Foo Fighters Announce New Drummer

As expected, the Foo Fighters revealed their new drummer during a livestreamed event - it’s veteran session man and longtime friend Josh Freese! 

The band launches a massive tour — their first without drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died tragically in Colombia last year.

While the band announced its intention to continue late last year, they went to great lengths not to reveal the identity of their new drummer. They played into this during the opening moments of the livestream, called "Foo Fighters: Preparing Music for Concerts," which featured all of the members joking around with each other in their rehearsal room, with their guitars on.

In succession, three top-notch drummers knocked on the door — Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee, and Tool’s Danny Carey — saying things like, "There’s a white Mercedes blocking my car" or "Hey I got the PF Changs!" or "I groomed your poodles for you" while the bandmembers said, "We’ll be right there!" or the like.

Finally, a voice is heard shouting, "Um… EXCUSE ME?!" The bandmembers turn and look at Freese, who is sitting behind a drumkit but had been off-camera up to that point. He says, "Can we play a song or something?!" and then the band launches into songs from their new album, "But Here We Are," which drops June 2.

Freese, one of the best, most versatile and most experienced rock drummers working today, shows why he’s got the chops to fill the shoes of both Hawkins and Grohl (himself one of the greatest drummers in rock history, although he’s the Foos’ lead singer and rhythm guitarist), playing with just the right amount of steadiness, power and flash. If it was a livestreamed audition for fans, it’s safe to say he passed with flying colors.

The Foo Fighters' upcoming tour will kick off May 24. 

If you missed the live stream it's available on Veeps for the next 72 hours with lots of great music, excellent chat and some nice drummer cameos! 

This article was first published on variety.com