Which former Sunny Day Real Estate member plays bass for Foo Fighters?

Which former Sunny Day Real Estate member plays bass for Foo Fighters? The answer is Nate Mendel.

Nate Mendel is the Foo Fighters' longtime bassist and a founding member of Sunny Day Real Estate. He played bass in Sunny Day Real Estate alongside guitarist Dan Hoerner, drummer William Goldsmith, and vocalist-guitarist Jeremy Enigk. The Seattle band's early records became highly influential in the development of 1990s emo and alternative rock.

Mendel joined the Foo Fighters in 1995, shortly after Dave Grohl began expanding the project beyond its original one-man recording experiment. He has remained a central member through the band's major albums, tours, lineup changes, and stylistic shifts. His melodic but tightly controlled playing is an important part of the group's foundation.

William Goldsmith is an especially tempting wrong answer because he was also a Sunny Day Real Estate member who later joined Foo Fighters. However, Goldsmith played drums, not bass, and left the Foo Fighters in 2001. Dave Grohl is the band's founder, Pat Smear is primarily a guitarist, and Chris Shiflett is a guitarist.