Foo FightersFoo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has finally addressed the departure of former drummer Josh Freese, admitting that it was “really complicated” to hit the road again following the passing of Taylor Hawkins in 2022.
Freese officially joined Foo Fighters in May 2023, having previously performed with the band on stage for their London and Los Angeles tribute concerts for Taylor Hawkins.
In May 2025, however, Freese revealed that the band had decided “to go in a different direction with their drummer,” adding that “no reason was given” for his dismissal.
Despite stating he was “shocked and disappointed” about the high-profile exit, he remained in relatively good spirits, sharing a tongue-in-cheek list of the “Top 10 possible reasons Freese got booted from the Foos” just days later.
Josh Freese has a hugely impressive resume, having toured with The Vandals, Devo, Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails, Sting, A Perfect Circle, Paramore, and Weezer, among others.
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In a new interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, Dave Grohl discussed the band’s forthcoming album, Your Favorite Toy, and opened up about the loss of Taylor Hawkins, while also mentioning Freese’s exit.
“We had Taylor Hawkins as our drummer for 25 years and, beyond being an amazing drummer, he was this incredible spirit,” Grohl told Lowe, per NME. “He was this incredible human being, and he was our brother. He was our best friend.
“So, continuing after Taylor was really complicated, not just for us, but for any drummer that was going to come in to like, you know, fill his shoes, you know?”
He continued, “It’s Taylor’s birthday today. And so, we wake up in the morning and everybody just texts about how much we miss him and how the world’s not the same without him, but we still feel him very much.
“We always talk about him every fucking day. In everything we do, we want to have that energy – we want to have that energy for Taylor.”
Breaking his silence on Freese’s departure, Grohl praised the drummer’s talents and said he and his bandmates had a “great time” touring with him.
“In those six or seven months, as a band, we talked about what to do next, a new direction, and thought, ‘OK, let’s call Josh and let him know that we are going to move on with a different drummer,’” Grohl explained, adding that the decision “didn’t happen overnight.”
“We called, as a band, all of us called, it wasn’t just me,” he said. “Basically, we called Josh, and were like, ‘Hey man, that was awesome. That was such a blast, thank you so much, but we are going to move on and find another drummer.’
“After that, we didn’t make a press release, tweet anything or do interviews. We didn’t say anything. Since then, there’s been a lot of talk about it, but I think Josh said it best when he said that he didn’t feel our music really resonated with him, and that’s really important.”
You can watch a snippet of the interview below.
Since Freese’s exit, Foo Fighters announced Ilan Rubin as their new drummer, showcasing his recorded output on last year’s new single, Asking For A Friend, and bringing him to Australia for their one-off Launceston show last month.
Your Favorite Toy is the band’s first album to feature Rubin. Later this year, Foo Fighters will return to Australia and New Zealand for a massive stadium tour.
@applemusic Dave Grohl of @Foo Fighters tells @Zane Lowe about finding the sound of the band’s forthcoming twelfth album. Watch the full interview now on Apple Music.
♬ original sound - Apple Music
