Dave Navarro has revealed that he struggled to play his guitar after the passing of Foo Fighters drummer and close friend Taylor Hawkins.
The legendary drummer passed away at the age of 50 in March 2022. Hawkins was found dead in his hotel room hours before the Foos were scheduled to play a festival in Bogotá, Colombia. Months before his sudden passing, Navarro, Hawkins and Chris Chaney had debuted their new band NHC.
In a new interview with Guitar World, the Jane’s Addiction guitarist opened up about dealing with the passing of Hawkins – who was one of his good friends – and the toll it took on his mental health.
“I’d just completed making a record with Taylor Hawkins and Chris Chaney,” Navarro told the publication. “We mixed and mastered it, and then we lost Taylor. That was in the middle of COVID, and it was actually very painful for me to pick up the guitar after that.”
He continued: “I didn’t pick up the guitar for about a year. He was such an inspiring artist — not only was he a phenomenal drummer, he was an amazing songwriter and lyricist… just one of those humans that everybody loved.
“After losing Taylor I didn’t play for a long time. Then, about a year into it, I picked up the guitar, started playing some cover songs, and just kind of got used to the instrument in my hand again,” he said.
Navarro shared that he began to rediscover his love for guitar playing by studying his favorite musicians while dealing with long COVID.
“Since I had the illness, I was housebound for a long time, and that’s when I really started getting into some out-there guitar players I normally didn’t study, like [session great] Jay Graydon,” he explained. “I started studying Jay, and I started diving deep into Van Halen, tone chasing, and reading everything I could about the gear [Eddie Van Halen] used, may have used, or that’s rumored to have been used.”
He continued: “I spent most of my days during my illness just kind of woodshedding guitar and relearning things. I played Jane’s Addiction records front to back and tried to relearn things I’d played in the ’80s and ’90s that I’d forgotten.
“That was a challenge, and that was fun. And because I knew I was gearing up to join again at some point, the band wanted to start working on new music. I was well enough to go in a studio and sit in a chair. I’d sit for 10 hours, so that was easy, and we wrote some new music.”
Navarro rejoined Jane’s Addiction earlier this year and made his live debut with the band at their London gig in May. The band also recently shared ‘Imminent Redemption’, their first new music in 34 years.
In other news, Jane’s Addiction are set to embark on a North American headline tour next month, with support coming from Love & Rockets. Find any remaining tickets here and check out a full list of all dates below:
Jane’s Addiction and 2024 Love & Rockets US tour dates are:
AUGUST
9 – Las Vegas, NV – Fontainebleau Las Vegas
11 – San Diego, CA – Park at the Park Petco Park
13 – Los Angeles, CA – YouTube Theater
15 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
18 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
19 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
21 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
23 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theater
25 – New Orleans, LA – The Fillmore
27 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place
29 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
31 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
SEPTEMBER
3 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
5 – Portsmouth, VA – Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion
7 – Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
10 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17
13 – Boston, MA – Leader Bank Pavilion
15 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
18 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
20 – Rochester Hills, MI – Meadow Brook Amphitheater
22 – Milwaukee, WI – BMO Pavilion
24 – Chicago, IL – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
26 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
28 – Huntsville, AL – South Star Music Festival
29 – St. Louis, MO – Evolution Festival