Music
04 May 22

The Scratch's Dan Lang on Taylor Hawkins: "I wanted to be a drummer that energised a band and energised a live performance – a drummer that would be cool to watch, like him"

On March 25, 2022, the terrible news went out across the wires, the cables and the routers that Taylor Hawkins had died in his room in the Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogota, in the capital city of Columbia, Bogotá where his band Foo Fighters were on tour. As part of a special tribute in the current issue of Hot Press, some of Ireland's greatest drummers pay tribute.

Dan Lang

The Scratch

I discovered Taylor Hawkins right around the time I started playing drums. I was just beginning to get lessons when One By One came out. When I watched the video for ‘All My Life,’ I was immediately attracted to his energy. Before I knew anything about the technical nuances of what it means to be a good drummer, that was what really struck me.

He had this swagger. I wanted to be a drummer that energised a band and energised a live performance – a drummer that would be cool to watch, like him. I thought he was effortlessly cool.

A big thing in drums is feel, and he had an amazing feel. No two drummers are the same – it’s a unique thing – but it was his feel that made him what he was. That plus the skill and the energy – he just had this wow factor. Music was his life, and you could see that.

He’s one of the rock and roll greats, one of the world’s best rock drummers. But he was also one of the nicest men in rock. He gave people life just by being in the room with them. It was mind-blowing to see how many people he touched. They spoke about Taylor Hawkins as a friend, not just somebody they admired. Man, this is a huge loss.