Greater than coworkers. Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl performed collectively in Foo Fighters for 25 years, however their friendship additionally flourished exterior the studio.
When the duo first met within the mid-Nineteen Nineties, Grohl was already world well-known because the drummer for Nirvana. In April 1994, nonetheless, the band’s profession got here to a tragic finish when frontman Kurt Cobain died by suicide at age 27. The Ohio native later initially thought he wouldn’t play music once more after the lack of his bandmate, however by late 1994, he had began work on the undertaking that may grow to be Foo Fighters.
Hawkins, in the meantime, was working as a drummer for Alanis Morissette, whose debut solo album, Jagged Little Capsule, blew up after its launch in June 1995. The late musician and Grohl saved bumping into one another on the tour circuit. When Foo Fighters’ authentic drummer, William Goldsmith, left the band in the course of the recording of their debut album, The Color and the Form, Grohl tapped Hawkins as his substitute.
“Upon first assembly, our bond was speedy, and we grew nearer with on daily basis, each track, each be aware that we ever performed collectively,” Grohl wrote in his 2021 memoir, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music. “I’m not afraid to say that our probability assembly was a sort of love at first sight, igniting a musical ‘twin flame’ that also burns to at the present time. Collectively, we’ve got grow to be an unstoppable duo, onstage and off, in pursuit of any and all journey we are able to discover.”
Although the Queens of the Stone Age collaborator was impressed by Hawkins’ percussion abilities, he was equally as intrigued by his persona. “When he joined the band, his drumming was the least necessary issue,” Grohl instructed NME in February 2021. “I simply thought, ‘I wish to journey the world with this man, I wish to leap on stage and drink beers with this individual.’ That was my largest concern.”
The 2 males had been nonetheless touring the world collectively enjoying music till Hawkins’ demise in March 2022 at age 50. The Texas native was discovered lifeless in a resort room in Bogotá, Colombia, whereas the Foo Fighters had been within the nation for the South American leg of their tour. The band introduced the information in a press release shared by way of social media.
“The Foo Fighters household is devastated by the tragic and premature lack of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” the band wrote on the time. “His musical spirit and infectious laughter will reside on with all of us eternally. Our hearts exit to his spouse, kids and household, and we ask that their privateness be handled with the utmost respect on this unimaginably tough time.”
A reason for demise was not instantly decided, however Colombian authorities launched a preliminary toxicology report claiming that Hawkins had 10 substances in his physique on the time of his demise, together with marijuana, opioids and antidepressants.
Hold scrolling for a glance again at Grohl and Hawkins’ friendship by the years.
