Why Foo Fighters’ Josh Freese left Guns ‘N Roses
Before he joined the Foo Fighters, drummer Josh Freese made his name as one of the most reliable hired guns in the history of popular music. From his day job pounding out rhythms for new wave giants Devo to his studio appearances with Evanescence and Avril Lavigne, Freese has a resume that extends far beyond his most recent musical project. In fact, Freese was briefly in a band that is arguably bigger than the Foo Fighters – hard rock legends Guns ‘N Roses.
Freese landed the role of Guns ‘N Roses’ drummer in 1997 when he was just 27 years old. To most rock musicians, the gig would have been a dream come true. But by the late 1990s, Guns ‘N Roses was in a state of disarray. Most of the band’s classic members, including Slash, Duff McKagan, and Izzy Stradlin, had all departed under acrimonious circumstances. The group was fully controlled by Axl Rose, and during Freese’s tenure, the lineup included a smattering of different names that ranged from Nine Inch Nails’ Robin Finck to The Replacements’ Tommy Stinson.
As Freese revealed to The Drummer’s Journal in 2016, his entrance and exit from GNR were more formal than one might expect. “I had a two-year contract with them,” Freese explained. “I chose not to re-sign after those two years were up.” Freese never ended up playing live with the band. Instead, Guns ‘N Roses were focused on recording Chinese Democracy during Freese’s two years in the band, an album that wouldn’t be released until 2008.
“I always liked Axl and we got on well,” Freese claimed. “I spent a lot of time in the studio with them, but after two years of exactly that, I realised that’s how things were likely going to continue. At the time, I was also doing lots of other projects. I’d make a Chris Cornell record, I was working with Devo and The Vandals.” It would be his association with another band that would be the final nail in the coffin for Freese’s tenure with Guns ‘N Roses.
“I was starting what would become A Perfect Circle with Maynard [James Keenan] from Tool. Guns ‘N Roses were so big it was intimidating,” Freese revealed. “I was sceptical about that part of it. They were like this giant jumbo jet sat on the tarmac waiting to take off, but A Perfect Circle was this little sports car saying, ‘Jump in and let’s go!'” Freese’s only contribution to GNR would be the 1999 single ‘Oh My God’.
“Put it like this, by the time A Perfect Circle had made a record, booked a tour and gotten a record deal, Guns ‘N Roses were still sat in the studio working on that same record,” Freese said. “I got involved with them at a weird time when they were trying to figure out their next move. That said, if I’d reached the end of my contract and they’d immediately gone out on tour with a new record and come home filthy rich, yes, I would definitely have felt like I’d messed up. But that’s not how it happened.”
2000 would prove to be a productive year for Freese. After leaving Guns ‘N Roses, Freese joined A Perfect Circle and recorded their debut LP, Mer de Noms, on top of guest appearances with alt-rocker Tracy Bonham and X frontman John Doe. GNR once again entered a state of flux, and in a strange coincidence, Freese’s world would briefly collide with the Foos.
Just after Freese left Guns ‘N Roses, Taylor Hawkins was contacted about potentially replacing him on the drum stool. Hawkins would up staying with the Foo Fighters, but he wasn’t the only band member to entertain the idea of joining GNR. Around the same time, former No Use for a Name guitarist Chris Shiflett was offered an audition. Shiflett baulked at the opportunity (the job later went to the virtuosic avant-garde shredder Buckethead) and joined Foo Fighters instead.
