Foo's sticksman Taylor Hawkins is hoping to avoid any run-ins with NME staffers at Isle Of Wight this year.

What have you got planned for Isle Of Wight then, Taylor?
I don't know! I have no clue because we haven't started rehearsing yet! We're talking about having a really big stage and pulling a couple of tricks and things. When you play a big show like that you've got to definitely make sure you do something special.

Do you know about the festivals legendary history?
Yeah of course. Wasn't Hendrix's last gig at the Isle Of Wight? And I know The Who played there and I think Dylan. Do they have it at the same place they did back then?

Not anymore. Who do you want to see?
I wouldn't mind seeing The Strokes. I like their new songs.

Do you have a favourite festival, or do they all feel the same?
They're all different. Reading's always a big deal and Leeds is really good too. It really has more to do with the country you're in. We did one in France and we didn't even know why we were going because we just figured nobody liked us in France. We've never really sold that many records there, but it ended up being one of the best shows we've ever played.

Gutted you're missing Download?
I think I'm happy with the hippies! I think I'm more of a hippy than a metalhead. I've seen Guns'n'Roses in their newest incarnation a couple of times. I'd like to hear that record if anybody ever gets to hear it. I wonder if it'll be the rantings of a crazy guy? I hope it is!

You were omnipresent on the UK festival circuit last year. What's your favourite memory?
Me and Dave were doing a photoshoot after the Reading show and some guy, I think he was from your magazine actually, threw a beer at Dave. I don't think he'd had the best show and was a little pissed off, and that added fuel to the fire. It almost got physical man, it was really funny. I felt really bad for him, and I think Dave did in the end too.

You had your own little 'epsiode' at the V Festival a few years ago when you collapsed post gig. Has that changed your attitude toward festivals?
Nope. I had a lot of fun up until then, and now I'm having fun too.

return to Hawkins' Poor Brain