Asking for a Friend

A letter from Dave

“hopefully tomorrow the sky will clear and you’ll see it. It’s such a beautiful sight” the concierge told me in a slightly regretful tone.

I smiled, and walked out onto the hotel’s outdoor terrace into the soft, afternoon rain. Staring across the calm waters of Lake Kawaguchi below, I found a thick, impenetrable wall of nasty weather in the distance. I knew that Mt. Fuji, Japan’s largest mountain and one of the world’s most majestic natural wonders, was hiding somewhere behind those clouds in glorious slumber. Every map, brochure, photo promised me that it was there, just a short distance from our hotel. Having played the infamous Fuji Rock festival countless times over the last 28 years with the Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures, I was familiar with its legend. I just couldn’t physically see it.

As night fell, I sat in silence on the balcony of the hotel in the mist and chill, waiting for the clouds to break, hoping for some evidence that the behemoth was indeed real. Alas, as the hours passed, my jet lag took hold and I eventually wandered off to bed in hopes that tomorrow the skies would clear and my wish would eventually come true.

After a few hours of sleep (anyone who knows me well knows that I am allergic to sleep) I returned to the balcony with a heavy blanket and resumed my watch. I was determined (another attribute familiar to those who know me well) to witness the mountain coming into view in real time. But…there was movement now. A break in the rain and a shift in the wind that began to part the layers of haze and fog over the lake, intermittently revealing slight, sharp corners of the outline, only to be quickly swallowed up again in the pall of mist and rain. As frustrating as it was, I did not give up or give in. I sat patiently and waited.

A test of faith, if you will.

Before too long, the stars appeared in the night sky, the fog suddenly cleared, and…there it was. Towering in the dark, I gasped at its enormity. I was in awe. From this distance, it looked far bigger and clearer to me than when standing at its overwhelming base, as I had many times before. Humbled by its giant sillhouette, my heart soared momentarily as my wish was realized, and I was filled with deep gratitude and humility. I had my proof. I felt so small in the shadow of something so vast.

I sat for hours and took it all in.

As the sun began to rise and the eastern horizon slowly started to glow, I saw a flash of light in the sky like lightning, and a shooting star crossed over the peak of the mountain.

I made a new wish and started my day. Serendipity to be sure.

As the clouds slowly clear and life comes into view, there are many reasons to be grateful. And humbled. I know this and I feel this everyday.

Since our return to the stage in San Luis Obispo five weeks ago, we have been reminded of why we love and are forever devoted to doing this Foo Fighters thing. From reconnecting as a band and staring at a list of 30 years worth of songs to brush off, to reimagining versions with the incredible blessing of the one and only Ilan Rubin behind the drums, to reuniting with our amazing fans and blasting them with everything we’ve got (no matter the size of the venue) because we would not be here without them, we have the most solid core. And the sun is finally rising over the horizon.

What better way to share the view than with close friends?

In 1992 I first saw the legendary Kyuss perform at the Off Ramp in Seattle and met Mr. Josh Homme. The band were friends of a friend, and before long their album “Blues for the Red Sun” became the soundtrack to that summer. 33 years later and with many miles behind us, I have shared some of my life’s most rewarding musical moments with my dear friend, Josh. A lifelong bond that goes far beyond the sound we’ve made together. So it is with great happiness that we can share this next chapter together with his almighty Queens of the Stone Age.

Take cover.

But none of this would be complete without new music to share from Pat, Nate, Chris, Rami, Ilan and I. “Asking for a Friend” is a song for those who have waited patiently in the cold, relying on hope and faith for their horizon to appear. Searching for “proof” when hanging by a wish until the sun shines again.

One of many songs to come…

Let’s watch this mountain come into view together.

Dave