'I Used To Do A Lot Fucking Drugs… I Believed The Bullshit Myth Of Live Fast And Die Young'
Kerrang!|Issue 1796
Taylor Hawkins Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins And The Coattail Riders
Simon Young
'I Used To Do A Lot Fucking Drugs… I Believed The Bullshit Myth Of Live Fast And Die Young'

For as long as he can remember, music has always been part of Taylor Hawkins’ life. Growing up on a diet of The Beatles, Bee Gees and “the pop of the day”, just as he began to play drums at the age of 10, he scored tickets to see Queen perform at the newly-built Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on September 11, 1982.

The band, who were touring North America that year in support of their latest album, Hot Space, irrevocably changed the young Taylor’s life. With a setlist which opened with Flash and closed with We Are The Champions, it’s not hard to see why it had such an emotional impact.

“After that concert, I don’t think I slept for three days,” he remembers today. “It changed everything, and I was never the same because of it. It was the beginning of my obsession with rock’n’roll, and I knew that I wanted to be in a huge rock band after seeing Queen. I was just starting to get into the drums, and [Queen skinsman] Roger Taylor became my hero. I remember telling my mom that I’d play there one day.”

Alongside Queen, albums by Rush, The Police, Genesis and Van Halen began to dominate his listening habits as he learned to play the drums.

“It was such a good time to be influenced by drummers,” he says. “I would steal stuff wholesale from [Rush drummer] Neil Peart licks, to Phil Collins and Alex Van Halen. Even the stuff that was on the radio, there was so much good music. Even the bad music was good back then.”

Denne historien er fra Issue 1796-utgaven av Kerrang!.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra Issue 1796-utgaven av Kerrang!.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA KERRANG!Se alt
Don't Stop Believing
Kerrang!

Don't Stop Believing

Chicago’s own FALL OUT BOY’s shapeshifting second chapter captured on their latest Best Of…

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 1798
Like Phantoms Forever…
Kerrang!

Like Phantoms Forever…

Six-and-a-half years after MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE stunned the world and called time on their inimitable career, the New Jersey quartet have announced a comeback show. Killjoys, make some noise…

time-read
7 mins  |
Issue 1798
K! Investigates When The Music's Over
Kerrang!

K! Investigates When The Music's Over

One day you’re on top of the world and feeling indestructible. The next, you’re on the scrapheap and lost. But what happens to rock stars who fall on hard times? Addiction and mental health issues are rife, but in an industry slowly waking up to its duty of care there is hope and outlets for support…

time-read
7 mins  |
Issue 1798
Follow The Leader
Kerrang!

Follow The Leader

As BRING ME THE HORIZON drop epic single LUDENS on the DEATH STRANDING: TIMEFALL soundtrack, OLI SYKES reflects on the song’s inspiring message – and how the world needs a hero…

time-read
10 mins  |
Issue 1798
Back From The Dead
Kerrang!

Back From The Dead

One year on from their very public onstage demise, the resurrection of CREEPER begins now. And as WILL GOULD and IAN MILES reveal, the journey to see this day has been a challenge that none of them could ever have imagined…

time-read
10+ mins  |
Issue 1798
Screaming For Change
Kerrang!

Screaming For Change

STRAY FROM THE PATH fight for the future on angry, but positive, ninth album…

time-read
2 mins  |
Issue 1797
The Inside Track - Black Magic
Kerrang!

The Inside Track - Black Magic

When CRISTINA SCABBIA found herself enfulged in darkness, one thing helped pull her through. The result is the most important album of the LACUNA COIL vocalist’s life...

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 1797
The Big Story-Out For Blood
Kerrang!

The Big Story-Out For Blood

How do you celebrate your 20th anniversary as a festival? If you’re BLOODSTOCK, you announce two legendary bands – BEHEMOTH and JUDAS PRIEST – to headline, of course. Brace yourselves…

time-read
8 mins  |
Issue 1797
On The Road-American Dreams
Kerrang!

On The Road-American Dreams

They’ve broken through to the big time on home turf, but that’s just the first step towards world domination for DON BROCO. As a rapturously received first U.S. headline run comes to its close, frontman ROB DAMIANI gives us a picture-postcard recap of horizons expanding with each passing show...

time-read
8 mins  |
Issue 1797
Die Another Day
Kerrang!

Die Another Day

Every song tells a tale. And the 13 songs that comprise FALL OUT BOY’s upcoming GREATEST HITS album tell the story not only of one of rock’s most “improbable” reunions, but of an unparalleled reinvention, too. PETE WENTZ, PATRICK STUMP, JOE TROHMAN and ANDY HURLEY reflect on the past six years’ journey, track by track...

time-read
10+ mins  |
Issue 1797