It’s hard to imagine a more daunting gig in rock than taking the drum stool in a group fronted by Dave Grohl, widely celebrated as the greatest drummer of his generation. That gig would have seemed all the more daunting, considering Foo Fighters’ previous drummer, William Goldsmith, had exited after Grohl re-recorded the drum parts for the group’s troubled second album, The Colour and the Shape, believing Goldsmith’s contributions not up to scratch.
That Taylor Hawkins chose to grab this seemingly poisoned chalice regardless spoke to his confidence in his own drumming, but also the strength of the bond he’d already built with Grohl.
