PAUL STANLEY On TAYLOR HAWKINS: 'Nobody Loved Music Like He Did'

KISS frontman Paul Stanley has paid tribute to Taylor Hawkins, saying "nobody loved music like" the late FOO FIGHTERS drummer did.

Stanley spoke about Hawkins during the "On This Day In KISStory" activity aboard this year's "Kiss Kruise" where Paul and the other members of KISS looked at some photos and give their memories and stories about the event they were taken at.

After being shown a photo of him with Hawkins and FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl, Paul said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That was Dave's birthday. And he invited me to come play with him at the Forum in L.A., and, of course, Taylor.

"The beauty of a great band is the chemistry between at least of the people. And FOO FIGHTERS, that's Dave and Taylor. Taylor was as close to Dave as a brother. And Taylor, besides being a phenomenal drummer… I remember when I saw him with Alanis Morissette, I was, like, 'Jesus. Who is this guy?' And he was also a super, super guy — one of those people that really, really loved music. And it's a tragedy; it's a terrible loss.

"I will remember that forever. We did a couple of things together. We did 'Do You Love Me?' and we did 'Detroit Rock City'. And Taylor kicked it in the ass.

"Taylor was a big fan [of KISS]. And again, nobody loved music like he did."

Added KISS drummer Eric Singer: "I met [Taylor] before he played with anybody. He was a young kid in Orange County. I went to this drum shop — I think it was called Orange County Percussion — and I went down to get some drums fixed. And the guy that owned the shop said, 'Eric, I'm gonna introduce you to this kid.' And Taylor was in the room practicing. He was about to audition for [singer] Sass Jordan. And Taylor came by. He was just like this fresh-faced kid; he was about 18 or 19. The same way he was when you met him now, after he'd been really famous, he always was that way."

Hawkins was found dead on March 25 at the Four Seasons Casa Medina hotel in Bogota.

An official cause of death for Hawkins hasn't yet been released. But on March 26, Colombia's attorney general's office released a preliminary toxicology report, saying that medical examiners found evidence of 10 types of substances in Hawkins's body, including opioids, benzodiazepines, marijuana and antidepressants.

Hawkins joined FOO FIGHTERS in 1997. Prior to that, he played with the Orange County band SYLVIA and was also in the backing band for Sass Jordan. He also toured with Alanis Morissette as her drummer.

Hawkins was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last year as a member of the FOO FIGHTERS.

Hawkins's most recent work with FOO FIGHTERS included last year's "Medicine At Midnight" album, a collection of BEE GEES covers and FOO FIGHTERS' horror film "Studio 666".