different styles of song in an average day. Their songs feel equally natural whether their “Coming Of Age” or “Don’t Stop (Colors On The Ceiling)”’s sparkling guitar pop or the Prog leaning electro pop of “Helena Beat”.

Even the live versions of the deathless hit “Pumped Up Kicks” have an extended outro that flits between dubstep and disco in a way that sends every crowd that hears it completely bananas. In fact it was this song that arguably made them.

The trio wrote, recorded and released it onto the internet without a record contract at first, and almost immediately it got the attention of music blogs the world over. Once the major labels circled, the band picked the Columbia imprint Startime International and started honing their live act with festival appearances and a residency at The Echo, a legendary L.A nightclub.

“Pumped Up Kicks” grew into one of the biggest hits of 2011, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Several other hit singles followed, as did a couple of Grammy nominations for the subsequent debut album “Torches”.

The band continues to go from strength to strength with their sophomore effort “Supermodel”, and with that record, they kept their crown as one of the most thrillingly unique new bands in the world.

After the breakup of his previous band, Josh Homme formed Gamma Ray in 1996, and later changed the name to Queens of The Stone Age; said to be named so because “rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls.” The band released their self-titled album in 1998, which was mostly recorded by Homme himself, with the appearance Alfredo Hernandez on drums and Chris Goss on backing vocals. Shortly after it’s release, Homme’s former Kyuss band mate, bassist Nick Oliveri joined the band, shortly followed by guitarist Dave Catching, as well as drummer Joey Castillo.

With the help of various other artists, “Rated R” was released in 2000, garnering a lot more attention than their debut album. Frequent touring helped the band gain more support, but they were still able to get time in the studio and released “Songs For The Deaf.” The record was extremely well received and saw to the addition of guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen (previously a part of A Perfect Circle). The band was on a constant tour, and due to issues, Oliveri ended up leaving the band in 2004.

Due to a leak, their 2005 album “Lullabies to Paralyze” debuted on the Billboard charts at the Number 5 slot, making it their most successful album to date. Later that same year, the band released a live album from their performances in London, England. With a slate of guest appearances, the band’s album “Era Vulgaris” was completed and released in 2007, followed by a tour where bassist Michael Shuman and keyboardist Dean Fertita took over touring duties.

During the span of 2009-2010, the band took a hiatus for members to work on their solo projects. While other members joined other bands, Homme suffered an unfortunate near death experience during a knee surgery, forcing him into bed rest for three months. This caused a plunge into depression where Homme almost considered quitting music altogether; however, once he recovered, Queens of the Stone Age re-released their self-titled album and included a tour and a few large festivals, one of which was the last show with drummer Joey Castillo.

With the loss of Castillo and a new album in the works in 2012, Homme announced that Foo Fighter’s Dave Grohl was filling in on the recording sessions for the drum parts, and by summer of 2013 “…Like Clockwork” was released, first in the UK, followed by a US release with the debut reaching Number 1. Homme announced that at the end of their “…Like Clockwork” tour, the band will return to the studio at the end of 2014 to start recording their next album.

Rumour has it the band started when founder and guitarist Wayne Coyne stole a cache of musical instruments from a church hall and invited his vocalist brother Mark Coyne and Michael Ivins, the bassist, to start a band. Following a succession of drummers, Richard English was chosen as the band’s percussionist and who joined the band to record their self-titled album, released in 1985 on their very own label Lovely Sorts of Death.

Rarely has there been a band of such eclectic and esoteric appeal, a band’s whose proclivity for the surreal formed a sporadic pop career. The Flaming lips is often associated with psychedelic culture and many of the themes in the Flaming Lips’ earlier releases share this fascination for science fiction, space opera and the metaphysical world. A string of recordings on independent labels saw the band expand on their sound introducing tape loops and guitar and vocal effects. The band signed to Warner Bros. in 1990 after a representative of the label saw The Flaming Lips almost burn down a venue in Oklahoma, U.S. using pyrotechnics.

