Josh Freese’s five favourite drummers of all time: “Utterly jaw-dropping”
When Josh Freese was a teenager, pursuing a career as a drummer was a no-brainer.
When confronted with the question at the tender age of 14, he held himself with the simplicity of someone who knew all along what it was that they were destined to do. He’d wanted to be a drummer, he’d said, one who would eventually become legendary enough to withstand the test of time.
Cut to now, and Freese isn’t always the first name on lists of best drummers. He’s respected and well-known, celebrated where it counts, and known for having a resume more impressive than some of the bigger names on said lists. But he’s also somewhat underappreciated, subjected to much of the same fate as countless fellow drummers and session musicians whose impact remains strong but sometimes goes unnoticed.
Still, chasing that level of greatness never really deterred Freese from all the reasons he started in the first place. One of Freese’s biggest accomplishments – and one that many have noted, from Sting to Brendan O’Brien – is that Freese is the most versatile player out there, often embracing any project as though he’s been there all along. The trick, according to Freese and many of his peers, is to fit the mould of anything you’re working on, and be able to liquify into whatever it is that makes the music lift off the ground.
Of course, there’s also the power of precision, too, which Freese also has in spades. But this also comes from constantly operating at the threshold of high stakes, knowing that he has to be more than ready for anything that comes his way, if he doesn’t want to lose out on any opportunities. Learning all the different tricks of the trade and being able to sprinkle in his own touch has come from years and years of studying.
Over the years, Freese has absorbed them all, from the legendary greats to the unsung heroes. And he started early, admiring a handful of names he’d carry with him everywhere he went. When he was younger, one name that became a particular source of inspiration was Buddy Rich, whom he saw play a handful of times and each time was “utterly jaw-dropping”.
“I still watch and listen to him on a regular basis,” Freese told The Drum. “His presence on the drums and his command of the instrument was second to none. I’ve always referred to him as ‘the Rolls Royce of drumming.’”
While Rich guided the way, it was Alex Van Halen who first inspired Freese to want to play rock ‘n’ roll. He was initially drawn to his “fantastic feel” but is constantly put out by how underrated he is, especially when his style and approach are more unique than many others he came across along the way. He also singled out the unique style of Steve Gadd, labelling him as a “badass”, while describing Terry Bozzio as someone who “set me on a path that I’m still continuing on”.
His fifth mention was Vinnie Colaiuta, who blew his mind so intensely that he’d often leave gigs feeling a complex array of emotions. In fact, Colaiuta was so good that it both excited Freese and made him feel downbeat, a lethal combination that would have caused even the most skilled of drummers to either hang up their hat or push harder for greatness. Thankfully, for Freese, it was the latter.
As he explained: “Vinnie is an alien and we all know it. I’ve been having my mind blown by him since I was a kid and had the good fortune of sitting next to his drums so many times at packed little jazz clubs before I was old enough to drive.”
He added: “Vinnie’s feel, chops, musicality, etc… he’s got it all. I used to leave his gigs sometimes and not know if I was inspired or completely deflated! You just cannot F with Vinnie C!”
