Rock and Roll Drummers Keep Losing the Beat

Apologies to the stick swinging readers, but drummers are an odd bunch. Back in college, my roommate was a drummer, and he was a strange cat – still is. It’s not very surprising as these are people whose chosen career in life is to hit things – typically very hard – with pieces of wood for hours on end.

Also, some of the most notable hard partying, rock and roll wild men were drummers. Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, The Who’s Keith Moon, Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee, and Alex Van Halen, just to name a few, were well-known drinkers, rabblerousers, and sometimes violent on the wrong side of the kit.

We could be at peak drummer weirdness, though, and not due to some debaucherous behavior making the news, but because of the shakeups being created at the stool for the marquee bands in which they play – or used to play – in some cases. Foo Fighters, ZZ Top, Guns N’ Roses, and The Who have all seen upheaval in the position in recent weeks with varying degrees of drama attached.

Following the death of Taylor Hawkins in March 2022 during their South American tour, Foo Fighters went on a shellshocked hiatus until that September, when they held tribute concerts for the drummer in London and Los Angeles. While the drum seat featured a revolving door of guests throughout the two events, it was soon revealed that Josh Freese would be filling the vacant spot full-time. The in-demand journeyman who has played for everyone from Nine Inch Nails to Guns N’ Roses, was officially announced as the touring drummer for the Foos in May 2023.

Almost two years to the day, he was let go.

“The Foo Fighters called me Monday night to let me know they’ve decided ‘to go in a different direction with their drummer’,” Freese wrote on his Instagram May 16. “No reason was given. 😦 Regardless, I enjoyed the past two years with them, both on and off stage, and I support whatever they feel is best for the band.”

He added that across four decades of drumming, he’d never been fired and that he was “not angry – just a bit shocked and disappointed.” A few days later, he posted an amusing “Top 10 possible reasons Freese got booted from the Foos.” One of them: “Never even once tried growing a beard.”

Foo frontman and leader Dave Grohl, along with the rest of the group, has been mum on the subject of Freese’s firing at press time. The strongest rumors point to 18-year-old Shane Hawkins, Taylor’s son, as the soon-to-be-named – and quite literal – heir to the throne. He’s guested with the Foos on numerous occasions and is currently touring as drummer of his father’s long-running side project, Chevy Metal. But if that’s the case, why not just be upfront with Freese?

It’s a downright curious situation, especially given the Foo Fighters are known as much for rocking as they are for a sense of humor and affability, along with Grohl’s “nicest guy in rock” tag, which admittedly has taken some hits with the revelation last year that he fathered a child outside of his marriage.

Still, it’s not nearly as bizarre as what’s been happening with The Who.

***

Zak Starkey, who has officially helmed the kit since 1996, was reportedly let go in the middle of April after an onstage dust-up with frontman Roger Daltrey, who complained the drummer was playing too loud. The dismissal came as a surprise, as not only is Starkey descended from rock royalty as the son of Ringo Starr, but The Who’s late stickman Keith Moon was his godfather and even gifted him his first drum set. There’s obviously a lot of sentimentality there, and days later, guitarist and main songwriter Pete Townshend said Starkey would be remaining with the group.

Not so fast.

One month later, on May 18, Townshend said Starkey would be leaving The Who to work on other projects, which the latter roundly refuted in a series of Instagram posts filled with expressive language. Daltrey later added that Starkey had been “retired” from the band – not “fired.”

“Am I fired, retired, deffo not tired as I’m 20 years younger than these guys as they keep saying,” Starkey posted in response.

Much less confusing is ZZ Top, already down to just two original members with the passing of bassist Dusty Hill in 2021. March saw drummer Frank Beard step away from the band amid their current tour “to attend to a health issue requiring his focus in the near term.” No other information was provided except that one of the group’s techs would be stepping in until Beard returned.

This week, he did. The band’s management revealed that foot and ankle issues Beard had been dealing with have been resolved, and he’s now set to see the tour through to its completion in October.

Finally, there’s Guns N’ Roses, a band that has produced enough drama to fill an eight-episode Netflix series. Drummer Frank Ferrer had assumed the role in 2006 and had been alongside singer Axl Rose up to and through the 2016 reunion with guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan.

Mere weeks before beginning a run of international tour dates, GNR announced they were parting ways with Ferrer – “amicably,” no less – and a few days later that Isaac Carpenter of Awolnation, as well as McKagan’s solo band Loaded, would be taking over.

And maybe it’s the unexpected elements that are making this the most bonkers drummer era of all. Guns N’ Roses calmly bid a fond farewell to a longtime drummer and welcome a new one, while a band once hailed by the Guinness Book of World Records as “The Loudest Band in the World” is mad at their stick wielder for playing too heavy and the “nice guy Grohl” is a big meanie who fires people without reason.

A version of this article appears in this week’s print and online editions of my syndicated Rock Music Menu column under the title “Beat goes on in world of revolving door of rock drummers.“