This morning, as most of my days start, I woke up at 6:45 am, threw on some clothes and my AirPods, walked over to the gym, and started scrolling through my phone to figure out what album I wanted to listen to during my morning workout. I landed on the Foo Fighters' third record "There is Nothing Left to Lose" and made my way through the tracklist while bouncing between dumbbells and resistance machines. When the song "Aurora" came on, I thought back to an interview I heard with Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins one time where he cited the song as the first drumming performance he ever did for the band that he was proud of. I always found that anecdote to be amusing; you never think about Taylor Hawkins, one of the great drummers of our generation, being self-conscious about his abilities. The man is overflowing with confidence, unbridled rock ethos, and razor-sharp musicianship. Surely he could manage to put down a decent drum performance for a mid-tempo soft rock song like "Aurora."
Taylor Hawkins died today. This one really shook me. People that I admire for one reason or another all represent different things to me. Noel Gallagher represents the magic of creation. Ben Franklin represents curiosity and ingenuity. To me, Taylor Hawkins represents the joy of living. He represents what it looks like to love what you do and be great at what you do and want to do it day in and day out. He treated the stage like his playground and, much like Dave Grohl, perfectly balanced a devilish grin and healthy appetite for mayhem with an unmistakably down-to-Earth and warm-hearted personality. He's one of the few people I could still look at on a stage and think, "You're a proper bonafide rock 'n' roll god."
He's gone far too soon. Normally you dread watching your favorite bands grow old. I couldn't wait to see Foo Fighters grow old together. They are such a tight-knit, talented family of musicians that still had plenty of great years of recording, touring, and other antics ahead of them. Perhaps the band will continue, but it certainly won't be the same. Taylor's spirit on the drum kit was omnipresent and irreplaceable, whether it was on a recording or live in front of 40,000 people. I am lucky enough to have seen them live twice, and Taylor absolutely brought the fire on both occasions.
Poor Dave. First it's Kurt, and now it's Taylor. I don't even want to begin to imagine what it's like to be in two different bands with your two best friends, and then lose both of them.
RIP, Taylor Hawkins. You are and forever will be a legend.
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