Josh Freese - Work History

Work History

Freese started his drumming career in a Top-40 cover band at the Tomorrowland Terrace Stage at Disneyland from 1985-1988. Freese has since been a member of punk rock band The Vandals since 1989, and has played on all the band's albums since then, with the exception of 2000's Look What I Almost Stepped In..., on which current Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman deputised due to Freese's commitments with A Perfect Circle. In 2004, The Vandals released a live DVD as part of Kung Fu Records' The Show Must Go Off! series. The DVD is of particular interest to Josh Freese fans thanks to the inclusion of the Josh Freese-cam, a camera focused on Freese for the entire duration of the show, also including a picture-in-picture of Freese's kick drum pedal. The band starting work on a new album for a release in 2007.

Freese played on the Suicidal Tendencies album The Art of Rebellion in 1992.

Freese played on the Korean group Seo Taiji and Boys' 1996 album Come Back Home.

Freese was a member of Guns N' Roses from 1997 to 2000, replacing Matt Sorum and signing a 2-year contract. He recorded the song "Oh My God" for the End of Days soundtrack and pieces for the Chinese Democracy album, having co-written the music to the title track. He left the band in 2000 to launch A Perfect Circle with Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel.

Freese played bass guitar on the Calm Down Juanita song Touchin' Myself, for that band's eponymous 1998 debut studio album Calm Down Juanita; a song on which also Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard played drums, while regular band drummer, songwriter Kevin Guess sung vocals and regular band guitarist Tyler Willman played guitar.

Freese contributed drum tracks to the Good Charlotte album "The Young and the Hopeless" in 2001 while the band searched for a permanent replacement drummer.

Freese was the session drummer on the 2002 album Fallen by Evanescence.

He has drummed for A Perfect Circle since their first album, and is considered one of the core members. As of 2006, the band is "on hiatus". Since then, founder Billy Howerdel has started up a new band (Ashes Divide) with drums contributed by Freese.

Freese took over from drummer Ron Welty for the recording of the The Offspring's 2003 album "Splinter" after Welty's departure from the band. Freese is credited for playing drums on the album, but Atom Willard later took on the position as the band's fulltime drummer. In August 2007, Atom left the band. He would eventually be replaced by Pete Parada. In the meantime, Freese was called upon to record the new Offspring album, "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". In January 2011, Freese mentioned on his website that he was working with The Offspring again on their next album.

Freese participated in Sting's "Broken Music Tour" in April 2005 with guitarist Dominic Miller and guitarist Shane Fontayne. The tour kicked off April 1 in San Jose, California and ended on May 14 in New York. Josh also appeared with Sting during the record breaking 'Live 8' concert in London's Hyde Park on July 2, 2005. In fall of 2005 he recorded new material with Sting in Italy at the singer's Tuscany estate but plans for release have yet to be set.

Josh Freese has recently contributed drum tracks for Lostprophets' third album, Liberation Transmission, recording all his parts in two days. Travis Barker was originally earmarked as the session drummer of choice for the album, but producer Bob Rock, who had worked with Freese before, wanted him instead.

Freese has worked on and off with Paul Westerberg since 1992 and provided the drums on two new Replacements tracks, that appear on their greatest-hits package, "Don't You Know Who I Think I Was".

Freese toured with Nine Inch Nails on their 2005-2006 With Teeth Winter arena and Summer amphitheater tours after the illness of drummer Jerome Dillon. Freese contributed live drum tracks to the songs "Hyperpower!" and "Capital G" on the Nine Inch Nails album Year Zero, which was released in 2007. Freese continued touring with Nine Inch Nails throughout 2007 in support of Year Zero, mainly outside of the U.S. In 2008 he worked with Trent Reznor in the studio on The Slip and signed on for more extensive North American and overseas touring with the band through 2008 on their "Lights In The Sky" 2008 tour. Freese left the tour at the end of 2008 in order to spend more time with his family and long-time girlfriend, who was pregnant with the couple's third child at the time.

Freese also completed drum tracks for the band Black Light Burns, which consists of Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit, Big Dumb Face, From First to Last), Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails) and Josh Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv).

Josh also played on Rebel Hiss which is the first single from Jubilee headed by ex-bandmate (and ex lead guitarist for Nine Inch Nails) Aaron North on guitar and vocals.

He co-wrote the song Chinese Democracy with Axl Rose as well as songs by Queens of the Stone Age, The Vandals, A Perfect Circle, The Dwarves and Goon Moon.

He played on drums for a small selection of Hollywood Undead songs on their debut album, Swan Songs.

According to his website's "True or False?" section of facts about Josh, it is revealed that he "Played on a Courtney Love record but then had his name removed after realizing that he was a jerk and a phoney for taking the blood money.

Josh also played some shows in early 1998 with the band 311 as a fill-in drummer. Chad Sexton, 311's drummer had broken a hand just before a show on 1-31-98 in Honolulu, HI. Josh performed in Chad's place on stage.

Freese performed the drums on Daughtry's debut album by the same title, Daughtry.

Freese performed with Weezer in their support of Blink-182's 2009 tour, as Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson played guitar for 90% of Weezer's set. He continues to tour with Weezer in 2010 as well as appearing live with Sting, The Vandals and Devo.

Josh has also recently played drums on Japanese Mega-star Ayumi Hamasaki's 2009 album NEXT LEVEL, which can be heard on the track "identity".

He can also be heard on the Weezer release Raditude, the most recent Michael Bublé record (both on the title track Crazy Love and the first single Haven't Met You Yet.)

On August 3, 2010, Josh Freese posted via Facebook "I'm happy to report that A Perfect Circle is waking up from its 6 year slumber...and we're going to be "doing stuff" soon."

Freese has been touring in 2012 with Sublime with Rome after Bud Gaugh announced his departure from the band.

On October 2nd, 2012, Josh Freese announced via his Twitter page, "After 13 years, I've decided to leave A Perfect Circle with no plans of returning."