Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders

The Arc of Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders

The pivots — what forced Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders to reinvent.

1. 01

   The Home Studio Blueprint

   The 2006 self-titled debut was essentially a basement experiment tracked at Drew Hester’s house with Chris Chaney and Gannin Arnold. Without a major label looking over their shoulders, the trio leaned into 70s glam and art-rock flourishes that felt far too nerdy for a mainstream rock record. You can hear the lack of polish in the drum room—it’s dry, punchy, and sounds exactly like three guys who spent the afternoon arguing over the merits of Genesis and Joe Walsh. It established the project as a genuine outlet for Hawkins’ obsessive fandom rather than just a drummer’s solo lark.

2. 02

   Red Light Fever Sophistication

   By 2010, the operation moved to Studio 606 and started pulling in heavy hitters like Elliot Easton and Brian May to flesh out the arrangements. The production got slicker, but the core was still rooted in that hyper-active power pop that Hawkins lived for. Getting May into the room wasn't just a flex; it forced the band to tighten their vocal harmonies and embrace the theatricality of the Queen records that Hawkins worshipped. This era solidified the Coattail Riders as a real band with a distinct, bombastic identity that finally stepped out from the shadow of the day job.

Influences

• Queen — Hawkins famously cited 'A Night at the Opera' as his religion and eventually got Brian May and Roger Taylor to guest on his records. The multi-tracked vocal harmonies and the theatrical stomp on tracks like 'Way Down' are direct DNA transfers from the Mercury-era playbook. He wasn't just a fan; he was a student of their maximalist architecture.
• The Police — The syncopation and heavy use of the hi-hat in Hawkins' playing style come straight from Stewart Copeland's influence. You hear it in the frantic, jerky rhythms of the first album where he prioritizes busy, rhythmic textures over a standard 4/4 backbeat. It’s that specific brand of white-boy reggae and punk-adjacent precision.
• The James Gang — Hawkins frequently cited Joe Walsh as a massive influence on the guitar tones and loose, groovy vibe he wanted for the Coattail Riders. The slide guitar work and the gritty, mid-tempo swagger of 'James Gang Rides Again' is all over the riffs Gannin Arnold brought to the sessions. It’s that 70s California desert-rock DNA at work.
• Genesis — The prog-rock complexity of the Phil Collins era informed the odd time signatures that pop up when you least expect them in this catalog. Hawkins was a vocal defender of Collins' technicality, and you hear that attempt to bridge the gap between pop hooks and complex drum fills. For fuck's sake, the man lived for a well-placed, over-the-top fill.
• Cheap Trick — The power-pop sensibility and the knack for a sugary chorus buried under loud guitars is straight out of the Bun E. Carlos and Rick Nielsen school. Hawkins shared that same 'live-fast' energy and a devotion to the three-minute pop song with a weird edge. It’s the sound of a band that knows how to play technically but chooses to just rock out.