Sad to hear about him passing but all the substances in his blood should never come as a surprise. Touring is hard. With any incarnation of show business, the public expects you to always be “on.”
What I’m mostly surprised about was that he managed to stay the Foo Fighters’ drummer from 1997 until his untimely death. Drummers and bassists are often the most frequent dumped/changed members bands. There are always exceptions in which the drummer is key to the band’s sound or personality: John Bonham, Neil Peart, Stewart Copeland, Roger Taylor (Queen), Charlie Watts, Phil Collins, etc. Forgive me if I’m only naming old farts, I readily admit to my ignorance of contemporary acts with a drummer who is vital to the act. I’m confident they exist so please clue me in! I want to stay relevant.
He was also a bit like Dave Grohl, a competent songwriter in his own right and during the Fighters’ off years, he had two side bands: Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders (funny name as it’s a nod to how someone more famous helps out others, again, a Growl move for several acts) and The Birds of Satan (a nod to his Metal background from youth). How they differed? Taylor continued to play the drums while he sang. I’ve heard Grohl on interviews about why he delegated it by the third album, it’s a different head space and it’s just exhausting.
Farewell Taylor. Thanks for everything you’ve done, especially in the last 25 years. I’m very grateful you landed in the Foo Fighters. Being the drummer for one-album-wonder Anus Morrissette and her pre-packaged angst crap must’ve been tough to deal with. You’ve left your mark on the music world.
No worries on knowing any modern drummers. There are just a handful. The rest are all machines. I liked the first two Foos albums, but never been a huge fan. That said, Grohl and company were always an entertaining interview and they were all keeping the torch alive for musicians PLAYING music. RIP.