After shoveling coal on the Foo Fighters train for several years, guitarist and punk icon Pat Smear tapped out in 1997.

And when he did, he did it in style. As you can watch for yourself in today's Throwback Thursday video (above), Smear announced his departure from the band live on MTV during the VMAs.

Before he hung up his guitar, though, Smear played 'Monkey Wrench' with the Foos one more time. Later, he came back out to announce he was leaving the band and to introduce his replacement, former Scream guitarist Franz Stahl. Stahl kicked off his Foo Fighters run with 'Everlong.'

Smear would return to the band later, of course. He resumed limited guitar duties in 2006, eventually becoming a full-fledged member once again.

And in case you want to compare Smear's guitarsmanship to that of Stahl's, here's a video of Smear and the Foo Fighters performing 'Everlong' on 'The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show':

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