Taylor Hawkins Interview

Written by Anna Gault

Interview
Taylor Hawkins

Being a part of one of the biggest bands in the world has its perks and for Foo Fighters’ drummer, Taylor Hawkins one of those perks is the opportunity to branch out creatively with other bands. With Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, Hawkins has found an in outlet in which he can be known for something other than being the drummer of the Foo Fighters. However by separating himself from the music machine that is the Foo Fighters, Hawkins may be taking a risk as an identity away from “Foo Fighters drummer” could be hard for fans to swallow.

Since 2004 Hawkins has been playing the role of drummer and lead singer in what many deem as a side project. And indeed with Foo Fighters being such a massive band anything by comparison would inevitably be thought of as smaller. Yet Hawkins feels that is open to interpretation: “It depends on what ‘side project’ means to people. It’s just another band I’m in really. Just like I’m in the Foo Fighters, I’m also in this band. You could call the Foo Fighters a side project to this.” So it would seem that Hawkins merely wanted to make different music and the Foo Fighters were not enough to contain his creativity. As the Foo Fighters tour extensively after the release of an album, the focus is put on the live stage production and the opportunity to write and produce music is put on hold for the time being. For Hawkins this switch of focus and then the subsequent hiatus from Foo Fighters provides a chance to work with Chris Chaney (bass) and Gannin Arnold (guitar) in the Coattail Riders. “I’m a songwriter for better or for worse,” he says. “And at the end of the day the Foo Fighters are actually creative for about six months out of every three years or something and that’s not really enough. When you get on the road, it’s not necessarily a creative place; you get something else out of it, the immediacy of playing live. We are all pretty creative and so that’s why we all have these side projects; to fulfil all the other things that we need to fulfil.”

On closer examination of the Foo Fighters discography the fact that Hawkins has had the time to form and produce two albums with another band is incomprehensible. Time management appears to be another talent Hawkins possesses yet he plays this down. “Well, as far as the Foo Fighters we haven’t really been that busy for the last year and a half,” he says. “We have been pretty off for a while. Dave [Grohl] has been busy for the last year and a half as everyone knows doing his band with Josh [Homme] and John Paul Jones. It just freed up the time.”

As well as providing Hawkins with another artistic outlet, the Coattail Riders also enabled him to break away from the label of “Foo Fighters” drummer. While this is by no means a bad label to have it may be slightly suffocating for someone so creatively dynamic. With the Foo Fighters Hawkins is bound down to his drums with some vocal flourishes and ventures into writing but in the Coattail Riders he is very much at the forefront of singing, writing and of course drumming. “It’s [the Coattail Riders] just so different. It’s so night and day,” reveals Hawkins. “I mean in the Foo Fighters I’m the drummer and that’s really it. I sing a little bit of backups but really that’s my job. In this band I do a completely different thing. I’m the guy who writes the tunes and sings them.” Despite his understated description of his roles in both bands it is clear that Hawkins is a dedicated musician to find the time and the channels to make more music.

Hawkins’ roles in each band are not the only difference between the two; their sounds are also rather removed from one another. In Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders second album and most recent release Red Light Fever, listeners are treated to guest spots from Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen. “Our last album was sort of black and white and this one is in colour,” says Hawkins. “The funny thing is that once you have someone like Brian May or Roger Taylor you kind of follow their lead. So not only did they have a big influence on the music because I grew up loving them but just once they made it to the record I just figured f*ck it they’re on it I can just keep going in that direction a little bit.” Regardless of his colossal fame it appears Hawkins still respects his elders when it comes to making music.

All in all Hawkins takes a seemingly nonchalant approach to his side project. With such a huge commitment in the Foo Fighter’s with regards to promotion and marketing, he is happy to have a much simpler means of putting his music out there. “This [the Coattail Riders] is such a tiny, tiny version of everything that goes on with the Foo Fighters and that’s fine. At the end of the day me and guys in the Coattail Rider’s do this for the love of music. Nobody is making a million dollars in this band by a long shot.” With comments like that it is clear that Hawkins’ attitude is one of just being happy to make more music and any financial gains are just another perk.

Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders will be playing live at Stereo on June 9th.

http://www.taylorhawkins.com/

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