Foo Fighters spent months debating Josh Freese’s future with the band.
The sticksman was drafted into Dave Grohl’s band following the death of longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022, but he was dismissed from the group last summer and now the frontman has insisted the move was a group decision and “didn’t happen overnight”.
Speaking to Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, Dave said: “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.
“We called, as a band, all of us called, it wasn’t just me.”
The Your Favorite Toy rocker insisted the discussion with Josh was positive and appreciative.
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.”
Following Josh’s departure, Foo Fighters drafted in Nine Inch Nails’ Ilan Rubin as replacement, while their former percussionist has gone back to playing with Trent Reznor’s group.
And Josh recently insisted people shouldn’t feel sorry for him because he is having a great time performing with NIN again, as well as playing shows with Weezer.
He told Modern Drummer magazine: “Someone recently said to me, ‘Man, you’ve had a tough year.’ And I thought, Really? So the Foo Fighters thing is over. Big deal, that was a blip.
“The fact that I’ve been touring with Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle again, playing some shows with Weezer, working in the studio with everyone from Danny Elfman to Billy Idol.
“I feel like I’m back where I belong. Trust me… no one should feel sorry for me.”
But Josh admitted he was “in shock” when he was let go by the My Hero hitmakers.
He said: “The day it went down I was hanging out on a day off with A Perfect Circle and the Primus guys. Everyone was in shock and asking me what the hell happened.
“I just remember thinking that I was really grateful to be out there on tour with my friends and with a great crew… playing music I liked with people that I’ve had a long history with.”
Josh insisted the reasons why he was fired by Foo Fighters are still a “mystery” to him, particularly because his exit seemingly came out of the blue.
He said: “I have a couple small theories, but I can’t really go into them right now.
“I did really enjoy the two years I spent with those guys however, and they were good to me… until they weren’t…
“I enjoyed being around those guys, they were generous and good to me… and that’s what makes the whole thing even more of a mystery.
“I think I’m a pretty good read on people, and I did not see that coming. One day it was nothing but laughs, we’re on stage and Dave’s looking at me every night like, ‘You’re killing it dude!!!’ And then it was just… over.”