After a hard-fought battle with long-COVID, Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro made a triumphant return to music but admitted that Taylor Hawkins’ death made his recovery more challenging.After a hard-fought battle with long-COVID, Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro made a triumphant return to music but admitted that Taylor Hawkins’ death made his recovery more challenging. Navarro, Hawkins, and Chris Chaney had completed their NHC debut album when tragedy struck in March 2022. Just four months prior, Navarro was diagnosed with long-haul COVID. In a forthcoming interview with Guitar World, Navarro shared, “I had just made a record with Taylor Hawkins and Chris Chaney. We mixed it and mastered it – and then we lost Taylor. That was in the middle of Covid, and it was actually really painful for me to pick up the guitar again after that. … I didn’t pick up the guitar for about a year.” Describing Hawkins as “such an inspiring artist,” Navarro added, “Not only was he a phenomenal drummer, but he was also a great songwriter and lyricist… he was just one of those people that everyone loved. Everyone loved him.” The guitarist’s grief exacerbated his condition, but a year later, he gradually reintroduced guitar playing into his life, starting with covers. In July 2023, Navarro returned to Jane’s Addiction, releasing their new single “Imminent Redemption.” It marked the original lineup’s first recording since 1990.
Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, who only recently returned to the band after a three-year battle with long-COVID, spoke about how Taylor Hawkins’ death made his condition more difficult to cope with.
The duo, along with touring AC/DC bassist Chris Chaney, had just completed work on their band’s debut album when Hawkins died in March 2022, four months after Navarro was diagnosed with the long-form version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
“I had just made a record with Taylor Hawkins and Chris Chaney,” Navarro said Guitar world in an upcoming interview, referring to NHC’s album not yet released, though two songs from the project were released in 2021.
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“We mixed it and mastered it – and then we lost Taylor. That was in the middle of Covid, and it was actually really painful for me to pick up the guitar again after that. … I didn’t pick up the guitar for about a year.”
He described Hawkins as “such an inspiring artist”, adding: “Not only was he a phenomenal drummer, but he was also a great songwriter and lyricist… he was just one of those people that everyone loved. Everyone loved him.”
How Dave Navarro Got Back to Playing Guitar
Navarro spoke about how his grief worsened his viral infection, adding, “The first year after losing Taylor, I didn’t play. … Then, about a year later, I picked up the guitar, started playing some covers and got used to the instrument in my hand again.”
The guitarist finally returned to action earlier this year with Jane’s Addiction, releasing their new single “Imminent Redemption” on July 24 — the original lineup’s first recording since 1990.
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
