Taylor Hawkins 068

Look closer for five lyrics and three song titles: “It’s times like these, time and time again.”(Times Like These); There’s nothing that you couldn’t say ‘cause you’ve said it all before.”(Cold Day In the Sun); “It’s just another day, another chance to walk away.”(I Don’t Think I Trust You Anymore); Better watch your back because it’s party time.”(Way Down); “The hand you feel is mine.”(Hell To Pay); Your Shoes; Not Bad Luck; Sunshine

The story: 

Taylor Hawkins

Oliver Taylor Hawkins was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on February 17, 1972. An American musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters, who he recorded eight studio albums with between 1999 and 2021. Before joining the band in 1997, he was the touring drummer for Sass Jordan and for Alanis Morissette, as well as the progressive experimental band Sylvia.

In 2004, Hawkins formed his own side project, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, in which he played drums and sang, releasing three studio albums between 2006 and 2019. He formed the supergroup NHC with Jane’s Addiction members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney in 2020, also singing lead and drumming.

Hawkins was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 as a member of Foo Fighters. He was voted “Best Rock Drummer” in 2005 by the British drumming magazine Rhythm. He died at the age of 50 on March 25, 2022, in Bogotá, Colombia.

At the age of four, Hawkins’s family moved to Laguna Beach, California, in 1976. Hawkins was the youngest of three, with an older brother and sister, Jason and Heather. He graduated from Laguna Beach High School in 1990, where he had been friends with current Yes lead vocalist Jon Davison.

After touring through the spring of 1996, Foo Fighters entered a Seattle studio with producer Gil Norton to record their second album. Conflict during recording reportedly erupted between Dave Grohl and drummer William Goldsmith, eventually causing Goldsmith to leave the band. The band regrouped in Los Angeles and almost completely re-recorded the album with Grohl on drums. The album, The Colour and the Shape, was released May 20, 1997. Grohl called Hawkins, an acquaintance at the time, seeking his recommendations for a new drummer to join the band. Grohl was under the impression that Hawkins would not leave Morissette’s touring band, given she was a bigger act than Foo Fighters at the time. To Grohl’s surprise, however, Hawkins volunteered to join the band himself, explaining that he wanted to be a drummer in a rock band rather than for a solo act. The band announced Hawkins would be its new drummer on March 18, 1997. Hawkins first appeared with the Foo Fighters in the music video for the 1997 single “Monkey Wrench”, although the song was recorded before he joined the band.

In addition to his drumming with the Foo Fighters, Hawkins also provided vocals, guitar, and piano to various recordings. He performed the lead vocal on a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar”. Two versions of the song were released, one as the B-side to “Learn to Fly” and another on the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack album. He later sang lead vocals on “Cold Day in the Sun” from In Your Honor, which was later released as a single, as well as a cover of Cream’s “I Feel Free”, which appeared as the B-side of “DOA” and on the EP Five Songs and a Cover. Hawkins also sang lead vocals for the band’s cover of Joe Walsh’s “Life of Illusion”. Later, he sang lead vocals for “Sunday Rain”, a track on the Foo Fighters’ 2017 album Concrete and Gold. He sang lead vocals on some songs during Foo Fighters live shows, such as a cover of Queen’s “Somebody To Love” on his last concert with the band. He also contributed to the band’s songwriting, and was listed as a co-writer on every album since There Is Nothing Left to Lose.

Hawkins’ final performance with the Foo Fighters was at the Lollapalooza Argentina festival, March 20, 2022. Hawkins post-humously won 3 Grammys with the Foo Fighters on April 3, 2022.

-credit Wikipedia

On “Cold Day In the Sun”  Foo Fighters, In Your Honor album

“I actually wrote this track, so I sing and Dave plays drums on it. I’ve had a rough sketch of the song for a long time and Dave has always liked it. It’s got a real Southern Californian feel and it was fun producing Dave on drums. Most of the tambourines that you hear are on the record are actually Dave – I hate playing tambourine! – but on this song it’s me.

-Taylor Hawkins

There have been many tributes to Taylor Hawkins in the months following his passing. During the research, I discovered one by Elton John was very important to me. Elton John performed “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” to memorialize Hawkins. 

In 2018 I married my girlfriend of eleven years. We met after each experiencing very painful circumstances. We dated and dated and by the time we married, we were in our sixties. “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” I asked two friends from high school, fellow vocalists, to sing the song at my wedding. The lyric that made it special? “These cuts I have, oh, they need love to help them heal.” 

Having watched Dave Grohl attempt to sing “Times Like These,” in tribute to Taylor Hawkins illustrates how the cuts we have as we go through life really do “need love to help them heal.”

-Tobin Bortner

The artwork: 

The first print of this illustration is available for donation to a nonprofit. Contact lisafromlsu@gmail.com for details.

Digital Print on Archival Matte – Original illustration done in graphite and prisma colors: Crimson Red for the album, Red Light Fever; Violet Blue, Light Cerelean Blue; Yellow Ochre; and Yellowed Orange. These colors were used on the Dave Grohl illustration.
Artist: Tobin Bortner of Bastrop, Texas – drawing done in December of 2022 – ©Look Closer Illustrations / Tobin Signs, LLC 

DERIVATIVE Work – Face from www4_pictures_zimbio_com – 28th+Annual+Rock+Roll+Hall+Fame+Induction+j7Ggq-s11wKx; drums from resources_stuff_co_nz – 1573009375769; hands from i_pinimg_com – 9c116d62735e0540e3b4b76cfbfb8413

What you get:
$40 (36.95 + 3.05 tax)
11 x 14 Print Package with Authenticity Sheet
signed and numbered (run of 30)
Domestic Priority Mail $8 (Free shipping)