The Foo Fighters have confirmed in the last half hour that their drummer, Taylor Hawkins, died today. This is an immensely huge loss to music. No cause of death that I can find; Taylor had been open about past struggles concerning substance abuse.
In addition to the Foos, Hawkins previously was the drummer for Alanis Morissette’s band.
The curse of Studio 666 claims its first victim.
Well:
Taylor had substance abuse issues in the past, and actually survived a 2001 heroin overdose.
So this is definitely a possibility for the cause of death.
Fuck.
There are some days when I’m on Twitter where I can’t help but assume that practically every person who appears on the “What’s happening” list is no longer with us, but that was the furthest thing from my mind when I clicked on his name tonight. It’s a shame. I wouldn’t say that I’m the hugest Foo Fighters fan, but I generally liked the singles, and I have definitely been known to break out the air drums for “Long Road to Ruin” and “Everlong.”
A Foo got him?
Motherfucker!
I just scared my dad half to death with my gasp when I saw the news on Twitter. I am so bummed out. I consider Dave Grohl to be a man to be looked up to and he brought Taylor to us. I am bummed right out. One of my favorite bands, two of my favorite musicians -Taylor and Dave - a truly heartwarming friendship to witness. I’m sure Dave must be spiraling. Kurt. Taylor. He’s gonna have a rough ride for one of the “luckiest men in the world.”
The world in general is in a much sadder place today.
Bummer. I’ve never been a big fan of the Foo’s music, but I do love their Chaotic Good energy, and the joyful and positive way they interact with their fanbase is infectious. RIP.
I really didn’t know who they were until I saw them on an episode of West Wing.
Which, to me, immediately cemented their place in the zeitgeist.
Sorry to those he left behind.
“If there’s a rock-and-roll heaven … you know they’ve got a helluva band.”
Have we heard any further details? What I’m finding is that he was suffering chest pains, was treated, but could not be saved. Nothing further. My mother said she just heard something about “10 different substances found in his system”, but I’m not finding that anywhere online.
Not like it matters in the grand scheme of things, but I was really hoping he didn’t relapse.
Found by who? That would be the fastest toxicology report I’ve ever seen.
Considering the life he led, even if he’s been clean for 2 decades, heart attack at 50 taking him out wouldn’t be a shock. Truth’ll out eventually no matter what we speculate.
Darn shame. I’ve always like the band and they seem to do right by their members and fans.
See this Twitter statement from the Columbian Attorney General’s office:
So, some mix of pot, antidepressants, and opioid painkillers, if that’s accurate
My favorite Foo.
Reports are now saying he had a massively enlarged heart. It may be a matter of years of abuse catching up to him rather than one night of over indulgence.
Enlarged heart and a drug binge.
It’s such a waste. Taylor seem to be well liked and a fan favorite.
He had cleaned up after a two-week-long coma after overdosing in 2001.
Is it confirmed to be a drug binge?
To be honest, like half of Americans (only slightly exaggerated) are going to have a similar mix of chemicals in their system if you checked them out, many of them legally prescribed.
I was thinking the same thing. Just having “drugs in your system” doesn’t really mean anything. You could be walking down the stairs, roll your ankle, fall and break your neck. But just because the autopsy reveals THC, cocaine, benzos and whatever else in your system, doesn’t mean any of them were at all related to your death. In fact, you may not have even been high on any of them at the time.
Here’s the way I like to look at it. Imagine if the only test we had for alcohol could only say whether or not you’ve consumed alcohol in the last 7 days. If you got into a car accident and the alcohol test showed that you had ‘alcohol in your system at the time of the crash’, how do you explain that you weren’t drunk but you had a few beers the day before yesterday?
So, with all that being said:
Do you have a cite for that? Might be 100% true, but I’m thinking you made it up.
Forget it. Jake. It’s Chinatown.
Anyway, doctor friends have pointed out that, maybe minus the THC, the tox report looks as expected for a person dealing with severe anxiety and suffering from years of repetitive stress injuries. The anxiety thing makes sense when you read the interview last year and read about his stage fright difficulties.