RIP Taylor Hawkins. Was a beast, no doubt.
Sad. Awesome drummer and seemed like a down to earth guy. I remember an interview where someone asked him “What is it like being a rock star?” He replied saying “I’m just a musician.” Great attitude. My wife is a big fan of the Foo Fighters and we were going to see them at Jazzfest the last two years when it was canceled due to COVID, so she was really looking forward to seeing them next month at Jazzfest and now Taylor is gone. Our hearts go out to his family and friends. Who knows if the band will take the Zeppelin route and call it a career or The Who route and find a sub immediately. There’s also the Mule route of taking your time and playing with a number of different musicians to find a permanent replacement.
Grohl hasn't released a statement. He'd given such a great intro to Hawkins the previous night, he probably can't believe it's true.
I was looking forward to seeing them this summer in Saratoga. Hawkins was such a happy guy on stage & the 2 together made seeing them the happiest place on earth.
Guess Grohl can always play; it's not like he never has.
so sad this happened
https://nypost.com/2022/03/27/taylor-hawkins-heart-weighed-double-that-of-an-average-man-report/
Apparently heavy drug use has taken another good rock musician. I saw a picture he took with a 9 year old fan the night of Taylor's death on TV and Taylor had a big smile. He seemed to be from several people a man who was friendly and caring.
Either Hawkins thought he was superhuman or he was suicidal. I tend to go with the former.
Either Hawkins thought he was superhuman or he was suicidal. I tend to go with the former.
Really? The man hasn't been dead 24 hrs before comments are being made about his state of mind. A combo of anti-depressants/benzos w/a dash of THC (in medicinal form) isn't an unusual prescription for certain mental illnesses. As to the other substances found who knows when or why they were ingested or in what amounts. Even the Colombian authorities didn't release a cause of death - just a tox report. Does it matter to anyone other than his family & friends? Do you want it to be an accidental OD, partying hard, or suicide? What do you care?
https://nypost.com/2022/03/27/taylor-hawkins-heart-weighed-double-that-of-an-average-man-report/
Apparently heavy drug use has taken another good rock musician. I saw a picture he took with a 9 year old fan the night of Taylor's death on TV and Taylor had a big smile. He seemed to be from several people a man who was friendly and caring.
The facts:
And there's no indication of regular heavy drug use after a 2001 scare. I don't know the man. I've enjoyed his shows & seen his interviews where he's said he had an OD scare & replaced drugs w/mountain biking. Yeah, Colombian authorities have leaked info but not given a COD. Why are we in such a rush to label him as anything but a good drummer w/an infectious smile?
@robertdee, not pointing at you, but all Americans seem to be on edge & ready to make pronouncements that don't even concern us. We can't even get thru a boring evening of Oscars w/o Will Smith assaulting Chris Rock & using f**** several times on what's supposed to be a family show. We all need to calm down.
@cyclone88 Yes that Academy Awards show was outrageous. Will Smith should have his Oscar recalled and given to the next actor in line to win. The language was horrible for a family show!! Will Smith reminds me of some of the drunk singers I encountered when stage manager in the summer of 1969 at an old theatre which put on Saturday night country music shows.
Two that stood out was Jerry Lee Lewis and J. Frank Wilson. If Wilson had 5 hours to sober up, after 5 hours he would still be rather waisted. But he sang nine songs including his big hit Last Kiss.
Wilson had a good voice. He died in 1991 at age 49 of complications of alcoholism.
I just checked that source on Google News about Taylor Hawkins and yes you are correct. All the drugs found in Taylor's room were reported by Columbian authorities. Marijuana, Opioids, Heroin etc.
That picture he took with a nine year old fan, he doesn't look waisted in it and he died later that night. 50 years old is young but Steve McQueen was 50. It was lung cancer.
Yes, the show the little girl attended was rained out but she still brought her drums & he listened to her just as some of his drummer heroes had listened to him when he was coming up. As I said, I don't know him but have seen him perform & his interviews. He told a story about calling his friend in Queen to ask if the movie Bohemian Rhapsody would be appropriate (not all sex, drugs, rocknroll) for him to take his then 11 yr old son to see & was told it would ok. He always sounded like a good guy. In the end, it really doesn't matter how he died.
As for movies, I don't think Will Smith will get much work in Hollywood after that assault. Rock isn't pressing charges & didn't make a big deal on stage. There was talk backstage that Smith should be removed from the theatre & his Oscar revoked, but he did win the award for his work in that film so let him keep it. It's tainted now anyway. There's talk that he might be expelled from The Academy (as were Weinstein & Cosby) for violating the Academy's code of conduct.
The worst part is for Venus & Serena Williams - they endured an insult from Jane Campion at another awards show & what should have been a great night for them as a family was ruined by Smith's assault & his apology that said he was just protecting his family (Jada) like Mr. Williams did. I'm a huge tennis fan and have never heard or seen anything about Richard Williams assaulting anyone on behalf of his family at a tennis tournament & in their early years, those young black girls from Compton had a tough time.
Personally, I don't think how a celebrity dies is as important as their life so I like to keep the focus on their accomplishments and in the case of Taylor Hawkins, his music, creativity, and openness to helping young musicians.
@cyclone88 I agree with all you wrote. I'm not having any confidence in what the authorities in Columbia are saying about Taylor and his room.
Thanks for shedding more light on the 9 year old girl. It was a different show then.
That is something she will remember the rest of her life!! And I'm sure his dead is having an awful affect on her.
Back when I was younger Johnny Carson hosted the Academy Awards. And Johnny could zing people. But can you imagine Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson or Charlton Heston coming up and slapping Carson sideways no matter how rude the joke?!
Clint Eastwood did say if director Michael Moore did to him what he did to Charlton Heston he would kill Michael Moore. There would be a funeral in Hollywood.
That was the most shocked I've been over a Hollywood blowup until Will Smith.
Michael Moore tricked Charlton Heston into sitting for an interview at Heston's house about Heston's career but after the camera was rolling Moore zeroed in on Heston being supportive of conservative politics and being President of the National Rifle Association and did his best to make Heston's seat as hot as possible. Moore said he wanted to burn Heston's ass.
Eastwood wasn't there but exploded and threatened Moore's life.
Of course Charlton Heston's career was legendary then. A tremendous actor with an amazing resume.
Comparing Michael Moore to Hollywood ledgends such as Charlton Heston or a better comparison would be famed director David Lean, is like comparing George McCorkle of the Marshall Tucker Band to Jimi Hendrix!!
I saw the interview on C-Span and it didn't work. Regardless of Heston's politics anybody knew it was a small time director trying to make a great actor who played Moses, starred in Ben-Her and El Cid feel embarrassed. It didn't work. And probably Eastwood shouldn't have reacted the way he did.
By the time Michael Moore made his movie, there had been a generational shift so that Heston was known only as NRA president rather than an honored actor very much like Reagan was known for being CA Gov rather than an actor. Moore's movie won the Oscar for best documentary which was quite controversial given that no one really took Moore's films seriously - or at least he made no pretense that he was objective. He was blatantly biased & calling his films "documentaries" was a stretch. He was booed off the stage when he accepted his Oscar.
Back to Taylor Hawkins, sounds like everyone who ever worked with him found him to be not only a good drummer but a good guy - from Mick Jagger to Elton John. Foo Fighters have cancelled all upcoming engagements.
@cyclone88 Where did the Foo Fighters name come from?
I use to buy Smokey Stover comic books in the 1950's and they called the firemen Foo Fighters.
https://images.app.goo.gl/zX2Bm4wZscdHWNcu5
