Taylor Hawkins preview

Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders
Double Door, Chicago
Sunday, April 23, 2006

Here’s the thing about side projects. They aren’t at least one band member’s main gig so they’re usually pretty awful. That’s not a generalization, I’m not saying all side projects are horrible, just most. Because some members of the band have cushy fall-back careers there is usually a lack of drive and/or determination found on many side project-first albums. For Taylor Hawkins, drummer of Foo Fighter fame, his fall-back job is as cushy as they come. But even with his role in the booming Dave Grohl-led band, Hawkins just had to experiment with the territory of the side project with the self-titled Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders LP.

Interesting name considering their album is being promoted on the Foo Fighters’ Web site, but the Coattail Riders aren’t actually “coattail riders,” they’re more like competition for Hawkins’ other band. That is if it is at all possible to compete with yourself.

It’s hard not to reference Grohl when describing Hawkins and that’s not just because they’re in a band together. Their journeys, from a singer-songwriter trapped in the body of a successful drummer to seasoned lead singer of a post grunge rock band, are awfully similar. You’d think there would be some sort of competition between the egos of two spotlight-hungry rock stars, but Grohl seems to be happy supporting his fellow bandmate’s outside ventures. Hawkins even made his vocal debut on “Cold Day In The Sun,” a track from Foo’s In Your Honor.

While Coattail Riders has tunes that will attract Foo fans, the band’s sound is far from a carbon copy of the mother band’s signature sound. As contradicting as it seems, the Riders don’t sound like a thrown-together side project. There’s a sense of dedication to the record that is clear. “Wasted Energy” sounds like it was created by a Polyvinyl band, and other tracks alter from Queen-influenced crescendos to the sweet sounds of a metal band gone ballad. Eclectic seems to be the appropriate word for a reliable description of the band, which includes Chris Chaney of the defunct Jane’s Addiction. But because of miscellaneous tunes on the album, it’s kind of hard to garner what kind of live show the fellas would put on. Luckily for anyone interested they can find out when Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders play at the Double Door April 23rd.

Drive Blind and The Translation open.

— Angie Maldonado

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly