Taylor Hawkins' Successor Josh Freese Reflects on Playing Drums for Foo Fighters After Drummer's Death

Like Taylor Hawkins, Josh Freese felt something special about playing with Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl, who is considered one of the world's greatest drummers. He officially replaced the band's late member and started touring with the surviving members after they decided to continue Hawkins' legacy by not ending their career as a group.

Although Freese already became part of several bands, he reflected on working with Grohl and what it felt like when he stepped into the job.

Josh Freese Has Similar Impression of Dave Grohl Like What Taylor Hawkins Had

Freese took to his Instagram Reel and shared a video of him playing "Breakout" at his third show as Foo Fighters' new drummer.

"Out of nowhere, I decided to reference the NIN song "You Know What You Are" that I used to play every night on tour, but Dave recorded it on the record," he captioned the post. "I love when he hears it and lights up."

He then candidly spoke about playing the drums while one of the world's greatest drummers performed in front of him, saying the experience was a total trip.

Instead of feeling nervous about it, Freese took the experience as something inspiring and fun, especially since he scored the chance to become the new Foo Fighters drummer despite having thousands of competitors.

Foo Fighters tapped Freese to join them in their shows after Hawkins' position was vacated following his passing. Currently, they are in the middle of a tour to support their "But Here We Are" album, and the leg is expected to end by June 2024.

What Taylor Hawkins Felt About Working With Dave Grohl

Freese's comment resonated with what Hawkins said in one of his last interviews less than a year before his passing.

During his appearance on "The Howard Stern Show," Hawkins opened up about feeling intimidated to serve as the drummer of one of the best drummers in the world. He revealed that, despite that honor, Grohl never boasted about himself being the best.

"When I joined the band, I was super intimidated because I met Axl Rose, the first time he said, 'What's it like being the drummer for the greatest drummer of the '90s?'" he said. "I'm like, 'Ah, hard.'"

Before joining Foo Fighters, Grohl served as the drummer of Nirvana, which soon disbanded after the death of Kurt Cobain.