Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has candidly discussed the immense difficulty of coping with the tragic death of his longtime bandmate, Taylor Hawkins. During a recent interview with Mojo—his first public conversation regarding the drummer since his passing in 2022—the legendary musician detailed his grieving process.
“Losing Taylor was never meant to be,” Grohl solemnly remarked (via Loudwire). “That threw our world upside down and made me question everything about life, that it was so unfair. I still have a hard time making sense of it.”
Taylor Hawkins tragically passed away on March 25, 2022, in his hotel room in Bogotá, Colombia, just hours before Foo Fighters were scheduled to perform at the Festival Estéreo Picnic. While the public mourned the shocking news, the band gathered in Dave Grohl’s hotel room, where they “drank and cried.”
As the harsh reality set in over the following days, the frontman desperately searched for anything to occupy his mind.
“I think I was afraid of silence, afraid of having to feel. I could have used a bit more of the silence, a bit more of digging deeper. I never want to say music is a distraction, but I was definitely using it as a crutch for some broken limb.”
This is not the first time Dave Grohl has navigated the overwhelming grief of losing a bandmate. He endured a strikingly similar tragedy in 1994 when Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain took his own life. The very foundation of Foo Fighters grew from that specific pain, and nearly three decades later, the band would once again serve as a healing presence.
“We realized this was something we needed to do,” Grohl explained regarding the decision to keep the band going. “Because it had saved us once before.”
Rather than disbanding in the wake of the tragedy, Foo Fighters pushed forward. The group staged massive global tribute concerts, recorded their highly acclaimed 2023 studio album, But Here We Are, and initially recruited Josh Freese to take over drumming duties. While Josh Freese was ultimately dismissed in 2025—later admitting the band’s music did not fully resonate with him—the move proved the band’s sheer determination to continue. Moving into their next chapter, the group has officially welcomed new drummer Ilan Rubin and is preparing to release their upcoming album, Your Favorite Toy, this April.
Dave reflected on how his life and perspective have fundamentally changed over the past few years.
“I’ve had to re-examine my ambition and intention. A lot of those projects over the years were surface validation to prove that I could do it – not that I needed to do it. I was always the guy who couldn’t sit still. I couldn’t take a vacation. I needed the TV on to put me to sleep. It was the silence – the still – that scared me,” he said.
“My horizon is much different,” he continued. “There will be plenty of things that we’ll do in the next few years that will remind everyone that Foo Fighters love to circle the planet playing rock shows.”
Highlighting his renewed drive, he concluded: “Before, I was running on fumes and unleaded gas. Now I’m just burning f**king diesel.”
