American rock band Foo Fighters have parted ways with their drummer of two years, Josh Freese. Freese, 52, had been with the Foo Fighters since 2023. Taylor Hawkins, their previous drummer, passed away in March 2022 while the band was on tour in Bogotá, Colombia. The band had considered a few other drummers, but drummer Freese ultimately landed the gig and had been steadily working with them for the past two years.
Josh Freese’s Musical Background
Josh Freese has been a free agent drummer, of sorts. He played with Nine Inch Nails, Devo, Guns N’ Roses, and Dweezil Zappa, just to name a few. Growing up in sunny California, he was introduced to music at a young age and took to drumming. In fact, he even played in a band at Disneyland when he was in his early teens!
Freese also comes from a musical family. His father, Stan Freese, was a multi-instrumentalist and played tuba on the Lawrence Welk show, as well as a couple other variety shows back in the 70s. His younger brother, Jason, is a musician, too. Josh grew up listening to a variety of music. In particular, he favored rock, punk, and blues. He was a member of The Vandals for a long time, and he has done session and freelance work with multiple bands.
Josh Freese’s Reaction to Foo Fighters’ Firing
Josh said the Foo Fighters contacted him this past Monday and told him they were moving in a different direction. He said he was surprised, but not angry about it. Josh joked on Instagram that fans should stay tuned for his “Top 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foo Fighters” list. We’re glad to see that at least he’s got a good sense of humor.
While the Foo Fighters have not publicly commented on the reasons behind their decision, we do know they have recently planned a Singapore show in October. More than likely, they probably have somebody else in mind to replace drummer Freese. We wish both Josh Freese and the Foo Fighters best of luck.
