Posted by Melissa D Glover-Gald on Saturday, March 26, 2022
STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis dedicated his song "Kill Me Like You Love Me" to Taylor Hawkins during his concert last night (Saturday, March 26) at Rio Vista Outdoor Amphitheater at Harrah's Laughlin in Laughlin, Nevada. Fan-filmed video of his performance can be seen below.
Prior to launching into the track, the 49-year-old Lewis, an outspoken conservative rocker who reinvented himself as a solo country artist in the last decade, told the audience: "We lost an amazing drummer and an amazing human being. There was never anything going on around him but a good time. And Taylor Hawkins, we will miss you dearly."
Hawkins was Lewis's political polar opposite, having been a vocal opponent to former U.S. president Donald Trump on several occasions in recent years. In a 2017 interview with Onet News, Taylor stated about the political climate in the United States: "It's insane, but it really is a mirror image of our culture in America right now. So people blame [Trump], but he's just a symptom of a generation of reality TV-obsessed, selfie-obsessed, Facebook-obsessed, tweet-obsessed, self-obsessed people. So we got that president because I think, unless the Russians really did hack in, we got what we deserve."
"I think in a certain way, it's a good chance for people to take a look at where we are as a culture and say, is this where we want to be?" Hawkins continued. "An orange, fake-haired, tweeting president who tweets childish remarks about people who say little mean things about him, because that's where we are right now. It's a fricking weird freaky time, but it's really representative of where our culture is right now."
Hawkins died at a hotel in Bogota, Colombia on Friday (March 25). Local officials said an ambulance was sent to the hotel after a man reported having chest pains. The 50-year-old musician did not respond to resuscitation efforts and was declared dead, the city's health department said.
Earlier on Saturday, the Colombian attorney general's office announced that Hawkins had opioids, marijuana and other drugs in his system before he died. A toxicology report showed traces of 10 substances in his body, including anti-depressants, the office said. The statement added that the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences "will conduct the necessary medical studies to ascertain the cause of death" and that it "will continue the investigation and will report the results obtained within the framework thereof in a timely manner."
The FOO FIGHTERS were scheduled to perform Friday at the Picnic Stereo festival in Bogota but their performance was canceled.
The band played Lollapalooza Chile on March 18 and Lollapalooza Argentina on March 20. They are scheduled to headline Lollapalooza Brasil on Sunday (March 27).
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Hawkins joined FOO FIGHTERS in 1997. Prior to that, he played with the Orange County band SYLVIA and was also in the backing band for Sass Jordan. He also toured with Alanis Morissette as her drummer.
Hawkins was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last year as a member of the FOO FIGHTERS.
Hawkins's most recent work with FOO FIGHTERS included last year's "Medicine At Midnight" album, a collection of BEE GEES covers and FOO FIGHTERS' horror film "Studio 666".
Hawkins's solo project TAYLOR HAWKINS AND THE COATTAIL RIDERS released its first album in 2006, and a follow-up effort, "Get The Money", in 2019. Other side projects included THE BIRDS OF SATAN and the classic rock cover band CHEVY METAL. More recently, he formed the supergroup NHC with JANE'S ADDICTION members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney.
Hawkins is survived by his wife Alison, whom he married in 2005, and their three children: Oliver Shane, Annabelle and Everleigh.
