Dave Grohl has revealed his booze-filled secret to keeping his vocal cords in healthy condition.
Foo Fighters are preparing to release their 12th studio album ‘My Favorite Toy’ tomorrow (April 24) via Roswell Records/Columbia Records, and they have previewed it with the singles ‘Asking For A Friend’, ‘Your Favorite Toy’, ‘Caught In The Echo’ and ‘Of All People’.
With some big dates confirmed for later in the year, Grohl has now spoken about the importance of looking after his voice and has told the Dish podcast about his doctor-approved method.
He told hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett about a time “maybe eight years ago” that he had to “go get my vocal cords checked out”, something he said he had “never done”.
“And I was like, ‘Oh, Jesus. It’s going to look like string cheese’,” he joked. “And I thought, ‘Okay, this is it. They’re gonna tell me that I’ve thrashed my vocal cords, and I’ll never be able to sing again’.”
Grohl continued: “And the guy sticks the camera down into my throat and he goes, ‘Just relax.’ And he’d say, ‘Okay, now say ‘eee’.’ And I’m going, ‘Eee.’ And then he looks at my vocal cords and he goes, ‘Wow, they look great.’ And I said, ‘You’re kidding’.”
“He said, ‘No, they look amazing. Do you do vocal warmups?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t.’ And he goes, ‘Okay, do you do like vocal cool downs after a show?’ I said, ‘No.’ And he said, ‘Well, what do you do before a gig?’ I said, ‘Honestly? An hour before the show, I’ll open a beer and I’ll start drinking the beer. I might take an Advil because my knees hurt, my ankles hurt, whatever, I’m old. Um, then I have a shot of whiskey. And then once the beer is done, I’ll open another beer. Then we’ll maybe have a group shot of whiskey. Which we call ‘band prayer’ and then someone will say 15 minutes and I open one more beer and have one more shot. And then hit the stage’.”
“And my doctor said, ‘Just don’t change what you’re doing. It’s working!’ And I was like, ‘Ok, great!’ And that’s it!”
Later this summer, Foo Fighters will embark on a European ‘Take Cover’ tour, including two concerts at Anfield stadium in Liverpool (find any remaining tickets here).
They’ll play some North American dates over the summer and autumn, too, and have announced an Australia and New Zealand leg for 2026 and 2027.
They have also recently reflected on the sacking of drummer Josh Freese, describing it as a “decision that was best for all parties”, and saying they “know what feels best for our band”.
Grohl also made a rare political statement earlier this month, describing the US as “deeply divided”, and claiming that there “needs to be change”.