Now, whenever Travis Barker sits behind a drum kit, Taylor Hawkins will not be far from the blink-182 member’s mind. In a grand and heartfelt gesture, Travis, 45, honored the late Foo Fighters drummer by getting a new tattoo on his left foot. “HAWK forever,” he captioned the Apr. 13 Instagram gallery that revealed the new design. In the photos, Travis hit up the Shamrock Social Club in Hollywood with his fiancée, Kourtney Kardashian, and his friend/photographer, Daniel Rojas. After Mark Mahoney, the man dubbed the “high priest of Hollywood tattoo artists,” was done, Travis had a new soaring hawk on his leg.
Travis also made sure there was no misconception about this tattoo. At the end of the gallery, he included a throwback photo of him with Taylor. In the picture, Travis is still a fresh-faced lad, sporting hair and lots of untattooed skin. The pic shows him chatting with a young Taylor, who stands with a cigarette in his hand while talking with his friend. ‘
Taylor was found dead in a hotel room in Bogotá, Colombia, on Mar. 25. He and the rest of the Foo Fighters were in South America to play a few high-profile gigs. Since the untimely death of 50-year-old Taylor, the band has canceled all appearances for the foreseeable future. The cause of Taylor’s death remains unknown at this time.
However, the impact that Taylor had on Travis’s life is undeniable. “I don’t have the words,” wrote Barker following news of Hawkins’ passing. “Sad to write this or to never see you again. I’ll never forget Laguna Beach days when I was a trash man playing in a punk rock band, and you were playing with Alanis [Morrisette]. You’d come watch me play in dive bars and be like, ‘kid you’re a star.’ And I thought you were crazy but you gave me so much hope and determination.”
“Years later we toured together with Blink and Foo’s in Australia,” added Barker, “and I have the best memories of smoking cigarettes in the restroom of flights we were on together and watching your set every night. To say I’ll miss you my friend isn’t enough. Till the next time we talk drums and smoke in the boys’ room … Rest In Peace.”