Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has spoken candidly about the band’s decision to continue after the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, calling the process “really complicated,” and he also addressed for the first time why the group moved on from Josh Freese as their touring drummer.
Grohl discussed the band’s mindset in a new interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1 Zane Lowe. He said Foo Fighters want to carry Hawkins’ spirit into everything they do, adding that “not a day goes by” that the members don’t miss him.
Grohl said Hawkins was the band’s drummer for 25 years and described him as an “incredible spirit” and “our brother,” explaining that any attempt to move forward inevitably raised the question of how someone could step into Hawkins’ role.
He noted the interview took place on what would have been Hawkins’ birthday, and said the band members text each other in the morning about how much they miss him.
“We had Taylor Hawkins as our drummer for 25 years and, beyond being an amazing drummer, he was this incredible spirit. He was this incredible human being and he was our brother. He was our best friend,” he said. “So, continuing after Taylor was really complicated, not just for us, but for any drummer that was going to come in to like, you know, fill his shoes… you know.”
He continued, adding that the interview was taking place on what would have been Hawkins’ birthday.
“It’s Taylor’s birthday today. And so, we wake up in the morning and everybody just texts about how much we miss him and how the world’s not the same without him, but we still feel him very much,” Grohl continued.
“We always talk about him every f**king day. In everything we do we want to have that energy – we want to have that energy for Taylor.”
On Freese, Grohl praised his versatility and said the group had a “great time” touring with him before the band paused in 2024 to consider its next steps. He said the decision to change drummers “didn’t happen overnight,” and that the band called Freese together to let him know they were going in a different direction, a situation that has also been explored in coverage where a Foo Fighters member raised theories about the firing.
He praised Freese for his ability to work with “everyone from Michael Buble to The Offspring“ and went on to say that they all had a “great time” touring with him for just over a year, before everyone took a step away from the band in 2024.
“In those six or seven months, as a band, we talked about what to do next, a new direction, and thought, ‘OK, let’s call Josh and let him know that we are going to move on with a different drummer’,” Grohl added, also sharing that the decision “didn’t happen overnight”.
“We called, as a band, all of us called, it wasn’t just me,” he continued.
“Basically, we called Josh, and were like, ‘Hey man, that was awesome. That was such a blast, thank you so much, but we are going to move on and find another drummer.’
“After that, we didn’t make a press release, tweet anything or do interviews. We didn’t say anything. Since then, there’s been a lot of talk about it, but I think Josh said it best when he said that he didn’t feel our music really resonated with him, and that’s really important.”
Foo Fighters recently announced their 12th studio album, ‘Your Favorite Toy’, which is due out April 24th, and Grohl said the new material includes “noisy, loud bangers” reminiscent of the band’s earlier years. The comments mark one of Grohl’s most direct public explanations of how the group has navigated profound loss while continuing to evolve their line-up.
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