The modern drummer Taylor Hawkins said “plays like Keith Moon”
It seems remarkable that Foo Fighters could feature two of the greatest modern rock drummers in their ranks, but such is the pull of Dave Grohl. After the band’s original rhythmic mastermind William Goldsmith departed in 1997, Grohl knew he needed someone to not only fill the outgoing member’s boots but also his own, given that he had laid down most of the thunderous beats found on the group’s first two records. Luckily, when he contacted Alanis Morissette’s drummer Taylor Hawkins for a recommendation, he volunteered himself, and the rest was history.
Hawkins tragically passed away in March 2022 but left behind an incredible oeuvre with the Foo Fighters. Not long after joining their ranks in 1997, he affirmed that he, too, was one of the greatest modern rock drummers, making the band one of the only to claim two bonafide masters of the instrument in history. A real student of his craft, from Neil Peart to Phil Collins, Hawkins was well-versed in all the great drummers that had come before him.
Not just a student of the older statesmen, Hawkins kept things fresh by keeping a close eye on the hottest contemporary music. He once effused so much about a peer of his that he compared his skill to The Who’s Keith Moon, one of the greatest to ever sit behind the kit. The drummer in question is Supergrass’s Danny Goffey, and in a dual interview with the pair for Rhythm in 2011, Hawkins compared the Englishman to the late Who hero via his “controlled recklessness.”
Hawkins said: “Well, I was playing with Alanis when I first met Danny. I worshipped Supergrass. My audio wallpaper for that year – 1996 – basically comprised four albums: The Foo Fighters’ first record, Jeff Buckley’s Grace, Radiohead’s The Bends, and Supergrass’s I Should Coco. When I first heard Danny’s drumming I was like, ‘Wow – he plays like Keith Moon, with that controlled recklessness.”
Despite this high praise, Goffey downplayed his friend’s account and joked: “But without any technical skill!” Hawkins then maintained that he wasn’t a “technical” drummer either and that his style was “stolen” from his drum heroes.
The Foo Fighters man said: “But I don’t have any technical skill either -all I have is stolen from my drum heroes, just like you. What I love about your style is that you play a song more like a piano player than a proper time-keeping drummer with their standard seven fills or whatever. You are much more lyrical, and all instinct, vibe and feel.”
Goffey added: “It’s true that I don’t ever know what fill I’m going to do… It’s something that I thought I might be able to stop doing eventually, but I can’t. For me every fill is going to be different, and it’s quite scary sometimes because I really don’t know if I am going to make it and be back on time.”
Watch Goffey and Supergrass in action below.
