Josh Freese was just as perplexed as the rest of us when the Foo Fighters parted ways with him in May 2025. Dave Grohl & Co. fired the Vandals drummer just two years after he replaced the late Taylor Hawkins. At the time, Freese could only offer sarcastic speculations on what led to his departure (“Never even once tried growing a beard.”) During a recent interview with The New York Times, he again addressed his abrupt exit from the multi Grammy-winning rock band.
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“Looking back, it was probably more an issue with their management,” said Freese, 52. However, he has seemingly come to terms with the career shift. “It wasn’t music that I really resonated with,” he added with a shrug.
Josh Freese Had Mixed Feelings About Replacing the Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins
Josh Freese boasts some hefty credentials. First, he joined the Vandals in 1989, followed by new wave band Devo in 1996. Just last year, he embarked on his second stint with A Perfect Circle. Freese previously served as their drummer from 1999 to 2012.
Since 1986, Freese has played on more than 400 albums, performing live with the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Sting, the Offspring, and Guns N’ Roses. In a 2014 interview with Variety, the 52-year-old Florida native playfully dubbed himself “the blue collar freelance drummer to the stars.”
Freese was close to Hawkins, so filling his shoes was a lofty burden to bear. “I’m coming in as Dave Grohl’s drummer, and the guy that’s supposed to save the day after the beloved Taylor Hawkins died,” he explained to the Times. Understandably, Freese felt “like I had to be firing on all cylinders all the time.”
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Foo Fighters declined to comment for the Times’ story. However, Grohl praised “the thunderous wizardry of Josh Freese” in a July 2025 note to fans.
Currently, Freese is hitting the road with Nine Inch Nails on their Peel It Back tour. Ironically, he reunited with Trent Reznor and the boys after their former drummer, Ilan Rubin, headed to the Foo Fighters — as Freese’s replacement.
“Ilan’s a phenomenal drummer, a phenomenal musician,” Freese said. “He’ll be perfect for the gig.”
Featured image by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
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