For one reason or another, having joined Foo Fighters as the band’s live drummer in the wake of Taylor Hawkins’ passing, Josh Freese has come under come under criticism from some of the Foos’ fans. The scale of the phenomenon is apparently such that Wolfgang Van Halen feels obligated to defend the experienced drummer. In a recent interview for Ultimate Classic Rock, he said:
Photos: dwdrums.com / @awkwardhumanphotographer
“It was really amazing to watch the revolving drummers for the Foo Fighters set. I knew in my heart the second that I saw Josh [Freese] on the stage and just playing with him if he wasn’t the guy [to replace Taylor Hawkins in Foo Fighters], I was going to be pissed off. Because he’s perfect. I say that to everybody who maybe doesn’t like him: You do like him; you just don’t know it. He’s played on everything! Josh is the perfect guy for the job. There’s no one better.”
Josh was born in 1972 and is the son of Stan Freese, who conducted the Disney World band in Florida and Disneyland band in California. This allowed Josh to make his professional debut as a live drummer at the age of 12. Four years later (at 16), he started touring and recording. Since then, he has collaborated with the likes of: Dweezil Zappa, the Vandals, Infectious Grooves, Suicidal Tendencies, Guns N’ Roses, A Perfect Circle, Devo, Social Distortion, Good Charlotte, Evanescence, The Offspring, Static-X, Sting, Lostprophets, The Replacements, Nine Inch Nails, Daughtry, Weezer, Michael Bublé, Paramore, or Bruce Springsteen.
Josh Freese‘s full discography: https://www.thejoshfreese.com/discography
Freese has also released four solo albums between 1998 and 2011.
He is endorsed by DW Drums, Paiste cymbals, Vater drumsticks, Remo drumheads.
