Taylor Hawkins

Taylor Hawkins
File:FoosLollBerlin190917-21 (cropped).jpg Hawkins with Foo Fighters in 2017
Background information
Birth name	Oliver Taylor Hawkins
Born	(1972-02-17)February 17, 1972 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Origin	Laguna Beach, California, U.S.
Died	Bogotá, Colombia
Genres	Alternative rock, punk rock, post-grunge, alternative metal, progressive rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer, songwriter
Instruments	Drums, percussion, piano, vocals, guitar
Years active	1994–2022
Associated acts	Foo Fighters Sass Jordan Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders Coheed and Cambria Alanis Morissette Eddie Fisher Anyone Eagles of Death Metal The Birds of Satan

Oliver Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 – March 25, 2022) was an American musician. He was best known as the drummer for the rock band Foo Fighters, with whom he recorded eight studio albums. Before joining the band in 1997, he was the touring drummer for Sass Jordan and Alanis Morissette, as well as the drummer in the progressive experimental band Sylvia.

In 2004, Hawkins formed his own side project, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, in which he played drums and sang, releasing three studio albums between 2006 and 2019. In 2021, he formed the supergroup NHC with Jane's Addiction members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney, where he also took on lead vocal and drumming duties. The band's sole album is due for release in 2022. He was voted "Best Rock Drummer" in 2005 by the British drumming magazine Rhythm.

Early life

Oliver Taylor Hawkins was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on February 17, 1972. His family moved to Laguna Beach, California, in 1976, where Hawkins grew up. Hawkins had a brother, Jason, and a sister, Heather. He graduated from Laguna Beach High School in 1990.

Career

Early career

Hawkins played in the Orange County-based band Sylvia before he became the drummer for Sass Jordan.

From June 1995 until March 1997, Hawkins was Alanis Morissette's drummer on the tour supporting Jagged Little Pill and her Can't Not tour. He appeared in the videos for "You Oughta Know", "All I Really Want", and "You Learn". He also appeared on Morissette's VHS/DVD Jagged Little Pill, Live (1997).

Foo Fighters

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Hawkins singing during a Foo Fighters concert in 2018

After touring through the spring of 1996, Foo Fighters entered a Seattle studio with producer Gil Norton to record its second album. Conflict during recording reportedly erupted between Dave Grohl and drummer William Goldsmith, eventually causing Goldsmith to leave the band. The band regrouped in Los Angeles and almost completely re-recorded the album with Grohl on drums. The album, The Colour and the Shape, was released on May 20, 1997. Grohl called Hawkins, an acquaintance at the time, to seek recommendations for the band's new drummer. Grohl was under the impression that Hawkins would not leave Morissette's touring band, given she was a bigger act than Foo Fighters at the time. To Grohl's surprise, however, Hawkins volunteered to join the band himself, explaining that he wanted to be a drummer in a rock band rather than for a solo act. The band announced Hawkins would be the new drummer on March 18, 1997.

In addition to his drumming duties with the Foo Fighters, Hawkins also provided vocals, guitar, and piano to various recordings. He performed the lead vocal on a cover of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar". Two versions of the song were released, one as the B-side to "Learn to Fly" and another on the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack album. He later sang lead vocals on "Cold Day in the Sun" from In Your Honor, which was later released as a single, as well as a cover of Cream's "I Feel Free," which appeared as the B-side of "DOA" and on the EP Five Songs and a Cover. Hawkins also sang lead vocals for the band's cover of Joe Walsh's "Life of Illusion". Later, he sang lead vocals for "Sunday Rain", a track on the Foo Fighters' 2017 album Concrete and Gold. He sang lead vocals on some songs during Foo Fighters live shows, such as a cover of Queen's "Somebody To Love" on his last concert with the band. He also contributed to the band's songwriting, and was listed as a co-writer on every album since There Is Nothing Left to Lose.

Hawkins' final performance with the Foo Fighters before his death was at the Lollapalooza Argentina festival on March 20, 2022.

Other projects

Hawkins (behind the drums) playing with Foo Fighters in Austin, Texas

In 2006, Hawkins released a self-titled LP with his side project, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders. Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders subsequently released two more studio albums: Red Light Fever in 2010, and Get the Money in 2019. He occasionally played with a Police cover band alternately called "The Cops" and "Fallout." At Live Earth in 2007, Hawkins was part of SOS Allstars with Roger Taylor of Queen and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Hawkins recorded the drum tracks for the Coheed and Cambria album Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow as the band's regular drummer, Chris Pennie, was not able to record due to contractual reasons. Also, Hawkins toured with Coheed and Cambria shortly during the months of the album. Hawkins can also be heard drumming on Eric Avery's (formerly of Jane's Addiction) first solo effort, Help Wanted and on Kerry Ellis's album, Wicked in Rock. Hawkins and Grohl split drumming duties on Harmony & Dissidence, the third album by Foo Fighters bandmate Chris Shiflett's own side project, Jackson United.

Hawkins played on the track "Cyborg," from Queen guitarist Brian May's 1998 solo album, Another World; he also played drums at VH1's Rock Honors 2006 while Queen performed "We Will Rock You." He sang backing vocals on the Queen + Paul Rodgers single, "C-lebrity."

Hawkins was commissioned to complete an unfinished recording of a song by Beach Boys' drummer Dennis Wilson titled "Holy Man" by writing and singing new lyrics. The recording, which also featured contributions from Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, was issued as a single for Record Store Day in 2019.

While the Foo Fighters were on break in 2013, Hawkins formed a rock cover band called Chevy Metal.

Hawkins in 2012

Hawkins appeared on Slash's solo album Slash, released in 2010, providing backing vocals on the track "Crucify the Dead," featuring Ozzy Osbourne. He was cast in the role of Iggy Pop in the rock film CBGB. Hawkins recorded the drums on Vasco Rossi's last song, "L'uomo più semplice." This song was released on January 21, 2013, in Italy.

In March 2014, Hawkins announced his new side project called The Birds of Satan. It features Hawkins's drum technician and bandmate from Chevy Metal, Wiley Hodgden on bass guitar and vocals as well as guitarist Mick Murphy also of Chevy Metal. The band's self-titled debut album was released in April 2014, with a release party at 'Rock n Roll Pizza' featuring the Foo Fighters guesting on some of the cover tracks.

In an interview with Radio X, Hawkins revealed that his initial idea with his solo projects was to duet with female singers.

Hawkins invited other stars to sing in Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders album Get the Money, like LeAnn Rimes, on one of his songs titled "C U In Hell". Loudwire named the album one of the 50 best rock efforts of 2019. Other musicians who appeared on his projects included Roger Taylor, Brian May, Dave Grohl, Nancy Wilson, Joe Walsh, Chrissy Hynde, and many more.

In 2021, Hawkins and Jane's Addiction members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney formed a supergroup called NHC. Described by Hawkins as being "somewhere between Rush and the Faces", the band made its live debut in September 2021 at Eddie Vedder's Ohana festival, with Taylor's Foo Fighters bandmate Pat Smear on additional guitar. The band recorded an album in 2021, which is due for release in 2022.

Influences

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Hawkins performing in 2018

Hawkins said that his drumming was chiefly influenced by classic rock drummers. His main influences were Phil Collins of Genesis, Stewart Copeland of The Police, Budgie of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Roger Taylor of Queen, Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction, Ringo Starr of the Beatles, Jim Gordon of Derek and the Dominos, and Neil Peart of Rush. He was once guest editor of Rhythm and interviewed Collins, Copeland, Taylor, and Perkins for the issue.

It was thanks to Rush that I got into Genesis. After listening to Neil, I bought the Seconds Out live album, which was released in 1977. It's just amazing. Not only hearing Phil Collins playing the drums, but also singing. He gets a really bad rap from some people for 'daring' to take over after Peter Gabriel quit, but you just hear the way he sounds here. The beauty of this album is that it's got songs from ...Trick Of The Tail, the first album Genesis did without Gabriel. Collins is an incredible drummer. Anyone who wants to be good on the drums should check him out – the man is a master.

Hawkins's first two major inspirations were Roger Taylor and Stewart Copeland. He reported that due to these two drummers' different styles, it gave him a wide spectrum of drumming style. He also mentioned that he would play along with songs on the radio or records, like Queen's News of the World, to enhance his skills when he was young.

Personal life

Hawkins and his wife, Alison, married in 2005. They had three children together, Oliver, Annabelle and Everleigh. They resided in Hidden Hills, California, after moving from Topanga Canyon in 2012.

Hawkins overdosed on heroin in August 2001, which put him in a coma for two weeks. Speaking to Beats 1 host Matt Wilkinson in 2018 about the incident, Hawkins said: "I was partying a lot. I wasn't a junkie per se, but I was partying. There was a year where the partying just got a little too heavy. Thank God on some level this guy gave me the wrong line with the wrong thing one night and I woke up going, 'What the fuck happened?' That was a real changing point for me."

He was a childhood friend of current Yes lead vocalist Jon Davison. Hawkins was the one who suggested Davison to Yes bassist Chris Squire even before the departure of replacement vocalist Benoit David. "Strangely enough, Jon's name came up when we started working with Benoit," Squire recalled. "In fact, my friend, Taylor Hawkins, had been telling me for years: 'If you ever need a replacement (singer), I know exactly the guy.'"

Death

On March 25, 2022, the Foo Fighters' official social media accounts announced that Hawkins had died at 50, with the cause of death being unconfirmed. He was reportedly found unresponsive in his hotel room at the Casa Medina hotel in Bogotá, Colombia. The band was on tour in South America at the time of the announcement and was scheduled to perform at the Estéreo Picnic Festival in Bogotá that night.

Discography

Source

Foo Fighters

Main article: Foo Fighters discography

• There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999)
• One by One (2002)
• In Your Honor (2005)
• Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007)
• Wasting Light (2011)
• Sonic Highways (2014)
• Saint Ceilia (2015)
• Concrete and Gold (2017)
• Medicine at Midnight (2021)

Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders

• Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders (2006)
• Red Light Fever (2010)
• Get the Money (2019)

NHC

• Intakes & Outtakes EP (2022)

The Birds of Satan

• The Birds of Satan – (2014)

Coheed and Cambria

• Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow – (2007)

Solo

• Kota (EP) (2016)

External links

• Hawkin's Poor Brain – a collection of Taylor's interviews
• Grohl and Hawkins Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
• Taylor Hawkins discography at Discogs