The album “Transmission from the Satellite Heart” released in 1993 was the first in which producer Dave Fridmann had not been involved. The album and in particular the song “She Don’t Use Jelly” saw the band have a more mainstream appeal and feature on a number of TV shows including Beverly Hills and Beavis and Butt-head, as well as long stints of touring, opening for the likes of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

There biggest breakthrough however, came following the release of 1999’s “The Soft Bulletin”, which drew similarities between it and The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” due to its orchestral sounds and traditional catchy melodies.

By 2007 after releasing two more full-length albums the band had won three Grammy Awards, one for Best Engineered Album in 2007 for “A War With Mystics” and two for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for “Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia) and “The Wizard Turns On…”. Since then the band has released a whopping 16 albums and have used their critical acclaim to collaborate with an impressive group of past and current musicians from Neon Indian, to Nick Cave and Erykah Badu. The Flaming Lips can seemingly do no wrong.

Musgraves first taste of music was at the modest age of eight where she wrote a song for her elementary school graduation titled “Notice Me”, which largely represented her musical career until 2007. After elementary school she learned to play the mandolin, the guitar and the harmonica among others and used to record country music demos to make money and play at local swing music festivals.

The singer-songwriter self-released three albums“Movin’ On”, “Wanted: One Good Cowboy” and a self-titled in 2007. The same year brought Musgraves big break where she appeared on the USA Network’s singing competition Nashville Star, which is a similar set-up to American Idol. The singer came seventh but gave Musgraves some much-needed publicity and allowed her to make tracks within the Nashville music scene.

In 2008 the independent label Triple Pop discovered Musgraves with whom she recorded the songs “Apologize” and “See You Again” to modest success however her big break was still to come.

In 2012 Kacey Musgraves accompanied Lady Antebellum on their Own the Night tour in the United Kingdom, as well as signing with the label Mercury Records with whom she released her solo debut single “Merry Go ‘Round”. The song is featured on her album “Same Trailer Different Park” along with other hit singles “Blowin’ Smoke” and “Follow Your Arrow” the latter of which was voted by Rolling Stone as No. 39 of their list 100 Greatest Country Songs. Around this time she co-wrote the 2013 single “Mama’s Broken Heart” with the infamous Miranda Lambert.

Musgraves was nominated for four Grammy Awards at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards including Best New Artist, Best Country Album, and two for Best Country Song, she won Best Country song for “Merry Go ‘Round” and Best Country Album for “Same Trailer Different Park”. Musgrave joined Katy Perry on the North American leg of her Prismatic World Tour as well as playing with the likes of Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss.

Father John Misty was born Joshua Tillman to an evangelical Christian family in Rockville, Maryland. Despite being a “pretty aimless kid”, in his words, from a young age Tillman was taken with the idea of being a performer. However, since secular music was forbidden in his house, the closest thing to it that he could aspire to be was a pastor, which was his ambition until the age of 17. That was the age he was at when his parents allowed him to listen to secular music that had a “spiritual theme”, leading him to discover albums like Bob Dylan’s “Slow Train Coming”, which completely changed his life.

Tillman was already musical, having learnt the drums as a child, and then picked up the guitar at 12. Once he was able to listen to the albums that influenced him most he began to write songs, and then at the age of 21 he moved from his native Maryland, to Seattle, Washington in 2002. One of his first demos found its way to Seattle based singer-Damien Jurado, who was so impressed that by the age of 22, Tillman was opening for him on tour. After extensive touring and distributing his demos at shows for free, independent label Fargo Records released Tillman’s first solo album “Minor Works” in 2006, along with his albums “I Will Return” and “Long May You Run” in the same year as a double disk set.

