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Taylor Hawkins

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Taylor Hawkins
Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters
Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters
Background information
Birth nameOliver Taylor Hawkins
Born (1972-02-17) February 17, 1972 (age 52)
OriginFort Worth, Texas, United States
GenresAlternative rock, punk rock, post-grunge, alternative metal
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Drums, percussions, vocals, piano, keyboards, bass guitar, guitar, trumpet
Years active1995–present

Oliver Taylor Hawkins (born February 17, 1972 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters. Prior to joining the band in 1997, he was the touring drummer for Alanis Morissette on her Jagged Little Pill and Can't Not tours, as well as the drummer in the progressive experimental band called Sylvia which, after changing their name to Anyone, went on to sign with Roadrunner Records. His cousin, Kevin Harrell, introduced him to Dave Grohl after camping with him for several weeks in the Ozarks. Hawkins would eventually become the drummer for Grohl's band, Foo Fighters. He was voted "Best Rock Drummer" in 2005 by the UK drumming magazine, Rhythm.

In 2004, Hawkins formed his own side project, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, in which he plays drums and sings.

Career

Early career

After leaving the Orange County-based band Sylvia (later emerging as ANYONE), he joined up as drummer for Sass Jordan, which in turn he left to act as drummer for Alanis Morissette. He has appeared in Morissette's videos for "You Oughta Know" and "You Learn".

Foo Fighters

After touring through the spring of 1996, Foo Fighters entered a Seattle studio with producer Gil Norton to record its second album. Conflict reportedly erupted between Dave Grohl and the drummer, William Goldsmith, eventually causing Goldsmith to leave the band.[1] 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 up Hawkins to recommend a new drummer, and to Grohl's surprise, Hawkins volunteered himself. He then auditioned for and subsequently joined the band, making his debut in time for the album's release.

In addition to his drumming duties with the Foo Fighters, Hawkins is also an accomplished rock singer, guitarist and pianist. His first lead vocal with the group was 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 sang lead vocals on the original "Cold Day in the Sun", from In Your Honor which was later released as a single, and the 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 Joe Walsh's "Life of Illusion". Over the years, he has increasingly provided backing vocals on albums and in concert. At times, he has also done lead vocals and guitar while Grohl plays drums, but Hawkins is often limited to singing "Cold Day in the Sun" while drumming. This has led to a running joke whereby Grohl greets the end of Hawkins' stint as lead vocalist with the quip "You know, for a drummer you're not a bad singer", to which Hawkins retorts "Neither are you".[citation needed]

Other projects

In 2006, Hawkins released a self-titled LP with his side-project, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders. He occasionally plays 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.

Taylor played "YYZ" with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush on stage at a concert in Toronto on March 22, 2008.

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 latest album by Foo Fighters band-mate 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 entitled "Holy Man" by writing and singing new lyrics. The recording was released in June 2008 as part of a deluxe edition of Wilson's lone 1977 solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue.

While the Foo Fighters were on break, Hawkins played in a three piece cover band, Chevy Metal, that played lesser known tracks by ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.

Taylor Hawkins appears on Slash's solo album Slash[2] released in 2010, providing backing vocals on the track "Crucify the Dead" featuring Ozzy Osbourne.

Influences

Hawkins has said that his drumming has been chiefly influenced by Roger Taylor of Queen, Stewart Copeland of The Police, and Neil Peart of Rush.

"My earliest Queen memory is of the movie King Kong. I went to see that movie when I was six years old and a typical 70s kid. On the drive home with my parents I heard We Will Rock You on the car radio. Somehow in my mind there was now a correlation between King Kong and the sound of Roger Taylor's drums. Somehow they fitted so well with the image of this monster stomping through the city that I couldn't separate the two".

Taylor is also a fan of U2 stating,

"To be honest, I'm probably more of an older U2 fan. I was a really huge fan of 'Boy', 'October', 'War' and 'The Unforgettable Fire'. I like their new stuff here and there, but my favorite stuff is really the early, underproduced stuff."

Equipment

This is a list of equipment in Hawkins' current Foo Fighter tour kit.

Gretsch drums:

  • 18" x 22" Bass Drum
  • 6.5" x 14" Brass Snare Drum
  • 6x 6" concert tom
  • 6x 8" concert tom
  • 7x 10" concert tom
  • 9" x 13" Rack Tom
  • 16" x 16" Floor Tom
  • 16" x 18" Floor Tom

Zildjian cymbals:

  • 15" K Light Hi-Hats
  • 19" K Custom Hybrid Crash
  • 21" Avedis Sweet Ride
  • 20" A Custom EFX Crash
  • 20" A Custom China (modified with three oblong 5" holes by drum tech Yeti Ward)


This is a list of equipment in Hawkins' current Taylor Hawkins and The Coattail Riders tour kit. Being the lead vocalist of the band, Hawkins prefers to use a small drum kit so he can be seen singing.

Gretsch drums:

  • 16" x 18" Bass Drum
  • 5.5" x 14" Brass Snare Drum
  • 8" x 12" Rack Tom
  • 14" x 14" Floor Tom

Zildjian cymbals:

  • 15" K Light Hi-Hats
  • 18" K Custom Hybrid Crash
  • 21" Avedis Sweet Ride
  • 20" A Custom Crash

Hawkins also uses DW Hardware, Remo drum heads, Latin Percussion Percussion, North drums,[3] Shure drum microphones and Zildjian Taylor Hawkins Signature sticks.

Personal life

Hawkins struggled with addiction throughout the mid to late 1990s, culminating with an overdose on painkillers in 2001 while on tour with Foo Fighters. Hawkins and his wife Alison have a son named Oliver Shane (he is called Shane). They had a daughter, born in the winter of 2009. They currently reside in Topanga Canyon, California.

References

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2005). "Biography" [dead link] AllMusicGuide.com (accessed April 28, 2006)
  2. ^ "Slash interview, ultimate-guitar.com, March 20, 2010". Ultimate-guitar.com. 2010-03-20. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  3. ^ http://twitter.com/#!/foofighters/status/33643843475742720

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