Foo Fighters legends Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins have opened up on the issues of depression, suicide and the recent deaths of Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington in a new interview that’s striking a major chord with fans.
Filmed in New Zealand after their recent snap-trip to Australia to perform a one-off gig as their alter-ego cover band Chevy Metal, the no-bullshit chat sees the two Foos get raw and emotional about some very real shit, including their reactions to losing two iconic musical peers this year.
“When it comes to someone like Chris Cornell or Chester, depression is a disease, and everybody kind of goes through it their own way,” Grohl tells The Rock FM. “I can’t speak for anybody else’s condition, but the hardest part is when you lose a friend.
“And I just always immediately think of their families, their bandmates, ’cause going through something like suicide, it’s a long road. And Chris was such a beautiful guy, man — he was the sweetest person, he was so talented, he had so much to offer — that it was a real shock to hear that he had gone.”
Grohl, who also lost his Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain to suicide back in 1994, continues, “I think that mental health and depression is something that people should really take seriously.
“And there’s a stigma attached to it, which is unfortunate, because just as you take care of yourselves in every other way, I think it’s important that people really try to take care of themselves in that way too. And it ain’t easy. You know, life’s hard.”
While a very sombre Hawkins adds, “Like [Dave] said, people [think], ‘You’ve got it so together.’ It just goes to show you, it doesn’t matter what’s in your bank account, or how many hits are on your YouTube page, or all that kind of crap — it all goes out the window if, like Dave said, you’re not feeling right.
“Not to get to hear Chris Cornell make another record again is my selfish version of it. And there’s such a bigger hurt beyond my own selfish [reasons]. I barely knew him, a little bit, but what I did know, he was super cool. I didn’t know Chester very well at all, but I knew Chris a little bit, and Dave knew him a little bit too.
“We just loved his records, man,” he continues. “Some of the first stuff me and Dave ever jammed on, when we would just goof around in the rehearsal room… I can remember as far back as when I first joined the band, me and [Dave] playing Soundgarden riffs together.
“And I remember making [1999’s] There’s Nothing Left To Lose with the guy who engineered and produced some of their records, and we would just listen to their records a lot. They were a big inspiration for us as musicians, and Chris Cornell was just the master.
“So the loss, it’s a bummer, but, like Dave said, that’s a real thing. Look after yourselves, and if it looks like someone’s down, way down, check on ’em.”
Solid advice.