In 2007, another album of Tillman’s was released called “Cancer and Delirium”, meaning that Tillman was an artist who’d released four studio albums of entirely original material in two years. For such a prolific artist, it’s a testament to his creative spirit and lack of ego that he’d then join Fleet Foxes the following year as their drummer, without any involvement in their writing process. Despite him touring with the band extensively, his solo albums still got him signed to Western Vinyl in 2009 where another two albums of his were released the same year. He stayed touring with Fleet Foxes until 2012, when he played his last show with them, changed his stage name from J. Tillman to Father John Misty and made a break for the mainstream.

Since then he’s become something of a songwriter’s songwriter, still releasing stellar solo albums, touring the world to ever increasing crowd sizes and working with everyone from rapper Kid Cudi to Parks and Recreation actress Aubrey Plaza. He’s the kind of artist that could have found success whenever he started, and we should be thankful that we’re around to see his prime. Highly recommended.

The War on Drugs was formed by musicians Kurt Vile and Adam Granduciel after they had both moved from Oakland and back to Philadelphia. Both had similar interests and had especially connected through their appreciation of Bob Dylan. This led to the two, recording, writing and even performing together. Through this instant connection and chemistry, The War on Drugs was born.

Early in the career of the band they had many accompanying musicians but none were official members, Vile and Granduciel then decided to settle official members of the band. These members included: Charlie Hall as the Drummer/Organist, Kyle Lloyd as drummer and Dave Hartley would be the bass player of the band.

In 2008 The War On Drugs gave away their EP 'Barrel of Batteries' for free.

After the release of their debut album 'Wagonwheel Blues' and the European tour which followed,founding member of the band Kurt Vile, had decided to leave so that he could focus on his solo projects. Following Vile leaving other members followed suit, those being: Charlie Hall and Kyle Lloyd by 2008.

Following the departure of key members, the band in 2008 now consisted of members: Adam Granducial, David Hall and Mike Zhangi (who would leave in 2010). By 2012 the bands lineup consisted of: Adam Granducial, Patrick Berkery, Robbie Bennett and David Hall.

2011 saw the release of The War On Drugs second album 'Slave Ambient' this generated widespread critical acclaim as it managed to receive 7 out of 10 from 'Spin', 'BBC Music' gave it a favourable rating and it received an A- grade from 'The A.V. Club'.

As of 2014 the current members of the band are: Adam Granducial on vocals, Dave Hartley on bass guitar, Robbie Bennett on keyboards and Charlie Hall on drum.

At the age of five she started violin lessons where she gained valuable knowledge on music theory and classical music. By the time she was 16 she was playing violin in a rock band in Arizona. While in the band she wrote a solo violin rock song that won her the Spirit Award in the America’s Junior Miss Finals competition. In 2010 Lindsey Stirling started to catch audiences’ attention with her performances on the television show “America’s Got Talent”. Although she did not win the competition for “America’s Got Talent”, she did catch the eye of cinematographer Devin Graham, who would later help her make music videos for her songs that would launch her career.

Devin and Lindsey started to film her music videos in 2011 and released “Spontaneous Me” as her first video. The video immediately gathered a following, which caused a continuation of filming music videos and releasing them on YouTube. Not before long Lindsey had millions of people interested in her music through her YouTube videos and has already had over 519 million views for her videos. In 2012 YouTube announced that her music video for “Crystallize” was the No. 8 most viewed video of the year with over 42 million views.

Lindsey Stirling released her self-titled debut album in 2012, which would go on to reach the No. 1 spot on the Billboard’s Classical Albums and Dance/Electronic Albums chart. The album was a massive success in Europe earning platinum certifications in places like Austria and Germany. The album was also well received by critics who enjoyed the unique combination of mixing in traditional classical music with modern sounds of hip-hop and dubstep.

In 2014 Lindsey Stirling released her second studio album “Shatter Me”. The album was met with great success and reached the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. The album contained a more progressive style of music than her debut album, and it featured the hits “Beyond the Veil” and “Shatter Me”. The album also featured several collaborations with vocalists such as Lzzy Hale and Dia Frampton.

