“I know I’ve realized way beyond my dreams,” says Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. “I’ve actually been a professional musician since 1994. That’s a long time in which I’ve been lucky enough to keep a gig and be successful at what I do, which is also my passion: playing drums. So I’m very, very blessed to live this crazy, unimaginable life.”
Although he’s the idol of millions for his drumming prowess, Hawkins’ first rock ‘n’ roll dreams didn’t focus on the drums; rather, they were centered on the guitar because, as he puts it, “Nobody looks at the drummer.”
As a 10-year-old in Laguna, California, he tried in vain to play his neighbor’s six string, but the instrument didn’t feel right; it required “too much work.” Hawkins’ boyhood visions of rock glory might’ve ended right there. Luckily, however, that same neighbor had a drum set, and from the moment Taylor sat down at the kit, everything clicked; with two sticks in his hands, he was a natural.
Read and watch our exclusive interview with Taylor as it appears in our July drum guide. READ IT. WATCH IT.
