Taylor Hawkins

Taylor Hawkins
Oliver Taylor Hawkinsis 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 Tour, as well as the drummer in a progressive experimental band called Sylvia. He currently moonlights as "Animal" in "The Muppets Do Christmas On Broadway." His cousin, Kevin Harrell, introduced him to Dave Grohl after camping with him for several...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDrummer
Date of Birth17 February 1972
CityFort Worth, TX
CountryUnited States of America
I think that debut albums are supposed to sound sort of raw. You don't want to record 'Sgt. Pepper's' as your first album, because where do you go from there?
I only started playing piano because I had chickenpox when I was about 14 and wasn't allowed to play my drums for a whole week... We had a piano in the house, so I just sat down and played that instead.
In the Foo Fighters, my main job is to be the drummer, and that's enough.
I'm not trying to be the next Dave Grohl or Phil Collins.
I've been lucky enough to have fulfilled so many ambitions, and gone way past anything I ever thought I would do. I could never have imagined the career that I've had with the Foo Fighters - playing stadiums and having songs on the radio. It's amazing, and my goal is really just to carry on playing.
I used to dress like Roger Taylor when I was ten because I thought he was cool. In high school, I used to dress like Stephen Perkins from Jane's Addiction because I thought he was cool. You just want to be those guys when you're that age.
I know I'm not Freddie Mercury or Ann Wilson, and that's okay. You don't have to be a great singer to sing rock and roll. That's not what it's about.
Rock will never be dead for me. Do I like a lot of what I hear on rock music radio? No, not for the most part. I'm not a fan of the regurgitated Pearl Jam and Nickelback crap that's the biggest thing in the Midwest. There isn't that big of a market for rock anymore. Every once in a while something happens and you like it.
I'm just not somebody who can sit around doing nothing, and all of us in the Foo Fighters have our own things outside of the band. I'm not going to use the cliche that those outlets bring us back fresh and with new ideas, but what I will say is that it keeps us all feeling free - and that creative freedom is a very positive thing.
I make a living playing rock n' roll. I'm not going to complain about anything.
I don't like guitar solos that are like, 'Look at me, look at me!' I like guitar solos that are little songs within the songs.
Life is funny. If you don't laugh, you're in trouble.
America is tough for rock music. Rock n' roll used to be the main music for the youth, and it's not so much anymore. It's hip-hop and stuff.
When I was a kid, of course I wanted to be the fastest, the loudest and the one with the biggest drum set, but obviously my aspirations have changed a bit since then.