Foo Fighters Accidentally Had ‘Wrong Nick’ Produce Album

We’ve all likely run into the issue of accidentally calling the wrong person when two people share a same first name in our phone list, but when Foo Fighters did that, it turned into an accidental collaboration that lasted over the course of a full album and helped start the career of one of today’s top rock producers.

Speaking with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, the group recalled Nick Raskulinecz becoming a producer on their One By One album kind of by accident. Drummer Taylor Hawkins told Lowe, “Dave [Grohl] accidentally called the wrong Nick. Nick Raskulinecz showed up and that guy who produced it and he just was a great cheerleader for us, you know? And, he really was enthusiastic about us.”

Grohl then revealed, “I meant to call Nick Oliveri, who was the bass player of Queens of the Stone Age and my friend Nick Raskulinecz answered. I knew him from Sound City, he’s a great engineer. He had worked at that studio for years.”

At the time, Grohl had really close ties with Queens of the Stone Age as he had played drums on their 2002 Songs for the Deaf album and was touring with the group as well.

When Lowe asked if Dave dodged admitting he called the wrong person and instead asked him to come down to make a a record, Grohl responded, “Exactly, yes. That’s exactly what happened.”

Hawkins added, “Yeah. And, he’s gone on to become a legendary big time producer.”

That One By One album from the Foo Fighters hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, bolstered by the singles “All My Life,” “Times Like These” and “Low.” It’s gone on to become a platinum-selling record for the group.

Meanwhile, as Hawkins stated, Raskulinecz’ producing career has blossomed since taking on that Foo Fighters album. He’s produced records for Stone Sour, Rush, Trivium, Alice in Chains, Deftones, Evanescence, Ghost, Mastodon, Korn, Halestorm, Rise Against and more in the years since his accidental gig with the Foo Fighters.

Check out the chat in full below and take a listen to Apple Music’s Foo Fighters Essentials playlist here.

Foo Fighters Speak With Zane Lowe on Apple Music