Lindsey Stirling has also released several cover songs that have caught mainstream attention. Her cover of the song “Radioactive” with Pentatonix was highly successful and won her the award for “Response of the Year” for the YouTube Music Awards. She is also well recognized for her cover songs of various video games and movie theme songs. Her collaborations with other musicians are also quite impressive, which show her teaming up with John Legend, Tay Monday, and Sam Tsui.

The touring schedule for Lindsey Stirling clearly conveys that she is a busy performer. She has been touring since the release of her debut album and has made appearances on some late night television shows to promote her music such as “Conan”. Her tours have taken her all over the world to such places like Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland. She has played a 21,000-seat Conference Center in Salt Lake City, US and has sold out numerous venues across the US. Lindsey Stirling’s strong work ethic and immense talent has clearly pushed her into stardom, and her creativity continues to be recognized through her many awards from such institutions as the Billboard Music Awards, German Echo Music Awards, and Streamy Awards.

Gary Clark Jr. started playing guitar aged twelve. He was born and raised in Austin playing humble gigs throughout his adolescence, before meeting promoter, Clifford Antone, who is the proprietor of the Austin music club Antone’s. Antone has in the past given a platform to Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jimmy Vaughan. Clark’s career began to snowball and started to ascend in the Texas rock & roll scene. He has experimented with various styles over the course of his career from hip-hop to country. He developed his sound using trademarks such as an extremely fuzzy guitar sound alongside his smooth vocal style.

It was Clark’s third studio album “Blak and Blu” released through Warner Bros on October 22nd 2012, that catapulted him to a new level of success, reaching number 6 in the US, The Netherlands and New Zealand. It also charted in Australia, France, German and the UK.

It was in April 2011 that Rolling Stone declared Clark, “Best Young Gun” in its “Best of Rock” issue. His song, “Bright Lights” can be heard in the video game Max Payne 3, in the premiere episode of House of Lies and the movie Think Like a Man. His song “Don’t Owe You a Thang” made it into Need for Speed: The Run.

He has played at numerous festivals such as Coachella, JazzFest, Hard Rock Calling, Lollapalooza and more. He won eight awards at the 31st annual Austin Music Awards for 2012-2013, for Band of the Year, Musician of the Year, Song of the Year – “Ain’t Messin Round”, Album of the Year, Electric Guitarist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Blues/Soul/Funk Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. On January 26th 2014, Clark won the Grammy Award for Best traditional R&B performance, for his song “Please Come Home”

Although the band didn't become active until 2012, Paul Janeway and Jesse Phillips actually met in the mid-2000s while both being part of another musical project. The pair reunited in 2012 in Ol' Elegante Studios in Birmingham, AL and began work on a new collaboration that would go on to be known as St. Paul and the Broken Bones. Through quite an organic movement, the two began working around Janeway's vocals before realising that the sounds created were all very soulful. After being joined by Browan Lollar, they recorded their first EP 'Greetings from St. Paul and The Broken Bones' before working out their live arrangements or gigging to crowds.

After a positive response the band quickly went on to begin recording sessions for the debut album 'Half the City'. It was at this time that keyboard player Al Gamble joined the operation and has remained a key element ever since. The production side was handled by Ben Tanner of Alabama Shakes fame.

The preceding critique of 'Half the City' was very positive and this strong recommendation along with a number of high profile television features and performances led onto good chart success. The debut album reached #3 on iTunes Top Albums charts and #56 on Billboard 200 charts. They supported the release with a worldwide tour, taking their sound to Europe where their music is lesser known.

When it comes to rock and roll, nothing forces a band to prove themselves quite like tragedy. With the passing of a band member, the rest of the group is immediately presented with two possibilities, to stop or to continue. In this case, stopping is the easy, understandable option. Absolutely no-one would begrudge any band to split due to the loss of one of their band-mates, but if they do continue and mess up, then they’re liable for more abuse than they could possibly get any other way. However, if they continue and make it work, then you know without question that the band is something very special indeed.

