Arcade Fire on the undying legacy of Taylor Hawkins: “He was just a real-deal rock’n’roller”
nme.comArcade Fire were on the ground at this year’s Osheaga Festival in Montreal, Canada – where they filled in for the Foo Fighters – frontman Win Butler and guitarist Richard Parry spoke warmly about the late Taylor Hawkins.Prior to their headlining set, Butler and Parry sat down with iHeartRadio, where journalist Jason Rockman asked if their role on the festival – filling the space left by the Foos, who dropped out after Hawkins’ passing back in March – had left Arcade Fire feeling any pressure to succeed.
Though he didn’t specify whether or not that was the case, Butler did note that he’d met with Hawkins “a couple of weeks before he passed”.Reflecting on his friendship with the late drummer, Butler continued: “Every single time I ever hung out with them, we were just talking about music, and reminiscing about old shows.
He was just like a real-deal rock’n’roller, you know? But I think sometimes people don’t appreciate how much wear and tear… getting up every night, going on stage, and the relentless touring – it’s a lot, you know what I mean?
And there’s collateral damage from doing it.”On how the singer reckoned with Hawkins’ untimely passing, Butler added: “It’s always a reminder that, you know, a lot of this stuff is out of our control… It’s important to appreciate the day to day.
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