"I killed Kurt Cobain"
and other tales of extraterrestrial nonsense
with the Foo Fighters' Nate Mendal
by greg e boy
Nate: Are you high?

Greg: Am I high?
Nate: You're stoned aren't you?

Greg: I'm wasted.
Nate: Yep. I could tell.
Foo Fighters

Greg: So do you all live in the same house in Virginia?
Nate: Uh, no, that would be weird. There are a lot of fucked up things about our band but we don't live in the same house.

Greg: Ah, I got the vibe that you all live in the same house and then seeing those videos where you guys dress up in drag, I'm thinking there's some gay love goin' round.
Nate: That would be cool. That would be awesome. That would be a good thing to pin your band on. I mean, how many homosexual rock bands are there?

Greg: Not enough. do you still give Taylor Hawkins [drummer] shit for doing the Jagged Little Pill Tour w/ Alanis?
Nate: Nope, nope. Taylor was extremely ashamed of it for awhile.

Greg: Had to put a moratorium on it, eh?
Nate: Now he's just like, "What the hell?’ it was a good gig, he learned a lot and that's how he met us.

Greg: So I guess you haven't found god like your former bandmate?
Nate: (laughs) No. He was the bad example of how you don't go through getting over problems in your life.

Greg: So there are no Christians in the Foo Fighters?
Nate: nope. not yet. We haven’t gone through a particularly bad time yet, wait till something happens.

Greg: I thought that's why Pat Smear quit?
Nate: Because he became a Christian?

Greg: Because he was a God-lovin’ man.
Nate: That was a creative reading of the events my friend.

Greg: I heard that you guys have a lot of amputee fans.
Nate: Amputee fans?

Greg: Yeah, like hitting up your web site are the fans with missing arms, missing legs.
Nate: Um, no that's great I suppose if they are finding a comfortable place to surf. That's not something we were actively going after. The blind, we were searching for the blind on our web site.

Greg: Yeah, I noticed that there's quite a bit of midgets and dwarves at your shows as well?
Nate: Yeah. Nevermind about the midgets and dwarves. Don't even get me started.

Greg: Let's just leave them out of it.
Nate: Yeah

Greg: So it wasn't the homosexual dwarf amputee that he fell in love with that got Pat Smear kicked out of the band?
Nate: Uh, once again leave it to the journalist to form their own conclusion. I would like you to be as freewheeling with the facts as you like in a story about the Foo Fighters because we are boring as shit. Make something up.

Greg: So you're touring with the Chili Peppers?
Nate: Yeah. It's very gratifying.

Greg: Those guys are a bunch of goofballs, huh?
Nate: Uh, they've mellowed in their old age. I mean, from what I gather about the old days, this is a whole different deal.

Greg: Right.
Nate: They're in their Aerosmith stage right now.

Greg: Oh, I got ya. I'll creatively read between those lines.
Nate: okay

Greg: is it weird to go to a football stadium or hockey arena and hear one of your songs being played?
Nate: Haven't done it.

Greg: I heard Guided by Voices in Home Depot? How weird is that?
Nate: That's a little weird.
v Greg: What do you think about the whole Napster debacle?
Nate: Well, originally I was like well, they are just stealing my money. People buy records and that's how I get by. And now they will buy less and whatever. But, fuck it. It's anarchy. What the hell, go for it. The music industry is boring and horrible and even though it pays my bills, it's wretched. And anything that can fuck it up I'm all for it.

Greg: So you’ve never taped an album off a friend before?
Nate: Oh yeah. All the time. I don't care.

Greg: It's sorta the same thing isn't it?
Nate: It's exactly the same thing. That's a very good analogy. Except in taping you had to buy a tape and the sound quality was reduced. Neither of which you have to do now.

Greg: But how many people want to sit around their computer and listen to music? I mean I need my bong and my six pack.
Nate: Exactly. Nothing to get excited about. You're not really writing a story are you?

Greg: What do you mean? Why would I be talking to you?
Nate: It's not actually going to turn into a story though.

Greg: What's it going to turn into?
Nate: A homework assigment

Greg: A homework assigment, for my little boy!
Nate: Yeah

Greg: I ask the questions people want to know, like what about your gay dwarf amputee fans?
Nate: Exactly. There you go. And if you blow it, and there's nothing you can use, there's always the press kit and you can just do it like that.

Greg: Yeah, that's commonplace. Everybody cribs from the press kit. That's too easy.
Nate: Okay. You don't have any records from The Hated do you?

Greg: Nope, doesn't ring a bell. How much would you pay for it?
Nate: Well, if you had the right one, about ten bucks.

Greg: Aayyyhhhh!!! (laughter) I got a bunch of old Scream records.
Nate: Oh yeah, those are a dime a dozen.

Greg: Are you married?
Nate: No

Greg: What's it like being single and a rock star?
Nate: Oh if you are in the right frame of mind, it's pretty good. It's an excellent opportunity to be gross.

Greg: So no crazy backstage parties stories and stuff?
Nate: Um, Chris [the new guy] is making that a reality.

Greg: Cuz he's new to the rock star thing.
Nate: I'm not going to put it up to that, I think its just the way he is.

Greg: That's good, he's staying grounded.
Nate: It's good for us too, like, "Look at that, I forgot what that was all about".

Greg: You forgot about that.
Nate: Look at him drinking and picking up on bimbos.

Greg: Now you're the old jaded guy.
Nate: Go kid.

Greg: Hey, don't forget to wear a condom. Those girls in Phoenix are nasty.
Nate: exactly