Whether you know William Goldsmith as a founding member of Sunny Day Real Estate, as the original drummer of Foo Fighters or from his time in the short-lived-but-outstanding band The Fire Theft, you're absolutely aware of his work. Following his tenures in those world-renowned projects, the accomplished percussionist — citing "musical PTSD" (and actual PTSD) — recently ended his decade-long hiatus from playing music to get back behind the kit with Assertion.
A few weeks removed from the release of his new band's debut album on Spartan Records, Goldsmith spoke to My First Band host Tyler Maas about his decision to return to drumming, the response the new record has been getting and his renewed musical motivation. Of course, the conversation also turned to his past work. Over the course of the conversation, Goldsmith talked about growing up in Seattle and quickly taking to the drums, early on-stage experiences in middle school and high school bands, meeting Jeremy Enigk and playing together in a hardcore band called Reason For Hate, the project that eventually turned into Sunny Day, being invited to jam with Dave Grohl, memorable anecdotes from his time in Foo Fighters, and much more.
My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering and Lakefront Brewery. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever else you get podcasts. You can also listen to rebroadcasts of previous My First Band episodes on WMSE every Wednesday from noon to 12:30 p.m. CST. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Devils Teeth ("The Junction Street Eight Tigers") and Assertion ("Set Fire").