In the form of Better Than Ezra, we have one of the best examples of the latter scenario rock and roll has ever provided us. The trio formed as a four piece in 1988, with Kevin Griffin on guitar and vocals, Tom Drummond on bass, Joel Rundell on lead guitar and Cary Bonnecaze on drums. The quartet met while studying at the Louisiana State University, and cut their teeth performing at assorted college bars and fraternity houses around their campus. The band made their first demo tape the same year they formed and started to generate a substantial local following, and by 1990 they’d self-released their first album “Surprise” on cassette.

“Surprise” was very well received by the local press and started to gain the band some serious attention, but the very same year was when tragedy struck the up-and-coming band. On August 8th, Joel Rundell took his own life, upturning the lives of his bandmates and throwing their future as a band into serious doubt. The band decided to press on by the end of the year as a trio, and started again from scratch, playing the kind of fraternities and house parties that they’d made their name doing. By the early 90’s, the band had learned enough about the music industry to up sticks to Los Angeles, California and form their own label, Swell Records.

With their own label and their new stomping ground in the City of Angels, the band recorded their first nationally distributed album “Deluxe” and released it in 1993. The album was rapturously received and along with the bands celebrated live show, it got them their first record deal with Elektra Records in 1995. “Deluxe” was re-released the same year and it went platinum by that winter, thanks in no short part to the success of their debut single “Good” which reached the top spot of the Billboard Modern Rock Songs chart and stayed there for a whole month. After more hardship in seven years than some see in a lifetime, Better Than Ezra had arrived.

Bonnecaze left in 1996 to be replaced by Travis McNabb, and ever since then the band have been one of the most dependable rock acts around. Never seeing the mainstream success that “Deluxe” brought them again but continuing their run of critically acclaimed records with the likes of 1998’s “How Does Your Garden Grow” and 2014’s “All Together Now”, among many others. They still remain one of the most respected bands around, even having their song “Breathless” covered by the all-conquering Taylor Swift in 2010 as part of a charity telethon. They’re a band who has earned every scrap of goodwill they’ve got and are still at the top of their game. Highly recommended.

Formed by estranged childhood friends who serendipitously reunited at a pool hall in 1993, Tonic’s vocalist Emerson Hart and guitarist Jeff Russo later invited bassist Dan Rothchild and drummer Kevin Shepard to join their ranks. Initially wishing to perform under the moniker Radio Flyer, the band settled with the name Tonic before developing a proud reputation as a group of relentlessly gigging musicians. Tonic’s earliest output arrived in 1996 with the debut album “Lemon Parade”. Led by the singles “Open Up Your Eyes”, “If You Could Only See”, and “Soldier’s Daughter” the album spent 57 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 28. Produced by Jack Joseph Puig, the album’s heavy, guitar driven sound would come to define Tonic’s sound on future albums.

Following the release bassist Rothchild was replaced by Dan Lavery and drummer Shepard began to reduce the role in the band. Throughout the late ‘90s Tonic contributed songs to the soundtracks of “Scream 2”, “Clay Pigeons” and “Gossip”, before releasing their sophomore album “Sugar” in 1999. Earning respectable reviews from the critical press “Sugar” peaked at No. 81 on the Billboard 200 aided by the singles “Knock Down Walls” and “You Wanted More”. The record marked the official departure of drummer Shepard with Peter Maloney taking over percussion responsibilities on the release. Following an intense period of touring Tonic returned to release “Head on Straight” in September 2002. The record earned two Grammy nominations for Best Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (for the single “Take Me As I Am”) and Best Rock Album.

A hiatus ensued from 2004 where Hart released the solo album “Cigarettes and Gasoline”, Russo joined the band Low Stars, and Lavery played on tour with The Fray. Following an announcement in 2008, Tonic played their reunion gig in Antioch, Illinois ahead of their greatest hits compilation “A Casual Affair: The Best of Tonic” in 2009. The band’s eponymous fourth studio album “Tonic” was issued by 429 Records in May 2010. Led by the single “Release Me” Tonic supported the album with heavy touring until the tail-end of 2011.