William Goldsmith (born July 4, 1972) is an American drummer best known as a member of Sunny Day Real Estate and former member of Foo Fighters. Currently drumming for Assertion, he has toured with Mike Watt and IQU, performed on many recordings, and played live with several bands and artists.
Early years
Goldsmith was born in Seattle, Washington to Hugh and Skitty Goldsmith. He began playing drums as a child, after being introduced by his older brother to bands such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, and Talking Heads. Goldsmith has stated that he wanted to be John Lennon, but also a drummer, and has cited Keith Moon of The Who as his biggest influence on the instrument. During fifth grade, Goldsmith formed his first band, Screaming Hormones. In high school, Goldsmith formed a duo called the 13 with John Atkins, and later formed the hardcore punk band Reason for Hate with his friend Jeremy Enigk, whom he had previously invited to be the bassist for the 13. After Goldsmith graduated from high school, Greg Williamson invited him to the band Positive Greed. Afterwards Goldsmith worked on many ensembles, at times being a member of four bands simultaneously. He also expanded his tastes in music, becoming a fan of post-hardcore bands such as Fugazi, and of Nirvana's debut album Bleach.
Career
Sunny Day Real Estate (1992–1995) In 1992, Goldsmith was invited by bassist Nate Mendel and singer-guitarist Dan Hoerner to play with their band. Despite being a part of many projects, Goldsmith accepted due to their tenacity and strong focus. The band went through many names, such as Empty Set, Chewbacca Kaboom and One Day I Stopped Breathing, before settling down on Sunny Day Real Estate. Afterwards the trio recorded a single, Flatland Spider.
As Mendel left temporarily to tour with another band, Goldsmith invited Enigk to jam with him and Hoerner. Enigk was then added to the band, and soon became their new frontman. They recorded two studio albums, both released on the well-known independent label Sub Pop, that were greeted with positive critical reviews and brought about newfound popularity for the emo genre before they disbanded in 1995.
Foo Fighters (1994–1997) During one of Sunny Day Real Estate's last concerts, former Nirvana member Dave Grohl left the band a note. Goldsmith called him back, and Grohl invited both Goldsmith and Mendel to join his new band, Foo Fighters, along with former Germs and touring Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear, during late October 1994. In 1995, they embarked on a club tour supporting Mike Watt along with Eddie Vedder's side project Hovercraft. Afterwards, the band's already recorded debut album – on which Grohl had recorded nearly all instruments by himself – was released. Goldsmith stated that while he enjoyed the smaller venues, "pretty much everything after that blew," saying that as the band got bigger "it turned into a world-domination thing that became really creatively stifling" and he grew tired of reproducing songs he had no input composing. Goldsmith also developed carpal tunnel syndrome after the tour.
After touring through the spring of 1996, the full lineup entered a Seattle studio with producer Gil Norton to record the band's second album. It was an arduous and mostly frustrating process for Goldsmith due to Grohl's perfectionism, which led to the drummer performing his tracks over and over. "Dave had me do 96 takes of one song, and I had to do thirteen hours' worth of takes on another one. It just seemed that everything I did wasn't good enough for him, or anyone else." With the sessions nearly complete, the band took a break. According to Grohl, Goldsmith's drumming had good moments but for the most part his performances did not meet Grohl’s standards. The band regrouped in Los Angeles in February 1997 and practically re-recorded the album—this time with Grohl on drums—without informing Goldsmith about the overdub session. Goldsmith only later learned from Mendel that his contribution was being replaced. Feeling betrayed and unhappy with Grohl's suggestion that he continue on as the band's touring drummer only, Goldsmith decided to leave. He was replaced by Taylor Hawkins and the finished album, The Colour and the Shape, was released on May 20, 1997.