Drum extraordinaire Josh Freese is the last musician you’d expect to be kicked off a job. The list of artists he’s worked with is incredible: Guns N’ Roses, 311, Weezer, Nine Inch Nails, Devo, and even 100 gecs. Yet earlier this year, he was notably fired by one of the biggest bands in the world: Foo Fighters.
This dismissal from the band came after Freese had been performing with Foo Fighters for only two years. He joked about his separation from the group on Instagram in a hilarious text post, which he titled “Top 10 possible reasons Freese got booted from the Foos.”
Recently, in an interview with The New York Times, Freese explained the story leading up to his separation from Foo Fighters back in May. He explained the pressure of filling the shoes of Taylor Hawkins, the longtime drummer of Foo Fighters, who passed tragically while on tour back in 2022.
With all this baggage, it’s understandable that Freese’s feelings towards Foo Fighters seem lukewarm at best. He said, “(I)t wasn’t music that I really resonated with.”
The Josh Freese trade-off no one expected
When speaking to Rolling Stone, Freese described the surprise of being dismissed from a band for the first time in his 40-year career. “I’ve never been let go from a band, so while I’m not angry — just a bit shocked and disappointed,” he said. This is the reality of freelance professional musicians like Freese. It’s possible to lose work at any moment, for any reason.
Then came a call from Trent Reznor, the frontman of Nine Inch Nails (NIN). Reznor asked Freese to join the band’s nationwide Peel It Back tour at the last minute. Freese previously played for NIN between 2005 and 2008.
Arguably, NIN has a trendiness and edge among younger fans that a band like Foo Fighters might be competing for, even with their huge impact on the rock genre.
Even more shocking is the swap that occurred next. In July, a source well-connected to NIN confirmed that their touring drummer, Ilan Rubin, accepted the job drumming for Foo Fighters. Rubin has worked with notable artists such as Paramore, Lostprophets, and Angels & Airwaves.
He’s also the youngest living inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “I couldn’t believe it…Ilan’s a phenomenal drummer, a phenomenal musician. He’ll be perfect for the gig,” Freese commented about the swap.
Both Freese and Rubin are incredible drummers which makes it an unusual spectacle to see them traded like athletes between teams. As for the Foo Fighters, they’ve yet to make any comment on working with Freese or Rubin.