Dave Grohl putting the Foo Fighters on hold

Dave Grohl says that he's going to put the Foo Fighters "back in the garage for a while."
Dave Grohl says that he's going to put the Foo Fighters "back in the garage for a while." (Image credit: MICHAEL REYNOLDS/epa/Corbis)

Timing, as they say, is everything. On the same day that Fender unveiled two new artist models from Foo Fighters Chris Shiflett and Nate Mandel, band leader Dave Grohl issued a statement to indicate that it would be a while before we see the group together on stage again.

Over the weekend, the Foo Fighters played a hits-filled set at the Global Citizen Festival in New York's Central Park. During the performance, Grohl announced,"This is the show where we come out and we play as many songs as we can in a short period of time, because, honestly, I don't know when we're gonna do it again and this is the perfect place to do it, right now, tonight."

Speculation that the band was breaking up lit up the internet, and today, Grohl issued a statement to clarify the situation:

Hey everyone…

Dave here. Just wanted to write and thank you all again from the bottom of my heart for another incredible year. (Our 18th, to be exact!) We truly never could have done any of this without you…

Never in my wildest dreams did I think Foo Fighters would make it this far. I never thought we COULD make it this far, to be honest. There were times when I didn't think the band would survive. There were times when I wanted to give up. But… I can't give up this band. And I never will. Because it's not just a band to me. It's my life. It's my family. It's my world.

Yes… I was serious. I'm not sure when the Foo Fighters are going to play again. It feels strange to say that, but it's a good thing for all of us to go away for a while. It's one of the reasons we're still here. Make sense? I never want to NOT be in this band. So, sometimes it's good to just… put it back in the garage for a while…

But, no gold watches or vacations just yet… I'll be focusing all of my energy on finishing up my Sound City documentary film and album for worldwide release in the very near future. A year in the making, it could be the biggest, most important project I've ever worked on. Get ready… it's coming.

Me, Taylor, Nate, Pat, Chris, and Rami… I'm sure we'll all see you out there… somewhere…

Thank you, thank you, thank you… Dave

Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar WorldGuitar PlayerMusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.