Who is Josh Freese; Foo Fighters confirm new full-time drummer after live rehearsal stream this weekend?

After weeks of speculation and two rumoured drummers having to take to social media to clear up their affiliation with rock band Foo Fighters, the band officially revealed who would take over the large shoes left behind by Taylor Hawkins. During a tour rehearsal live stream on Sunday night, Dave Grohl and the band introduced Josh Freese as the new drummer for the group.

For many rock fans, Freese is a familiar name - a highly respected session drummer, to the point where at times he is considered “the drummer’s drummer,” Freese first started out drumming for legendary punk act The Vandals in 1989 but it was as a touring drummer that many fans became aware of him. 

When Guns ‘n’ Roses first started touring again in the early ‘00s, Axl Rose roped Freese in to be their touring drummer years before the original group got back together again. He would also go on to tour with power-pop group Weezer and another stalwart of the punk scene, The Offspring, as their touring drummer and has worked with British musician Sting also while the musician (and his vast wealth) make live appearances.

In the studio however was where Freese ultimately made himself a hot commodity for rhythm sections around the world. Freese drummed for ground-breaking industrial band Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle and Devo, but it wasn’t just the rock genre that Freese was constrained to. Such has been his esteem as a session drummer that producers for Miley Cyrus’ 2008 album Breakout roped him in to drum for the album.

Other pop acts soon followed as Freese’s name could be found in the inlays for albums by Kelly Clarkson, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry, though now seems to have settled down from his genre-traversing job to now take the mantle of drummer for Foo Fighters. 

This would mark the second time that Dave Grohl would enlist a familiar name from the punk scene to join the band; when original guitarist Pat Smear left Foo Fighters after the release of 1997’s The Colour and The Shape, it would be Chris Shiflett who would end up becoming the band’s full time drummer - Shiflett made his name as the guitarist for skate punk group No Use For A Name, alongside being a member of the all-star punk covers band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. 

What is Josh Freese’s net worth?

As of January 2023, Josh Freese’s net worth is said to be in the range of $5 million USD. This takes into account not only the cost to hire him as a session musician but also mechanical royalties accrued through the airplay of songs that he had drummed on too.