Foo Fighters did not give Josh Freese a reason for his firing.
The drummer was drafted into Dave Grohl’s band following the death of Taylor Hawkins in 2022, but he was dismissed from the group last summer and Foo Fighters have admitted they didn’t go into detail about why he was let go.
Bassist Nate Mendel told The Guardian: “Yeah. We made a decision that it was best for all parties. To get into the personal details [with Freese], of why that didn’t necessarily sync up, just didn’t seem like it was going to benefit anybody. Some things are OK to be like: this is what’s best for us, and we’re going in a different direction.”
However, Mendel praised Freese for “coming into a situation and doing exactly what needs to be done musically to make it work” after the devastating death of Hawkins.
Speaking previously, frontman Dave Grohl insisted the decision to fire Freese was a group one and the entire band was on the call when it happened.
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.
“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, he 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.”