The Foo Fighters album that almost made Taylor Hawkins quit
Any Foo Fighters hasn’t come together without some baggage getting in the way first. As much as Dave Grohl may be considered one of the most likeable musicians in the music industry, there are more than a few times when his vision for what the band is supposed to be has led to sessions where nothing got done. Although things looked like they were on an even keel coming out of the 1990s, the band’s third outing did have a massive impact on Taylor Hawkins.
Then again, Hawkins didn’t necessarily have an easy job to fill. Since Grohl had been known as one of the greatest drummers of his generation when working with Nirvana, the next phase of his career as a bandleader came with dictating what the drums should sound like on every Foo Fighters record.
Even though he was able to make the band’s debut album sound great, things started to get a bit complicated when original drummer William Goldsmith decided to throw his different accents into the tracks. When talking about the dynamic, even Grohl admitted that he could sometimes be too tough on how the drums should sound.
Discussing his method in Back and Forth, Grohl said, “I have a clear picture of where the root accents should be. That’s a fancy way of saying that I know how the drums should sound as I’m doing this thing. That’s not exactly fair for a singer to say when working in a band together.”
That attention to detail would become too much when making The Colour and the Shape, with Goldsmith later quitting when he found out that Grohl had redone most of the drum parts by himself. In need of a new member behind the kit, Grohl would find a kindred spirit when working with Taylor Hawkins, having come off working with Alanis Morissette as her touring drummer.
Although Hawkins played everything to the best of his abilities, he admitted having difficulty getting used to the studio environment. While There is Nothing Left to Lose featured the first songs with Hawkins on the drums, he admitted that he came close to leaving because of the pressure.
When talking about his time working on the project, Hawkins would later tell Rolling Stone, “I was so scared when we went to go do Nothing Left to Lose. I had red-light fever so bad. How am I going to make it through this? And I didn’t know how to. And the producer, Adam Kasper, was like, ‘Oh, can Dave just play drums?’ I could just hear it in his face. I mean, he was a nice guy, but he had Dave Grohl”.
Despite feeling inferior, Hawkins would later say that Grohl convinced him to get the record done himself, explaining, “At one point, I just said to Dave, ‘Listen, dude, I just don’t think I can do this.’ And I was battling the demons a bit back then as well. I was just so scared. He just held my hand through it, and he’s like, ‘You’re going to play some drums on this.’ And I did half the drums on it because he fucking held my hand through it, like that older brother, best friend does”.
Even though Hawkins may have had a major complex trying to play in the shadow of Grohl, he learned quickly what being in Foo Fighters meant. It came down to serving the song, and Hawkins would later become a powerhouse drummer thanks to the advice Grohl gave him that day.
