Foo Fighters Split with Drummer Josh Freese
“Foo Fighters – Josh Freese portrait” by Sven Mandel is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Josh Freese will no longer tour with Foo Fighters. In a statement posted to his social channels on May 16, the drummer shared that he’d been let go by the Dave Grohl-fronted grunge rock outfit, formally concluding his two-year tenure as touring support. With that first message, Freese promised a list of potential reasons for his firing, which arrived earlier today.
“The Foo Fighters called me Monday night to let me know they’ve decided ‘to go in a different direction with their drummer,’” Freese wrote. “No reason was given. 🙁
“Regardless, I enjoyed the past two years with them, both on and off stage, and I support whatever they feel is best for the band. In my 40 years of drumming professionally, I’ve never been let go from a band, so while I’m not angry–just a bit shocked and disappointed. But as most of you know I’ve always worked freelance and bounced between bands so, I’m fine. Stay tuned for my ‘Top 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foo Fighters’ list.”
Freese officially joined Foo Fighters on May 21, 2023, taking the place of the band’s 25-year drummer Taylor Hawkins after his tragic passing in 2022. His impressive resume also includes stints with The Vandals, Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle, with whom he’s currently touring on the Sessanta Vol. 2 tour alongside Puscifer and Primus. He’s also built up a considerable reputation as a session drummer, lending his talents to recordings by bands like Weezer, Paramore, The Replacements, Guns N’ Roses and many more.
With that, it seems only natural that he’s taking his ousting well, as evinced by his tongue-in-cheek takes on what may have led to the break–including “Could only name one Fugazi song” and “Never even once tried growing a beard.” Read that list below.
