Foo Fighters guitarist thinks the band will make new music, slams "disrespectful" Taylor Hawkins conspiracy theorists

Foo Fighters' Chris Shiflett has hinted at the prospect of the band releasing new material in the future.

The guitarist has also slammed "disrespectful" fans who have been pushing ridiculous conspiracy theories that suggest frontman Dave Grohl killed late drummer Taylor Hawkins by making him take the Covid-19 vaccine.

Following Hawkins' death on March 25, the future of Foo Fighters has been left uncertain. While speaking on The Plug With Justin Jay, however, Shiflett was questioned over whether interviewers have been mentioning Hawkins' passing, or whether it's been “an elephant in the room”.

He explains (as transcribed by NME), "Most people that I’ve encountered have been respectful about it or try to avoid it. It probably will be [more of a thing] when we ever get around to putting out another Foo Fighters record and go back into the promo boogie woogie.

“I remember that when I joined Foo Fighters, it was 1999 so it was a while after Kurt Cobain had died, but I would watch interviewers twist themselves in knots trying to ask Dave [Grohl] about it but not ask. I would think it would turn into that kinda thing."

He continues: "people are pretty respectful but it’s made me reconsider everything I thought I knew about Jim Morrison dying, or Randy Rhoads or any of those rock 'n' roll tragedies”.

Despite the general courteousness of fans and interviewers regarding Hawkins' passing, Shiflett notes that there has been a large portion of disrespect, largely from Covid-19 conspiracists.

“Taylor was this big character and he meant a lot to millions of people so I get that fascination with [his death], but so much of what I’ve seen out there is so completely wrong,” the guitarist says.

“There’s people out there saying shit like Dave killed Taylor by making him get the Covid vaccine. You’re going to turn it into that? Fuck you. I try not to pay attention to it but it does make you angry because that shit is just disrespectful.”

Listen to the full interview below:

This evening, the second tribute concert for Taylor Hawkins will take place, this time in Los Angeles. Shiflett will be joined by the rest of his band, as well as a number of star-studded musicians including Miley Cyrus, Joshua Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Joan Jett, Brian May of Queen, Gene Simons of Kiss, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mark Ronson, Alanis Morissette, and more.

Liz manages Louder's social media channels and works on keeping the sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.