THE advent of the latest decade has seen so many lives lost, be it from Covid-19, natural or unnatural causes, and the list continues to grow with each passing year.
In 2020, one of the biggest deaths came towards fourth quarter of the year, when musician and rising rockstar Riley Gale sent shockwaves through the rock and metal community after he was found dead in his own home. Many of the old guard in rock and roll paid tribute to Gale.
Towards the end of the same year, two days before 2021 rolled into view, Finnish metal musician Alexi Laiho passed away. Laiho, like Gale, was mourned by the rock community, as his band Children of Bodom was responsible for being the ‘gateway band’ for introducing rock fans born in the late ‘90s to metal.
Last year, Slipknot’s original drummer and co-founder Joey Jordison passed away, and dealt another big blow to the rock community.
For rock musician and legend Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, to say 2022 had a rough start might be an understatement.
Towards the end of last month, Grohl lost fellow bandmate and close friend Taylor Hawkins. It is arguably the most crippling death he has to face, as Hawkins is Grohl’s second best friend to pass away under the influence of drugs.
The first was Kurt Cobain, in the middle of the 1990s.
A Foo Fighter
As the drummer of Foo Fighters, Hawkins led an illustrious life that followed after his entry into the band, while before it, he played in small bands such as Sylvia and Sass Jordan, before eventually ending up on Alanis Morissette’s live tour band.
After Foo Fighters released their first album, Grohl would eventually butt heads with the band’s former drummer William Goldsmith during the second album’s recording, leading to the latter’s departure.
Following The Colour and the Shape’s release, under the impression that Hawkins wouldn’t leave Morissette’s band, Grohl approached him for recommendations of drummers that could fill the empty spot Goldsmith left.
To his surprise, Hawkins volunteered for the position on the drum kit, despite the pressure of playing behind Grohl, who even in 1997, was certified as a heavyweight drummer in terms of prowess and technicality.
In an interview from 1997, Grohl commended Hawkins’ drumming.
“Since Taylor is in the band, I don’t even get behind the drum set cause he makes me look like a fool,” Grohl said, explaining that he used to watch Hawkins do crazy things behind the kit.
Hawkins was also known for his ability to understand the relationship between different instruments, and how good songwriting and playing are symbiotic.
“Being a guitar player who’s also a drummer, I understand the relationship between the two instruments. And [Hawkins] is a drummer who’s also a guitar player, so he understands it too. So there’s not much I really need to explain to him. People who understand song structures and riffs don’t have much trouble feeling their way through a song,” Grohl elaborated.
After joining Foo Fighters, Hawkins would become an integral part of the band, not only being the drummer but also providing vocals, guitar and piano for several songs.
Hawkins was involved with every album each step of the way, from There Is Nothing Left to Lose to the latest album, Medicine at Midnight that was released last year, and was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year.
Passing of another icon
At the age of 50, Hawkins’ death shocked many, as it was unexpected and came completely out of left field, with even his doctor once saying he was in very good shape a year ago.
However, this incident was not the first time.
In August 2001, Hawkins overdosed on heroin, which left him in a coma for two weeks. The entire time he was comatose, Grohl was by his side in the hospital.
In the album In Your Honor that was released four years later, Grohl would include “On the Mend”, a song that he wrote about Hawkins during that difficult time.
Over a decade later, Hawkins said the incident occurred because someone “gave him the wrong thing” and that he wasn’t a “junkie” or drug addict.
Though no one knows what he was doing in that Colombian hotel room on March 25, a toxicology report that was released a day later revealed there were ten different substances that tested positive from his urine.
Four days later, Foo Fighters cancelled all upcoming shows, because how could a tight unit like them continue when their second-in-command has passed on?
How will Grohl live with himself, having seen this happen not once but twice?
As outsiders, we can just stand and watch. There is no bringing back a bright soul like Hawkins’, but fans and onlookers should cherish the countless music that he has put out through the Foo Fighters as continuous legacies of Hawkins and a testament to what he brought to the world.