Two rock bands from different generations unceremoniously parted ways with their drummers this month. No official statements were issued, and the departures were as abrupt as they were final.
Josh Freese – who joined Foo Fighters in 2023 following the death of Taylor Hawkins – broke the news himself on Instagram. The band later announced an Asian tour without referencing the personnel change or naming a replacement.
As for Zak Starkey, it marked his second dismissal in a matter of weeks from The Who. The first was chalked up to a misunderstanding. This time, it appears definitive, with the band pressing on with their farewell tour without him.
Though Freese and Starkey followed different career paths – the former a renowned session musician and touring drummer, the latter a long-serving fixture behind The Who’s kit for nearly 30 years – their stories underscore one of rock’s cold, enduring truths – veteran bands often rely on outside musicians during times of upheaval. And once the ship steadies, those players are quietly cast overboard.
The fact that both musicians expressed surprise at their dismissal perhaps shows they were unaware they were part of a greater tapestry of personalities – let’s call them transitional musicians – whose steady, experienced hands bands often turn to in moments of existential crisis or uncertainty.
Often arriving with stellar reputations, they are the quintessential team players, serving as the bridge aiding a group navigate its way through difficult times. Such is their immeasurable impact that their contributions are typically acknowledged in hindsight – and rarely celebrated in their own right.
It’s also an old story, with transitional musicians present as far back as eight decades ago. In 1965, when British guitarist Eric Clapton left the UK blues-rock group, The Yardbirds, around the release of hit single For Your Love due to artistic differences, Jeff Beck stepped in. His innovative guitar work led to the group’s most commercially successful period, producing hits such as Heart Full of Soul and Shapes of Things, and adding touches of psychedelia and distortion to the mix – elements that shaped the Yardbird’s legacy. But Beck’s own mercurial nature and health issues made his stay unsustainable, with Led Zeppelin’s future guitar maestro Jimmy Page taking over after a seminal 20-month period.
While Freese is acknowledged for his own brilliance – an unpretentious style that masks his sheer precision and sustained power – which saw his services used by bands including Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, The Offspring and Devo – his experience with the Foo Fighters closely mirrors that of fellow drummer Mike Portnoy and his time with Avenged Sevenfold.
Both stepped behind the kit after the sudden death of a band member – Taylor Hawkins in the case of Foo Fighters, and Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan for Avenged Sevenfold and helped finish their respective albums (But Here We Are and Nightmare respectively). They also played the supporting tour and then vacated the drum set.
Long before Starkey joined The Who, the British band's original drummer – the combustible Keith Moon – died in 1978. He was replaced by the ever-dependable Kenney Jones, best known for his work with The Faces. Jones was as relaxed and low-key as his predecessor was wild and dynamic. He stayed long enough to play on two studio albums, a period that helped the group overcome what could have been a career-ending loss and usher in a new phase that kept them going for about five more decades.
Sometimes these replacements serve a purely practical function. Matt Walker joined The Smashing Pumpkins in 1996 after drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was fired, simply to keep the tour on track. Meanwhile, Axl Rose showed a surprising degree of humility – not often associated with his time in Guns N’ Roses – when he joined AC/DC mid-tour in 2016 to replace singer Brian Johnson, who had to step away due to hearing loss that sidelined him for about two years.
Pop-punk group Blink-182 also joined in on the act when they brought in singer and guitarist Matt Skiba to replace co-founding member Tom DeLonge after he left acrimoniously in 2015. Skiba’s own songwriting nous and chilled demeanour not only resulted in the band releasing two solid albums, but his seven years with the group – which ended with DeLonge’s return in 2022 – are viewed by the band themselves as pivotal in keeping them going and playing some of their biggest shows to date.
Which brings us back to Starkey, who joined The Who in 1996, but was never made an official member. He never co-wrote a song with the group and rarely appeared in promotional photos. The same goes for Freese, who, despite his brilliant live performances with Foo Fighters, including their set at the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix in 2023, received no recording credit on their most recent album, But Here We Are, and was absent from official press photos.
It shows that in the rock game, skill and loyalty often matter less than what’s written in the contract. While both artists and their former bands will move on, their impact on each other shouldn’t be diminished – or overstated.
