Josh Freese told Rick Beato that he didn’t do anything to take Taylor Hawkins’ place in Foo Fighters.
The musician detailed how he became the new Foo Fighters drummer after Hawkins’ death:
“On my children’s lives, I had zero plans of being called to be the drummer. And everyone and their mother — my neighbor walking the dog, ‘Hey Josh, the Foo Fighters call you yet?’ Other people hitting me up, other drummers, Reddit forums, ‘Josh Freese is gonna be the guy.’ I’m going, ‘I don’t even know if they’re gonna continue on [after Taylor’s death].’”
Josh Didn’t Press On Foo Fighters Members
Freese shared he didn’t talk to anyone about replacing Hawkins in the tribute concerts:
“And most people I knew said, ‘Oh, they’re gonna have to. They’re gonna figure it out.’ I was, like, ‘Well, maybe. Who knows?’ I didn’t ask them that question during those [Taylor Hawkins] tribute [concerts in September 2022]. Once again, I wanted to give everybody space. I wasn’t gonna be another guy coming at Dave [Grohl, Foo Fighters frontman], going, ‘So dude, if you need a drummer, I’m around. I’m just saying.’”
The rocker preferred to let things flow:
“I didn’t mention it once and was busy enough and making a good enough living already that I wasn’t freaked out about it. I wasn’t going, ‘God, I hope they call. I hope they call.’ I was, like, ‘You know what? Whatever happens is gonna happen.’ And that’s how I kind of like to roll.”
Freese Joined Foo Fighters Last Year
Dave Grohl announced in May 2023 that Freese was the new drummer of Foo Fighters. This was during the band’s ‘Preparing Music for Concerts’ live stream. Josh took to Instagram two months later and noted that he added a part from a Nine Inch Nails song during a Foo Fighters concert. This part was recorded by Grohl. Freese got happy when Dave noticed it on stage. He then talked about how it feels to play with Grohl:
“By the way, playing drums behind one of the world’s greatest guitarists is a total trip. Surprisingly not nerve-wracking but really just inspiring and fun. And that’s the truth, Ruth.”
Freese already played some shows with Foo Fighters before replacing Hawkins. The drummer received backlash from some Foo Fighters fans, but Wolfgang Van Halen defended him by saying he was the perfect fit for the band.
You can watch Freese’s full interview with Beato below.