Dave Grohl opens up about Taylor Hawkins, and firing Josh Freese

Dave Grohl has opened up about two chapters in Foo Fighters history, losing Taylor Hawkins and parting ways with Josh Freese.

Recently speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, as per NME, Grohl admitted continuing after Hawkins’ death in March 2022 was anything but straightforward.

“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,” Grohl 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.”

The interview happened to fall on what would have been Hawkins’ birthday - Feb 19th. 

“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 said. 

“We always talk about him every fucking day. In everything we do we want to have that energy - we want to have that energy for Taylor.”

Josh Freese stepped in as touring drummer in 2023 and stayed with the band until May 2025. Grohl said the decision to move on came after the band took six or seven months off 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’,” he explained, adding the decision “didn’t happen overnight.”

“We called, as a band, all of us called, it wasn’t just me,” Grohl 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.’”

Since then, Ilan Rubin has joined the Foos, swapping roles with Freese, who returned to Nine Inch Nails.

The band have also just announced their 12th album, ‘Your Favorite Toy’, out April 24, with Grohl promising “noisy, loud bangers” that feel like “the old days.”

With stadium shows locked in across the UK, Europe, North America and an Australia and New Zealand leg in 2026 and 2027, the next era of Foo Fighters is well and truly underway. 

Grab all your ticket and event info for Foo Fighters NZ shows here.