It has been nearly two months since the tragic death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins and friends and fans all over the world are still trying to understand what led to his sudden passing in a Colombian hotel.
Now, a thoroughly reported story from Rolling Stone has emerged, which gathered stories from the last days of Hawkins’ life through interviews with 20 people who were close to the drummer. The most illuminating recount, comes early in the piece from Pearl Jam drummer and Hawkins collaborator Matt Cameron, who said that Hawkins, “…had a heart-to-heart with Dave [Grohl] and, yeah, he told me that he ‘couldn’t f*cking do it anymore’… I guess they did come to some understanding, but it just seems like the touring schedule got even crazier after that.”
The report ping pongs between accounts from friends and representatives from the band. The friends echo what Cameron alluded to, how Hawkins was feeling physically and mentally worn down from playing numerous three hour sets on busy tour schedules. But then a representative from Foo Fighters disputes that he voiced his concerns, saying, “No, there was never a ‘heart-to-heart’ — or any sort of meeting on this topic — with Dave and [Silva Artist Management].”
“The fact that he finally spoke to Dave and really told him that he couldn’t do this and that he wouldn’t do it anymore, that was freeing for him,” an anonymous colleague added, also saying, “That took f*cking balls. That did take a year of working up the guts to do.” In contrast, a representative for the band said that Hawkins “… never ‘informed Dave and [management]’ of anything at all like that.”
Among other memories, producer Andrew Watt recounted that Hawkins was texting him the night before his death. While he was at first peeved that Watt (who was in the studio) wasn’t picking up, the always inspired Hawkins’ final message included an audio file of drums that he suggested Watt should “make something out of this with one of your artists.” And adding that, “This would be awesome. It’s funky and groovy and, like, check this out.’”
Read the full Rolling Stone report here.
Update: A day after the Rolling Stone article was published, Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron released a response on Instagram, apologizing for any pain his statements might have caused. “My quotes were taken out of context and shaped into a narrative I never intended,” he said. Check out the full statement below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdq-ooQvp2u/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
