Taylor Hawkins told his Foo Fighters bandmates that he was struggling with the demands of life on the road, according to a report published Monday.
“Hawkins felt hesitant about returning to the road and wasn’t sure he’d be able to remain a full-time member if they continued to tour at this pace,” wrote Andy Greene and Kory Grow in Rolling Stone.
Hawkins was found dead on March 25 in his room at the Four Seasons Casa Medina in Bogotá, Colombia. He was 50.
An official cause of death has not been disclosed but “an initial forensic examination” found “THX (Marijuana), tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids” in his system.
Canadian singer Sass Jordan, who remained friends with Hawkins after he backed her on stage early in his career, is quoted as saying: “Honestly, I think he was just so tired. Tired of the whole game.”
This was echoed up by Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron, who told Rolling Stone: “He had a heart-to-heart with Dave [Grohl] and, yeah, he told me that he ‘couldn’t f**king do it anymore’ – those were his words. So I guess they did come to some understanding, but it just seems like the touring schedule got even crazier after that.”
The surviving members of Foo Fighters and Hawkins’ family declined to be interviewed by Rolling Stone but a rep for the band denied there was ever a “heart-to-heart” with Hawkins and Grohl.
Late last year, Hawkins reportedly lost consciousness on a flight between Los Angeles and Chicago, forcing Foo Fighters to cancel a concert in Abu Dhabi.
Chad Smith, drummer with Red Hot Chili Peppers, told Rolling Stone that Hawkins “was exhausted and collapsed, and they had to pump him full of IVs and stuff” and later told him: ““I can’t do it like this anymore.”
A Foo Fighters rep said: “This is not true.” A media report at the time referred only to “a member of Foo Fighters” being taken to hospital in Chicago.