Dave Grohl has lastly addressed Foo Fighters‘ resolution to half methods with drummer Josh Freese final 12 months, shedding mild on the band’s inside discussions and the emotional weight of shifting ahead after Taylor Hawkins.
Freese — a veteran sticksman recognized for his work with 9 Inch Nails and numerous others — was recruited in 2023 to fill the void left by Hawkins‘ dying. However in Might 2025, he revealed through Instagram that the band had determined “to go in a distinct path with their drummer,” including: “No cause was given.” Since then, former 9 Inch Nails drummer Ilan Rubin has stepped in behind the equipment for Foo Fighters.
Now, talking on The Zane Lowe Present on Apple Music 1, Grohl has opened up about how the choice unfolded. In response to the frontman, the decision was made throughout a break from touring in 2024.
“In these six or seven months, as a band, we talked about what to do subsequent, a brand new path, and thought, ‘Okay, let’s name Josh and let him know that we’re going to transfer on with a distinct drummer,'” Grohl defined, emphasizing that the transfer “did not occur in a single day.”
“We referred to as, as a band, all of us referred to as, it wasn’t simply me,” he continued. “Principally, we referred to as Josh and have been, like, ‘Hey, man, that was superior. That was such a blast, thanks a lot, however we’re going to transfer on and discover one other drummer.'”
Grohl additionally referenced feedback Freese made in an August 2025 interview with The New York Occasions, the place the drummer admitted the gig by no means totally clicked for him. “It wasn’t music that I actually resonated with,” Freese stated on the time, including that stepping in after Hawkins’ passing got here with immense strain.
“I am coming in as Dave Grohl‘s drummer, and the man that is supposed to save lots of the day after the beloved Taylor Hawkins died… I felt like I needed to be firing on all cylinders on a regular basis.”
Grohl acknowledged that sentiment. “Since then, there’s been plenty of speak about it,” he stated, “however I feel Josh stated it greatest when he stated that he did not really feel our music actually resonated with him, and that is actually essential.”
The Foo Fighters frontman additionally spoke candidly in regards to the emotional complexity of carrying on with out Hawkins, who had been Grohl‘s bandmate for 25 years.
“We had Taylor Hawkins as our drummer for 25 years and, past being an incredible drummer, he was this unbelievable spirit,” Grohl stated. “He was this unbelievable human being and he was our brother. He was our greatest buddy. So, persevering with after Taylor was actually sophisticated, not only for us, however for any drummer that was going to return in to, like, you understand, fill his sneakers.
“We at all times speak about him each fucking day. In all the things we will we wish to have that vitality — we wish to have that vitality for Taylor.”
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