Music World Mourns Laguna Beach's Taylor Hawkins Of Foo Fighters

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who grew up in Laguna Beach, had a toxic cocktail of psychoactive substances in his system when he died, authorities confirmed Sunday. The 50-year-old's death while on tour in Columbia Friday shocked the music world and triggered an outpouring of grief for an artist known for his down-to-earth nature and kindness to up-and-coming musicians.

Toxicological tests on urine from Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins' body preliminarily found 10 psychoactive substances and medicines, including marijuana, opioids, tricyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines, according to a statement from the Colombia's Prosecutor's Office.

The statement did not provide a cause of death for the 50-year-old Hawkins.

Hawkins died Friday in Bogotá, Colombia, where he and the rock band were scheduled to perform Friday night at the Festival Estéreo Picnic before headlining at Lollapalooza Brazil on Sunday. Hawkins' final concert was last Sunday at another festival in San Isidro, Argentina.

The Bogotá municipal government issued the statement Saturday noting that the city's emergency center had received a report of a patient with "chest pain" and sent an ambulance, though a private ambulance had already arrived at the hotel in northern Bogotá.

Health workers tried to revive him, but were unable to do so. It said the cause of death was under investigation.

“It was a band I grew up with. This leaves me empty,” Juan Sebastian Anchique, 23, told The Associated Press as he mourned Hawkins outside the hotel.

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota also expressed its condolences in a tweet.

The band announced the death of the 26-time Grammy nominee and 11-time winner Friday on social media.

"The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins," the announcement said.

"His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time."

Fans and fellow musicians paid tribute to Hawkins' charisma and "powerhouse" performing style Saturday.

After Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Hawkins was the most recognizable member of the group, appearing alongside the lead singer in interviews and playing prominent, usually comic, roles in the band's memorable videos and their recent horror-comedy film, “Studio 666.”

Hawkins was Alanis Morissette's touring drummer when he joined Foo Fighters in 1997. He played on the band's biggest albums including “One by One” and “In Your Honor,” and on hit singles like “Best of You.”

In Grohl’s 2021 book “The Storyteller,” he called Hawkins his “brother from another mother, my best friend, a man for whom I would take a bullet."

“Upon first meeting, our bond was immediate, and we grew closer with every day, every song, every note that we ever played together,” Grohl wrote. “We are absolutely meant to be, and I am grateful that we found each other in this lifetime.”

It’s the second time Grohl has experienced the death of a close bandmate. Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana when Kurt Cobain died in 1994.

Tributes poured out on social media for Hawkins.

“God bless you Taylor Hawkins,” Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello said on Twitter along with a photo of himself, Hawkins and Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell. “I loved your spirit and your unstoppable rock power.”

The band announced the death of the 26-time Grammy nominee and 11-time winner Friday on social media.

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"The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins," the announcement said.

"His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time."

Fans and fellow musicians paid tribute to Hawkins' charisma and "powerhouse" performing style Saturday.

Ozzy Osbourne called Hawkins "truly a great person and an amazing musician."

"My heart, my love and my condolences go out to his wife, his children, his family, his band and his fans," the singer tweeted. "See you on the other side - Ozzy."

Questlove called Hawkins the "coolest dude ever."

"God bless & comfort his family, his bandmates, his friends & all his loved ones," the musician and filmmaker tweeted.

Singer-songwriter Finneas tweeted that he was "so heartbroken to hear about Taylor Hawkins' passing."

"What an incredible talent, who didn't also need to be so kind and generous and cool but was all those things too anyway," Finneas wrote. "The world was so lucky to have his gifts for the time that it did, Rest In Peace."

Born Feb. 17, 1972 in Fort Worth, Texas, Hawkins' family moved to Laguna Beach in 1976, where Hawkins grew up, graduating from Laguna Beach High School in 1990.

Hawkins played in the Orange County-based band Sylvia before becoming the drummer for Canadian rock singer Sass Jordan. From June 1995 until March 1997, Hawkins was Alanis Morissette's drummer on the tour supporting her 1995 album "Jagged Little Pill" and her 1996 "Can't Not" Tour.

Hawkins began his association with Foo Fighters in February 1997 when he replaced William Goldsmith as their drummer for their second album, "The Colour and the Shape."

Following the album's release, Grohl called Hawkins to seek recommendations for the band's new drummer. Grohl was under the impression that Hawkins would not leave Morissette's touring band because she was a bigger act than Foo Fighters at the time.

To Grohl's surprise, Hawkins volunteered to join the band himself, explaining that he wanted to be a drummer in a rock band rather than for a solo act. The band announced Hawkins would be the new drummer on March 18, 1997.

In 2004, Hawkins formed his own side project, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, in which he played drums and sang.

Hawkins recorded the drum tracks for the 2007 Coheed and Cambria album "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow" as the band's regular drummer, Chris Pennie, was not able to record due to contractual reasons.

While the Foo Fighters were on break in 2013, Hawkins formed a rock cover band called Chevy Metal.

Hawkins announced his new side project called The Birds of Satan in March 2014, which features Hawkins' drum technician and bandmate from Chevy Metal, Wiley Hodgden on bass guitar and vocals as well as guitarist Mick Murphy also of Chevy Metal. The band's self-titled debut album was released in April 2014.

The Hidden Hills resident is survived by his wife, Alison, and their three children.

City News Service, the Associated Press and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.