Rest in peace, Taylor Hawkins. On Friday, March 25th Foo Fighters released a statement announcing the shocking passing of the bands’ drummer, and one of Dave Grohl’s closest friends. He died in his hotel room in Bogota, Colombia after complaining of chest pains.
Taylor, whose full name was Oliver Taylor Hawkins, was the long-time drummer of Foo Fighters alongside Dave Grohl, the founding member of Foo Fighters and the past drummer of Nirvana before Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994. Hawkins joined Grohl and the Foo Fighters in 1997 and recorded eight albums with the band.
But the drummer did more than bang the sticks for Foo Fighters. Hawkins also started a side project called Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders in which he played drums and sang, releasing three studio albums. He was also in a supergroup with Jane’s Addiction band members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney called NHC. While in Foo Fighters, Taylor contributed to studio albums and toured with the band over the years. Recently, he also contributed on the group’s metal album “Dream Widow”, released as the band of the same name, and recently acted (Grohl would say “improvised”) for the movie Studio 666.
Taylor Hawkins is survived by his wife Alison and their three children Everleigh, Annabelle and Oliver. He was 50 years old.