Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese described his addition to the band following his friend Taylor Hawkins' death as "bittersweet." He wishes the late drummer was still around to get behind the kit with Dave Grohl and company.
"It continues to be bittersweet," Freese told The Daily Star. "Part of me wants to say like I wish I wasn't there at all. I wish there wasn't a reason for me to be the drummer in Foo Fighters.
"I was friendly acquaintances with Taylor for like 25 years and then in the last five/six years we became a lot closer, which makes the whole thing even more odd."
'I wish there wasn't a reason for me to be the drummer in Foo Fighters,' Freese said.
Freese has a long history with the other band members, as well.
"I've known Chris Shiflett and Rami Jaffee for 30 years, well before they were in the band, and I met Dave before he was in Nirvana. I met Dave at a concert at Cal State Long Beach in like 1990 when he was in Scream." he said.
"After Taylor's passing, first thing I thought was how are these guys going to move on from this – Taylor was such an important component, on and off stage. And he wasn't just a drummer, you know. He was such a big personality. [I thought] 'Are they even going to go on...does Dave go solo now?'"
Hawkins died at age 50 in March 2022 while the Foo Fighters were on tour in Colombia. He suffered a heart attack in the wake of a drug overdose.
He joined the band in 1997, three years after the original lineup was formed by Grohl. That happened in the wake of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's death earlier that year.
Before joining the Foo Fighters, Hawkins also drummed for Alanis Morisette and Sass Jordan.
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Hawkins died while the band touring in Colombia in March 2022.
Foo Fighters hosted a memorial show for Hawkins in June 2022. There, the band was joined by the drummer's son Shane, who got behind the kit for their track "My Hero."
Freese is a prolific session drummer who's also currently a member of Devo and the Vandals. He's previously played with Guns N' Roses, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer and more.
Foo Fighters will tour the U.S. this summer with support from The Hives, Mammoth WVH, Amyl and The Sniffers, Alex G and L7 on select dates.
He had been a member of the band since 1997 and was a big part of their public image.
Check out a full list of the upcoming concerts below:
Wednesday, July 17 — New York NY — Citi Field *
Friday, July 19 – New York NY — Citi Field #
Sunday, July 21 – Boston MA — Fenway Park #
Tuesday, July 23 – Hershey PA — Hersheypark Stadium #
Thursday, July 25 – Cincinnati OH — Great American Ballpark *
Sunday, July 28 – Minneapolis MN — Target Field **
Saturday, August 3 – Denver CO — Empower Field at Mile High *
Wednesday, August 7 – San Diego CA — Petco Park $
Friday, August 9 – Los Angeles CA — BMO Stadium #
Sunday, August 11 – Los Angeles CA — BMO Stadium %
Thursday, August 16 – Portland OR — Providence Park Soccer Stadium %
Saturday, August 18 – Seattle WA — T-Mobile Park %
* Pretenders & Mammoth WVH Support
** Pretenders & L7 Support
# The Hives & Amyl and The Sniffers Support
$ The Hives & Alex G Support
% Pretenders & Alex G Support
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