Constantly Whistling ‘My Hero,’ Owning Too Many Poodles

As promised, former Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese has shared a winking list of the 10 possible reasons he might have been fired from the band. 

Freese revealed his ouster late last week, saying the Foo Fighters had told him they’d decided “to go in a different direction with their drummer,” and adding, “No reason was given.” While Freese was grateful for his time in the band, he also admitted to being “shocked and disappointed” by the decision. Still, he kept a sense of humor, promising fans, “Stay tuned for my ‘Top 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foo Fighters’ list.”

That list arrived on Instagram Monday, May 19, and included such goofy fireable offenses as: “Once whistled ‘My Hero’ for a week solid on tour”; “Could only name one Fugazi song”; and “Never even once tried growing a beard.” 

As for how his drumming may have contributed to his ouster, Freese joked that his “Metronome-like precision behind the kit [was] deemed ‘soulless,’” and that he demanded every rehearsal start “with a 20 minute cowbell sound bath.” Another potential source of tension: “Polyrhythms,” Freese quipped. 

Elsewhere, the drummer joked that he once missed a studio session “because Mercury was in retrograde”; he “refused to perform unless he was guaranteed an Ouija board and nunchucks after every show”; and he promised the Offspring’s Noodles that he could be the Foo Fighters’ fourth guitarist. (“But you PROMISED!” the actual Noodles quipped in the comments section.)

But the number one reason for his firing, Freese joked: “The whole poodle thing was getting to be a bit much.” (Indeed, Freese is deeply devoted to his many poodles.)

Freese spent about two years with the Foo Fighters, joining the group in May 2023 to fill the vacancy left after Taylor Hawkins’ sudden death the previous year. The Foo Fighters have yet to share a statement of their own regarding their decision to fire Freese, nor have they announced his replacement. The band has just one concert on the calendar for 2025, an Oct. 4 performance at the F1 Singapore Grand Prix.

From Rolling Stone US.