Taylor Hawkins performs with Chevy Metal at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 25, 2019. Shawn Robbins/STAFF.

The first time I saw Taylor Hawkins, I was stunned.

It was 1997, and the Foo Fighters were playing Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium in Oakland on The Colour and the Shape tour. I knew William Goldsmith was gone and was replaced with Alanis Morrisette’s drummer.

What I didn’t know was what kind of statement Dave Grohl was about to make concerning the new guy.

They opened with both beating the hell out of separate drum kits. In time. Together. Just bashing everything in sight. The first thing I thought was, “How cool, I’m standing up by the stage watching Dave Grohl play drums.”

The next was, “Jesus … who’s the other guy beating the shit out of his drums as insanely as Grohl?”

Taylor Hawkins, who died has died at the age of 50, spent the next more than 20 years doing one of the hardest jobs in rock music: Playing drums in the same band with a guy who might have redefined rock drumming during the 1990s; the guy who secretly re-did the last guy’s drum tracks in the studio on the Foos’ second record, because they weren’t good enough.

Taylor Hawkins performs with Foo Fighters at BottleRock Napa Valley in Napa on May 28, 2017. Alessio Neri/STAFF.

Hawkins was more than good enough. He did it easily and fearlessly, with as much joy as anyone who has ever played, and with insane skill. The Foos found their own sound, of which Taylor Hawkins’ playing was as big a part as anyone in the band not named Grohl.

The cause of death is undisclosed. The band issued a statement Friday evening through its publicity company, Nasty Little Man:

“The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. 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.”

Hawkins was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and moved to Southern California as a child.  He got his professional start as the drummer for Canadian singer Sass Jordan before becoming the touring drummer for Morissette after she released Jagged Little Pill. With her, he appeared in the music videos for “You Oughta Know” and “You Learn,” among others. He stayed with Morisette until 1997, when Grohl called Hawkins to ask for a recommendation for a new drummer. Hawkins recommended himself.

The ease with which Hawkins slid into the Foos was amazing. He and Grohl were like a comedy team, or a married couple, practically finishing each other’s sentences in interviews. They frequently switched places on stage (and occasionally in the studio), with Hawkins showing some vocal and songwriting chops. He had his own side projects, including Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders and cover band Chevy Metal. He also played drums on Coheed and Cambria’s fourth album, Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow, filling in for the band’s regular drummer due to a contractual dispute.

Side projects and other roles aside, Hawkins was a born drummer, with a style somewhere between his friend Grohl and Stewart Copeland of The Police.  That he carved his own place as the drummer of the band founded by one of his generation’s most influential drummers is amazing. He made it look easy, joyful and as natural as any rock drummer who ever lived.

He also lived the rock and roll lifestyle, at least when he was younger. He spent two weeks in a coma in 2001 after overdosing on heroin. The band was on tour in South America when they made the announcement. Hawkins is survived by his wife, Alison, and his children, Oliver, Annabelle and Everleigh.

Editor Daniel J. Willis contributed to this report. Follow music critic Tony Hicks at Twitter.com/TonyBaloney1967.