Saint Cecilia EP

About

By late 2015, Foo Fighters had spent almost two years circling the globe in support of Sonic Highways. The busy album cycle had left little room for anything beyond the demands of the road. As the tour entered its final stretch, Dave Grohl found himself struck by a spontaneous idea: Before everyone went home, why not record a few songs as a thank-you gift for the fans?

The band happened to be spending two weekends in Austin, Texas for appearances at Austin City Limits Festival. Rather than book a conventional recording studio, they transformed the historic Hotel Saint Cecilia into a makeshift workspace. Bedrooms became control rooms, vocal booths appeared in bathrooms, and gear lined the hallways. Just one more way the band enjoyed unconventional challenges.

With no pressure and no deadline, the band unlocked their vault of unfinished ideas. Forgotten riffs and abandoned songs were dusted off and given a second look - “our own sonic scrapbook,” as Grohl later described it. Working between show dates, the band tracked four songs in Austin, joined by friends including Ben Kweller, before returning home to Studio 606 to finish, replacing the frequently-attempted 'Fuck Around' with the newer 'Iron Rooster'.

What started as a simple gift took on a deeper meaning, when the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris abruptly halted the band's European tour schedule. In response, Foo Fighters released the EP for free, dedicating it to the victims and their families, accompanied by a heartfelt letter from Grohl.

The EP was released as a free digital download on November 23, 2015, with a vinyl issue featuring an alternative cover released on February 19, 2016. The title track was the band's 29th song to land in the Billboard Alternative Songs top 20 ranking, along with their 22nd to hit the top 10 on Mainstream Rock Tracks.