Josh Freese has said that he and Foo Fighters have parted ways.
Freese joined the Foos as their touring drummer in 2023, following the sudden passing of their drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022. Prior to that, he had played for Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails, Paramore, Devo and more.
In a post on Instagram, Freese has claimed that the band told him his tenure with them was coming to an end earlier this week.
“The Foo Fighters called me Monday night to let me know they’ve decided ‘to go in a different direction with their drummer’,” he 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.”
He added: “In my 40 years of drumming professionally, I’ve never been let go from a band, so while I’m not angry – I’m 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.”
Foo Fighters haven’t yet commented on Freese’s statement. NME has reached out to their representatives for comment.
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Last year saw Freese give an interview on how he came to be sticksman for Foos.
“I didn’t go, ‘Wow! Yippee! This is so cool!’ I didn’t get excited like that. It was almost like I got the wind knocked out of me. And I was like, ‘Oh my God’.”
He went on: “I was like, ‘Here we go’. ‘Cause I knew… I’d had time to think about it and all that […] There’s some times when you go, ‘You know you’ve gotta do this, right?’ It couldn’t have gone down any other way after being asked, and being asked by someone that I’ve respected forever – not just as a songwriter and a singer/guitarist, but as a drummer.”
Freese then called Grohl “such a bad motherfucker” who possesses something that “can’t be taught”.
“Dave is a drummer’s drummer,” he told Beato. “It’s not like, ‘Oh yeah, he used to play drums’. No. He’s the drummer, you know what I mean? And I’ve tried to let that be a source of inspiration and excitement […] rather than letting it intimidate me or freak me out.
“If you start going down that path, it could intimidate you and freak you out. ‘My God, I’m Dave Grohl’s drummer!’ But he makes it so comfortable and good and natural, the way we play together […] It’s all good stuff.”
Freese explained that “locking in” with Grohl on stage “has never been nerve-wracking”, adding: “It’s always fun and exciting.”
Earlier in the conversation, Freese said: “It continues to be bittersweet. Part of me wants to say, ‘I wish I wasn’t there at all’. I wish there wasn’t a reason for me to be the drummer in the Foo Fighters.”
He recalled how he was “friendly acquaintances” with Hawkins for 25 years before the pair became “a lot closer” in the last five or six years, “which makes the whole thing even more odd”.
“Some of the guys in the band I’ve known for a long, long time,” Freese said. “I met Dave before he was in Nirvana.”
Freese, who has also played with the likes of Guns N’ Roses, Paramore and Nine Inch Nails, described the two tribute shows for Hawkins as “therapeutic” and “healing” experiences. “It was special, you know?” he added.
In other news, it was announced this week that Foo Fighters would make their live return this October to headline the Singapore F1 Grand Prix concerts.
The October 4 show will mark the band’s first show since August 2024. It is their first show of 2025, and according to their website is currently their only gig of the year.
It will also mark the band’s first appearance together since Grohl courted controversy in September when he revealed that he had fathered a daughter outside of his marriage.
Following the news, Foo Fighters subsequently cancelled their scheduled headline slot at the Soundside Music Festival. In December, Hellfest founder and director Ben Barbaud claimed that the band had scrapped a summer 2025 tour, suggesting that Foo Fighters were primed to headline the French festival but were instead replaced by Muse.