To everyone saying Josh "has big shoes to fill", so did his predecessor. Taylor had to take over for the drummer of NIRVANA. Think about how much pressure that must have been.
Actually he took over for William Goldsmith. He and bassist Nate were recruited from the Sunny Day Real Estate breakup. Nate stayed, William was replaced by Taylor. I learned this even before FF Back & Forth came out.
People saying that have no clue who Josh even is. The guy has played for Devo, The Vandals, Guns and Roses, Weezer, A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, Sting, Paramore , The Offspring , Suicidal Tendencies, Dweezil Zappa , Chris Cornell, Evanescense, Rob Zombie, Daughtry, Bruce Springsteen, (Movie composer) Danny Elfman and many more. In terms of drumming ability, Taylor Hawkins couldn't carry Josh Freese's drumsticks. I IMPLORE everyone to go back and listen to this guys catalog. It is astounding and the Foos are in good hands here. "has big shoes to fill" ... People don't realize just how big Josh's shoes are.
@@christinelikeschrysanthemums Yes. But there was a little time periods where Dave was the FF drummer. If you think about it, William didn't play on their first record. And just played a couple of songs on their second. I mean, Dave played all the intruments on FF first album and played the drums on their second, execpt for one song or two, I can't remember. That said, he (William) did played live with the band and he was great and sounded great live, imo. He did a great job emulating Dave's drumming. He sounded like he was the one that played drums on their first record, when they played live. After so many years, playing with the Foo's, Taylor's drumming was a big part of the band, their sound and probably co-songwritting. For all his wild rock energy, he had a somewhat "classical element" to his drumming. Josh for other hand, have a more "punk rock" vibe on his playing, he's an great drummer too, with vast music language knowlegde. And his resume speaks for itself. While I no longer follow FF music like I used to, I'm curious to see what Freese will bring.
@@MetalMcfly Well said my friend. Just seeing clips of him with Sting is more than enough proof of how amazing a drummer he is. First thing I thought was, there’s no way Taylor Hawkins could play that style of drumming that is Stewart Copeland.
The one and only time I got to see Nine Inch Nails live was with Josh in the drummer's seat. It was an UNBELIEVABLE experience. Friends made their way to a Starbucks near where they were staying. They bumped into Josh. He was so down to earth and cool with everyone. Took pictures. Signed autographs. A good lad.
I can't think of anyone else to be drumming for them. Josh is definitely is a benchmark drummer, brings good energy and fits right in immediately. Ive seen him live with NIN and APC, truly fun to watch. Glad they are back on the road!
Josh Freese seems to have better technique, but Taylor Hawkins was no slouch, just different drummers both very fit for the band. But yes, in general terms you could say Josh is a better drummer.
Another unpopular opinion: I wish they would’ve gotten someone that HASNT PLAYED FOR COUNTLESS OTHER HUGE ROCK BANDS ALREADY. Would’ve been REALLY cool to see an underrated/not so popular drummer play with them.
Josh has the most insane resume from The Vandals, Paul Westerberg, Devo, APC, GnR, Weezer, NIN, Offspring, Sublime, Elfman…hell, even Sting flies him out on his private jet and he flawlessly plays Copeland licks. That’s just his live credits! Go pull out any Rock or Alt record from the 90’s to today and chances are Josh had a role in the production. Above all else, he’s been close friends with these fellas for decades and was very close with Taylor. He’s the ONLY choice.
Taylor was great for the Foo's but a lot of people (the core fanbase) saying Josh has big shoes to fill is an obvious sign they have zero clue who Josh Freese even is. He is an absolute monster behind the kit and his resume is legendary. Taylor Hawkins himself considered Josh a huge inspiration and they were close friends for many years because of that. The Foo's struck gold landing this dude. People really do need to go back and listen to Josh's catalog. It's insane.
There's very few folks who could sit in that drum seat and take their place in the Foo Fighters quite like Josh Freese. Like that's an absolutely irreplaceable hole you just cannot ever fill, and he knows that full well - the closest I can think of is maybe Queen whenever a new singer has toured with them since losing Freddie Mercury, but at least then it's always a 'Queen +' guest arrangement, and there was over a decade between Freddie dying and the rest of the band wanting to go back out there and play Queen songs. And of course, being the 'new' singer is always gonna be so tough versus being the 'new' drummer as the spotlight shines so brightly just on you. But just as Freddie idolised Paul Rodgers, and I'm sure would ADORE Adam Lambert if he were still here now, I'm willing to bet Taylor Hawkins absolutely looked up to and respected JF as an incredible musician and player, and the rest of the band know that. If anyone else was ever going to play drums in the Foo Fighters instead of him, I'm sure Taylor would be delighted that it's Josh. Like, why bother arguing over and comparing the two against each other, trying to figure out who's better? When the Foos, Dave nor JF or TH would ever do that themselves. Just tonnes of love and mutual respect up there. There will never be another one quite like Taylor, but there's nobody else quite like Josh either.
⚠️ OLD GUY ALERT - I'm a Devo fan who's so grateful to Josh for bringing the band back to life on Lollapalooza 1996, and for his clockwork drumming that reminds that from former Devo drummer Alan Myers RIP. Josh's technique is just flawless, and will be my only reason to buy me tix for the next Foo Fighters gig in my city
@@Neilbear5820 Stop. He had an enlarged heart before “the jab” existed. He was in Colombia. High altitude makes the heart work harder, not to mention the physicality of drumming. His heart simply failed. He wasn’t getting enough oxygen rich blood for his body to function. It would have happened eventually with or without any extrinsic circumstances being involved. He needed a heart transplant.
@@walterzoomie See this is exactly what I mean by releasing a preliminary report. Do you know what metabolites are? Do you know that the concentrations found were small? Do you know if those medications were prescribed? No. Example. If you were taking Hydrocodone which is Vicodin, it will show on a toxicology report that you also have Hydromorphone in your system, which is Dilaudid. You didn’t take any Dilaudid it is a metabolite from taking the Vicodin.
@@walterzoomie Considerable changes occur in the concentrations of numerous drugs postmortem. Some concentrations increase, others fall and some do not change. It can be a toxicological nightmare, however that is where knowing the ante-mortem history can help, which we don’t know. A final toxicology report was never released. In the US we never release a preliminary toxicology report. It is too bad Colombia doesn’t follow the same protocol.
Josh will kill it and already is, the guy slays ever drum throne he bestows himself upon. Super technical drummer yet has wicked feel. This man is definitely a great choice!
This guy has played on tons of albums I love. One of my top 5 favorite drummers. His work on Medication's Prince Valium and Brian Head Welch's Save Me from Myself is some of the best nu-metal drumming ever.
Lol @ the people who have no idea who Josh Freese is. He isn’t just some new guy who plays the drums. He has played with everyone and you have heard him on more records than you even realize. He is an absolute legend and one of the best drummers in the world.
The only impressive thing he has ever done was play with GnR. Other than that, he's a pretty shitty drummer, and it's a shame the Foos took him. Might as well just taken Meg White or some shit. He'll prob get kicked off tour soon once the band sees how crappy he actually is. 😂
We all want it to be Taylor. Dave wants it to be Taylor. Josh even wants it to be Taylor. But it can't be, and that's not fair, but life, and the show, must go on. Since they can't do it WITH Taylor, they now do it FOR Taylor. It's all any of us can do. Welcome, Josh.
You keep telling yourself that, fact is, it’s about money, Dave owes a shit ton of money for contracts he’s already committed to and signed. He would be sued into oblivion, if he didn’t press on, it’s about money, period. You people and your fake fee fees, over someone you’ll never meet. 😂
So Happy for Josh to land this career job. He didn't need it but it should make him very rich not having to hustle session gigs which he is one of the best ever at. But now he has stability and residual income from record sales. From all the insightful interviews that I've listened to, he is a family man and a great all-around person. He will definitely elevate the FF to even greater success; his chops are at the elite level but his "feel" is what makes him special. Good for him and the FF's... the music business is all about the Benjamin$!!!
I'm pretty sure that Josh Freese have some kind of residual income from the 19467560354363836568935 records and songs that he played, through the years. But you're right, he is a great drummer and a great drummer for the Foo's. He deserves the best!
It's a tough gig and he's performed admirably so far. Seems to be a Peart-schooled Punk which is perfect in this band. Musical excellence + Punk background is what makes the Foo Fighters tick IMO.
Tough gig? Not really. Taylor Hawkins was not really a great drummer. He just fit what the foo fighters do. Josh Freese is light years ahead of Hawkins ever was skill wise. And I don't know that Freese plays in the same style as Neil Peart. Very different drumming
@@zilla82 Hey James, he played with ST in 92 and recorded The Art of Rebellion with them. One of my favorite tracks he did was "Nobody Hears". Been one of my favorite drummers since that record was released.
I personally have a feeling that from Dave's perspective, Josh's biggest advantage is that he has some badass punk rock roots... just like Dave. ;) Anyway, lovely to see them back! For sure Taylor would be proud. 😢
I’m honestly surprised they’re back on the road this quick but not surprised at all. Just because Dave took Kurt’s passing hard, although he was much younger and I’m sure that situation made him stronger to deal with an even better friend dying. Dave Grohl is the fucking man!
Why do you call him an "even better friend"? How do you know that's the case? Why rank them at all? It's not only an immature way to look at friends, but it's stupid as well.
@@ViciousTuna2012 it’s not about ranking friends it’s the fact that Dave was in a band with Kurt for 4 years compared to 20+ with Taylor so yeah I bet they were closer friends 🙄
Read his book and how he speaks about Taylor. Heck, listen to an interview. Everyone says how close Grohl was to Cobain. I don’t think he was as close as everyone thinks. No doubt his death affected him, but he said Taylor was like his brother and soulmate. They just clicked.
I know William Goldsmith is back at Sunny Day Real Estate...but I was hoping he might take this gig again; having said that, Josh is the man! Glad he's on board and a full-time Foo 🙌🏻
Taylor was the man but I gotta say I like how the other guys are being a lot more proactive during interviews and performances, because for a long time every interview was Dave and Taylor only.josh is a master drummer and I honestly think their best work is ahead.that is in no way a bad remark about Taylor, without him I don't think the band would be where they are
This is the equivalent of Brian Johnson replacing Bon Scott in AC/DC. In terms of drumming ability, Taylor Hawkins couldn't carry Josh Freese's drumsticks. This guy is on a completely different level. People really do need to go back and listen to Josh's catalog. It's mind boggling
