First off I am 52, just about the same age as Dave Grohl. Nirvana’s Nevermind was the soundtrack to my junior year of college. FF’s debut album and The Colour and The Shape were permanently in my 20 CD changer in my car for a few years. I consider FF one of my favorite bands. Over the years they have put consistent albums, each with 1-2 great songs and the rest pretty good. I do not consider them anywhere near the greatest band in the world, but their combo of rock anthems, great live shows and sense of humor click for me. I was lucky enough to see them play Lollapalooza in 2021, one of their last shows with Taylor Hawkins and it was awesome. So, yeah, I’m a fan.
Here is why I think this is going to be a successful pin:
Dave Grohl is arguably the biggest rock star in the world right now and the Foo Fighters are a very relevant band. For those people here who say they’ve never heard of the FF, I’m not sure what to say other than “sorry sir, I apologize for being on your lawn”. Grol was in Nirvana. Tom Petty fired him as drummer for the Heartbreakers when he heard his demo’s and told him to start FF. Letterman asked them to play his final show. It’s a band in the RRHOF. Grohl has a text thread open with Paul McCartney, Brian May and John Paul Jones, who he has played with many times all showed up at TH’s tribute concert. This is not common for a pin - most themes are generally old, bands that broke up years ago, movies that are 20+ years old. FF still play the biggest festivals in the world, all over the world. They are headlining 11 music festivals, including Bonnaroo, this summer. It’s okay to not like the FF, but to say they are irrelevant and no one likes them is just not true. I think there are going to be a ton of Pro’s in bars around the country and world.
Grohl and FF do not take themselves too seriously. From day one, after what looked like not a whole lot of fun in Nirvana, the FF and Grohl have been fun, silly and stupid. The have a library of the funniest/dumbest videos of all time. Studio 666 - a terrible slasher movie starring the band. The Dee Gees. Jamming with Fraggle Rock. Drum battles with a 14 year old girl. Trolling churches by playing on a flatbed truck. The Hanukkah Sessions. Arguably the best episode ever of Hot Ones, where Grohl owned Sean Evans. This always boded well for a pin and I think the trailer confirms it. A FF pin where the goal is to get play venues to ultimately get to Bonarroo wizard mode muiltiball. No thanks. Cartoons + Scooby Doo + Ghostbusters + Area 41 + FF music. Much more interesting.
FF control their catalog and assets. Through Rosewell, they will be able to give Stern probably anything they want. Compare that to what seems to be going on with Bond. The only issue I could think of is what impact the estate of Taylor Hawkin might have on his likeness in the game. However, he striked me as the kind of guy who would have no problem with a cartoon version of himself screaming callouts for eternity. He’s right there in the front seat of the van, which bodes well.
Dave Grohl is a shill and the Foo Fighters are a marketing machine. If you don’t like FF or Grohl its probably because they are everywhere and Grohl probably annoys you. They take advantage of playing festivals, going on the late night shows, playing the grammy’s. I think this pin will be one of the first that will be actively marketed by not only Stern and distributors but the band. While I think the Stern creative team has been doing nice work lately, I would bet the assets in this game are next level because FF/Grohl and their creative agency will be involved. I can see them having the assets/machine playing on the big screen behind them on tour this summer. They can leverage the investment in the creative assets that way. The last thing they need is whatever minimal royalties they get from a pinball machine - they can make $1m for playing an hour concert at some billionaire son’s bar mitzvah. Grohl does not seem to do anything half assed and I’m sure he’s pretty involved in the development of the game/assets and will do his part to make it successful. It not out of the realm of possibility that he/they put together some new music for the pin. I would bet that when Jack Danger does the livestream reveal of the machine, Grohl will be there downing Coke and Crown shots between every ball.
This could be the machine where new management’s DLC strategy kicks in. I have no inside info here and this is all conjecture. Insider connected and the OTA updates are cool, but you know Stern is angling for more. Building off the last point, FF are active and a marketing machine. Put a FF Pro in a few thousand bars and its a literal billboard for the band. During attract mode: list of upcoming concerts, FF appearing on Colbert Tuesday night, auto-download the newest single/video and play it for the patrons. While one strategy is DLC that owners pay for, the other is pure advertising. Most people here will hate one or both of those use cases that but its coming.
Zombie Yeti has a long relationship with the FF. He’s done many concert posters for them and the alien at the beginning of the teaser is straight from this art work. This is his wheelhouse and would think the art is going to be pretty cool.
Finally, who isn’t rooting for Jack Danger? He’s worked his way up and now gets his first cornerstone with Stern and it’s for the Foo Fighters! We’ve all watched him stream from his apartment and Logan Arcade. Now he’s got Dave Grohl on speed dial. I hope he kills it. F’n A, Jack. Shots of Malort all around.
I’m excited about this.
Torrance, CA
Mississauga, ON
Sydney
