Foo Fighters announced a new drummer following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022.
The band revealed in a livestream event that Josh Freese, 50, will be joining members Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Rami Jaffee behind the drum set for their upcoming tour.
In Sunday’s “Foo Fighters: Preparing Music for Concerts,” the Grammy-winning rock band showed a skit where they teased iconic drummers interrupting a session at Studio 606, including Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee and Tool’s Danny Carey.
Smith came in complaining of a Mercedes blocking him, Lee arrived at the studio with takeout from P.F. Chang’s, and Carey came in to tell the band that he got their poodles groomed for them — but ultimately, the skit cuts to Freese.
“Um, excuse me! Guys can we just, like, I don’t know, play a song or two, something?” an annoyed Freese says in the bit, revealing him as the drummer before rehearsing “All My Life.”
It’s unclear if Freese will become a permanent member of Foo Fighters or is simply filling in as the band launches their tour.
If he were to become a permanent member, he would be the band’s third drummer — not including Grohl — succeeding Hawkins and William Goldsmith, who played on 1997’s “The Colour and Shape.”
Hawkins died unexpectedly at age 50 on March 25, 2022, while on tour in Colombia. He was found dead in a hotel room at the Four Seasons Casa Medina in Bogota.
“His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever,” the band wrote on Twitter at the time of his death.
At the end of last year, Foo Fighters posted a statement to their Twitter account sharing how they would be a “different band” following the loss of Hawkins.
“As we say goodbye to the most difficult and tragic year that our band has ever known, we are reminded of how thankful we are for the people that we love and cherish most, and for the loved ones who are no longer with us,” the post began. “Foo Fighters were formed 27 years ago to represent the healing power of music and a continuation of life.”
“Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were — and without Taylor, we know that we’re going to be a different band going forward,” they added. “We also know that you, the fans, meant as much to Taylor as he meant to you. And we know that when we see you again — and we will soon — he’ll be there in spirit with all of us every night.”
Freese is a longtime friend of both Hawkins and Grohl and is a veteran drummer who has played with the likes of Nine Inch Nails, The Offspring, Sting, Guns N’ Roses, Paramore, Weezer and the Vandals, just to name a few. Late last year, he played with the Foo Fighters during a tribute show for the late Hawkins — and even used Hawkins’ drum kit.
He shared an Instagram post following the tribute show in London remembering his late friend and explaining why he used Hawkins’ drums.
“At the very beginning of this I was asked what drums I’d like to use. Do I want my drums flown over to London for me to use?” Freese wrote. “Without hesitation I said ‘Taylor’s drums need to be up there and I want to play on his exact set up. I want THAT energy to be up on THAT stage. I want to sweat all over the same drums he was sweating all over every night…don’t change a thing.'”
He added, “Taylor and I both grew up in Orange County…30 mins away from one another but whenever we were in a group full of musicians (usually far away from home somewhere) we’d joke that we were the only 2 guys from O.C. in the room. We always had that funny little bond and he’d always remind me that he was tired of hearing about ‘that other young guy from OC who was already making records and touring’ when he was a teenager.”
Foo Fighters will begin their tour in New Hampshire on Wednesday, May 24 and will go through Nov. 26 at the Grand Prix race-day concert in Abu Dhabi. They announced in April that their 11th album “But Here We Are” will be released June 2.