Dave Grohl is known as the most generous man in rock music. But he is not immune to criticism. Unlike many famous rock stars who leave a trail of destruction and make many enemies, we only know of one man who has anything particularly negative to say about the Foo Fighters leader’s personality. This is William Goldsmith, the band’s original drummer.
In 1994, Grohl invited Goldsmith and bassist Nate Mendel to join his post-Nirvana project. According to a note left during one of their original band, emo legends Sunny Day Real Estate’s final shows. After a tour with Minutemen’s Mike Watt and Eddie Vedder’s side project, Hovercraft, their debut album was released. Grohl wrote and recorded it solo following the demise of Nirvana and the tragic suicide of frontman Kurt Cobain.
The album was a huge hit, and the group’s star quickly rose. Goldsmith claims that as they gained prominence. But their leader’s desire for global dominance grew. This became creatively stifling, and he stopped enjoying the increasingly large venues where they were performing. He also became tired of playing the same parts on songs he didn’t write. Furthermore, the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome, a nightmare for any active musician, began to emerge.
Following a spring tour in 1996, the Foo Fighters entered the studio with Gil Norton. He was there to record their much-anticipated second album. Goldsmith found the experience difficult, especially because of Grohl’s perfectionist tendencies. He claims he had to do 96 takes for one song and 13 hours worth of recordings for another. Overall, he felt that his work wasn’t good enough for Grohl or anyone involved.
The recording sessions were nearly complete. But the Foo Fighters took a well-deserved break. Grohl has since maintained that while Goldsmith’s drumming had some positive aspects, it fell short of his expectations. The band reunited in Los Angeles in February 1997. There they re-recorded the album with Grohl on drums. However, he did not inform Goldsmith that he was doing so. It suggested that the frontman is more than just the pleasant everyman he is known to be. It took Nate Mendel to tell his old friend about the overdubs.
Furious at the betrayal, Grohl suggested demoting him to the group’s touring drummer. Goldsmith knew it was time to go. Taylor Hawkins replaced him. He became an integral part of the band until he died in 2022. What’s more, the album The Colour and the Shape has gone down as Foo Fighters’ masterpiece.
In a 2017 interview with The Daily Mail, Goldsmith described his ordeal while recording the hit 1997 album. He expressed his hatred for Dave Grohl, claiming he wished he had never met him. “That feeling might change if we sat down and talked,” Goldsmith went on to say. “But that hasn’t happened yet.”
He claimed that he contributed significantly to the project. But the drummer used a questionable and offensive term to describe how Grohl’s betrayal made him feel “creatively raped.”
He went on: “They dragged me through the coals. “It was brutal.” He compared Grohl to a teen bully. He said, “He was a bit like the kid who is popular but mean, and everyone likes them”.
