How did Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl meet? Friendship explored as Foo Fighters drummer dies aged 50

Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins passed away on Friday, March 25, at the age of 50. The news of his sudden demise was announced in an official statement by the band.

Although no exact cause of Hawkins’ death has been provided, the band mentioned that his passing was “tragic and untimely”:

According to CBS, police vehicles, ambulances and several fans gathered outside the northern Bogota hotel where Hawkins was reportedly staying prior to his demise.

Taylor Hawkins was last seen on stage during Lollapalooza Argentina on Sunday, March 20. He was touring across South America with the Foo Fighters and was scheduled to perform at the Festival Estereo Picnic in Bogota, Colombia with the band.

Following the drummer's death, his close friend and bandmate Dave Grohl’s loving words about the musician resurfaced online. The latter called Hawkins his “best friend and brother from another mother” in his 2021 book The Storyteller.

Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins first met backstage at a concert when the latter was still with Alanis Morissette. The duo felt an immediate connection and Hawkins joined the Foo Fighters right after.

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A look into Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl’s friendship

Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins became best friends right after their first meeting (Image via Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Taylor Hawkins joined Foo Fighters in 1997 nearly three years after the band was first established. Reports suggest Grohl approached him to join the band after the departure of the-then existing drummer William Goldsmith.

Grohl once told Radio X that the duo immediately connected after their first meeting and stayed close over the years:

“The first time we had a beer together, we're like, 'we're gonna be best friends for the rest of our lives. And it's true, we still are.”

In another interview with 95.5 KLOS, Grohl shared his thoughts about his first impression of Hawkins:

“The first time we met, we were at some radio show backstage, and he came up with a beer in his hand. He's like, 'Hey, man, what's up? I'm Taylor, I play with Alanis Morissette. Dude, I love your record, it's so cool!' He was such a spaz.”

In the same interview, the Foo Fighters frontman called Taylor Hawkins his “spirit animal” and praised his drumming skills:

“I was like, 'Wow, you're either my twin or my spirit animal, or my best friend!' In the first 10 seconds of meeting him. And, of course, I'd seen him play the drums, and I thought he was an amazing drummer.”

Shortly after joining the Foo Fighters, Hawkins praised Grohl during an interview with OC Weekly:

“I was a little nervous at first, but I got over that. Any instance where you're auditioning for something, you're going to be nervous. But no-one can play better than Dave Grohl. He just has this vision in his head.”

Meanwhile, Grohl appreciated Hawkins’ drumming ability and his additional skills during a Fresh Air interview in 2017:

“He's a decathlete. He's amazing. Taylor is not only my best friend in the world but an incredible drummer… So when we're writing songs, you know, I might request something or I might try to steer in a direction, but for the most part, the guy, he doesn't need me to tell him what to do because he's an incredible drummer.”

Dave Grohl also spoke about his personal and professional relationship with Taylor Hawkins during the same interview:

“It's not like any other relationship I have in my life. We're close personally, but then we're also connected by this love and understanding of rhythm and drums.”

While Foo Fighters continued to take the industry by storm for over 25 years, they also often made news for the friendship between Grohl and Hawkins. The latter always appeared in interviews alongside the frontman, and the duo even exchanged their roles as the vocalist and drummer of the group during concerts.

When Taylor Hawkins slipped into a coma after a heroin overdose in 2001 and spent more than two weeks in the hospital, Dave Grohl considered quitting music. He told The Guardian in 2011 that he started praying for his friend every night despite never having visited a church in his life:

“When Taylor wound up in [the] hospital I was ready to quit music. Because, to me, it felt like music equaled death. I started praying. I've never been to church in my life, and I'm walking back from Taylor's hospital to our hotel every night, praying out loud in the streets of London.”

Grohl gave a detailed insight into his friendship with Hawkins in his 2021 autobiography, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music. The singer called Hawkins his “best friend,” “partner in crime” and the man he would take a bullet for.

The Nirvana alum shared that he and Taylor Hawkins were grateful to find each other in this lifetime:

“Upon first meeting, our bond was immediate, and we grew closer with every day, every song, every note that we ever played together. We are absolutely meant to be, and I am grateful that we found each other in this lifetime.”

Grohl also recalled their first meeting in his book and compared it to “love at first sight”:

“I am not afraid to say that our chance meeting was a kind of love at first sight, igniting a musical `twin flame’ that still burns to this day. Together, we have become an unstoppable duo, onstage and off, in pursuit of any and all adventure we can find.”

The Foo Fighters creator said that he and Taylor Hawkins were like “a hyperactive blur of parliament lights,” who went “air drumming” wherever they went. He called the duo, “part Beavis and Butthead, part Dumb and Dumber” and indicated that their friendship would last for eternity.

Although Hawkins and Grohl’s lifelong friendship came to an abrupt halt with the former’s untimely death but their bond and the moments they spent together will always be alive in memories.