Jane’s Addiction frontman and Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell has posted a heart-wrenching video tribute to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, calling him his “best friend.”
Farrell performed with Foo Fighters at their final show with Hawkins on March 20th, joining the band onstage at Lollapalooza Argentina for a rendition of the Jane’s Addiction classic “Been Caught Stealing.”
In his video post on Instagram filmed on Saturday, Perry initially appears by himself as he shares just how close he was with Hawkins:
“Taylor Hawkins died yesterday. He was my best friend. Beloved in my home by my wife, my children, even my dogs. Whenever Taylor came over, we would make music in the den. [Our dog] Cloud would always go and sit right by him. He was one of the most passionate drummers I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. When I think of him, I sum it up with one word: Velocity. He had the gift to maintain a confident, striking and stroking velocity on drums.
There’s a large part of my heart that I had reserved for him. I accepted him into my heart when we became friends because he was such a pure guy. So pure of heart. I would receive texts from Taylor. They were always bits and pieces of songs he was writing or looking to write or wanted me to listen to. I got music tidbits as much as I got ‘I love yous.’
We would always start with a song. There was always a song. ‘Do you listen to Yes? You know, that guy kinda sounds like you!’ And I’d say, ‘Yeah, I like Yes.’ He was just obsessed with music and great song. My passion for music, that was our common ground. Our friendship was based around that. Then we got to know each other.
He would tell me stories of going to Jane’s shows back in the ’80s. Shows that were pretty underground. So, although I didn’t make his acquaintance back then, we shared a history. It was almost like the rights of passage. We were young men, and we were trying to be great musicians.
Little did he know through this one fatal night, he would cement himself in the legends of music for all time, and that’s what I think he deserves. The only sense that I can make of the tragedy is to know that Taylor’s now in heaven. He can hear us. What I’m going to do this day forward is to try to make music that I think Taylor would really love.”
The tribute then cuts to a video of Hawkins and Farrell singing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” with a street musician, looking very much like the best of friends.
When the clip returns to Farrell, he is joined by his wife Etty Lau Farrell, who says, “This is something that’s very personal and dear to me. It’s the last audio message that I received on my phone on Thursday night. It was sent out from the hotel.”
We then hear Taylor Hawkins’ message to Perry and Etty, in which he says, “Take care of each other, and I’ll take care of me. And I will see you guys in Sao Paolo [at Lollapalooza Brazil]. I love, love, love, love you guys. Sleep tight.”
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Sadly, Taylor died hours later on Friday (March 25th) in that very hotel room in Bogotá, Colombia. An investigation has been launched into his death after a preliminary toxicology report revealed that the drummer had 10 substances in his system.
See Perry Farrell’s tribute to Taylor Hawkins, as well as his performance with Foo Fighters at Lollapalooza Argentina, below.
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