Girin Concerts
Josh Freese

Josh Freese

drums (drum set)

b. 1972 in Orlando

Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American drummer who has been a member of the punk rock band the Vandals since 1989 and the alternative rock band A Perfect Circle since 2024, having previously been in the band from 1999 to 2012. He was the drummer of the new wave band Devo from 1996 to 2023, the hard rock band Guns N' Roses from 1997 to 1999, the reggae rock band Sublime with Rome from 2011 to 2017, and the rock band Foo Fighters from 2023 to 2025. A prolific session and touring drummer, Freese has appeared on over 400 albums since 1986 and performed live with artists including Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Sting, 311, 100 Gecs, Ween, the Offspring and Danny Elfman.

Early life

Joshua Ryan Freese was born on December 25, 1972, at Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida. At the time of his birth, Freese's father, Stan Freese, was working at the newly opened Walt Disney World Resort as the director of bands and leader of the Walt Disney World Marching Band. His mother, Patricia (née Weatherhead, later Bridenstine), is a classical pianist and a writer. In 1974, Freese's father was transferred to Disneyland Park in Southern California to lead the Disneyland Band. Freese and his younger brother Jason spent summers at the park while their father worked. Freese said that some of his earliest memories are of he and his brother marching with the Disneyland Band holding toy instruments. Freese's first job was at Disneyland as a shoe shine boy during the summer of 1985. Freese and his brother would shine the shoes of park employees and worked for tips.

Personal life

Freese married his wife Nicole on October 11, 2009, having been together since 1999. Freese lives in Southern California with Nicole and their four children—Hunter, August, Olive, and Lu Lu. He is the older brother of Jason Freese, a multi-instrumentalist session musician and longtime touring keyboardist and saxophonist for Green Day.