Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett recently opened up about the band’s challenging transition period following drummer Taylor Hawkins’ death and the difficulties faced when Josh Freese joined as the new drummer, in an interview on Rockonteurs with Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt.
Shiflett’s comments came in response to a question about how the band managed to return and create new music after Hawkins’ passing, and where he was personally during that difficult time.
“I mean, that’s a great question and it’s a bit of a blur, honestly. We went almost straight from Taylor dying and just being in complete shock with that, you know, pretty quickly into preparing for the first tribute show,” Shiflett said. “That took some time and and was so bizarre being, you know, at our studio without him and rehearsing songs with all those other drummers, you know, that weren’t him and all the stuff, you know, that took a while to get that together.”
The guitarist described the surreal recording process that followed the tribute shows.
“But the initial recording sessions were so strange because you know Dave wound up playing all the drums on that record, but the initial way that we tried tracking it was he would track a drum track and then we would blast the drum track in the room and we would all play along with it. And we made that record,” he continued.
Shiflett explained how the decision to bring in Josh Freese happened at the very end of the recording process.
“And then at the very end, I mean, literally the very end of making that record, we finally had the conversation of like, okay, now what? You know, now what do we do? Who should we get on drums and we started having that conversation and then pretty much went straight from that into rehearsing with Josh Freese,” he said.
The transition to performing live with Freese proved particularly challenging for the band and their audience.
“And then going on the road and that was a really tough time, man. Like those early shows and particularly the first show that we played was just f*cking heavy. I mean, it was hard. It was hard to look at the crowd because so many people were crying,” Shiflett reflected. “You know, in a way, you’re important to so many people, aren’t you, as a band, you know, they you represent them on a higher stage and they wanted you to keep going and in a way it keeps Taylor’s going as well, right? you know, it’s it’s his spirit.”
Shiflett’s emotional account provides insight into one of rock music’s most difficult transitions. The tragedy shook the music world and left fans mourning alongside the band.
Taylor Hawkins died on March 25, 2022, while Foo Fighters were touring in Bogotá, Colombia. The sudden loss of the beloved drummer, who had been with the band for over two decades, left both the music community and fans worldwide in shock. The band immediately canceled their remaining tour dates as they processed the devastating news.
Foo Fighters’ official announcements revealed that the band organized two major tribute concerts to honor Hawkins’ memory. The first took place at Wembley Stadium in London on September 3, 2022. A second tribute show followed at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on September 27, 2022. These massive events featured dozens of guest musicians and celebrated Hawkins’ life and musical legacy.
The tribute concerts served as both a celebration of Hawkins’ life and a crucial step in the band’s healing process. However, the emotional weight of continuing without their longtime drummer would prove to be an ongoing challenge, particularly when they eventually decided to move forward with new music and live performances.
The difficulties Shiflett described regarding Josh Freese’s tenure with the band would ultimately prove prophetic. Reports from May 2024 indicated that Freese was let go from Foo Fighters after receiving a call from Dave Grohl telling him the band had “decided to go in a different direction with their drummer.” This decision came after nearly two years of touring and recording together. It highlighted just how challenging it was for the band to find their footing in the post-Hawkins era.
