Freese drums up hits as percussionist for hire
Josh Freese woke up on Good Friday in a five-star hotel, drummed at a “last-minute emergency recording” with Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland, rehearsed with Sting and ate lunch at McDonald’s, all before 3 p.m.
So, what’s with the fast food, Mr. Rock Star?
“I either eat really nice food or really bad food,” the 32-year-old drummer said from Los Angeles. “$200 dinners or $3 lunches, and I like them both.”
Freese visits Spokane with Sting for an 8 p.m. show Monday at the Spokane Arena’s Star Theatre. Tickets are $36.25, $48.75 and $58.75 through TicketsWest, (800) 325-SEAT or www.ticketswest.com. Indie rock band Phantom Planet opens the show.
Although his parents are both musicians, Freese said that stumbling behind the drum kit was less about following family tradition and more about childhood fantasies.
“Every kid either wants to be an astronaut, fireman, baseball player or drummer,” he said. “Every kid fascinates about being in a rock band at one point.”
For Freese, the fascination became a career. In addition to his regular gigs – A Perfect Circle, Devo and The Vandals – he’s worked with 311, Perry Farrell, Indigo Girls and Rob Zombie, among others. He was even, by contract, a member of Guns ‘n’ Roses in ‘98 and ‘99. Surprisingly, he has nothing but positive comments for his former boss, the notoriously tumultuous Axl Rose.
“I like Axl,” Freese said. “He’s a good guy. The only disappointment is that the record’s not done yet.”
He’s no stranger to working with superstars, but Freese admits that going to work for Sting still was somewhat intimidating. And it’s not just because the artist has been one of the most successful acts since leaving The Police in the ‘80s: Sting has a history of working with A-list drummers.
“Some of my favorite drummers are Stewart Copeland and Vinnie Colaiuta,” he said in reference to the drummer for The Police and Sting’s album “Soul Cages,” respectively. “He’s really a cool enough guy that he’s not intimidating. The people I’ve worked with that are truly great don’t have to prove anything, because they just are.”
Freese hopes his relationship with Sting continues past the quartet’s six-week tour. Regardless, don’t count on Freese spending too much time looking for work. He has upcoming dates with The Vandals and Devo and has been talking with Blink-182’s Tom Delonge about making a record.
“That’s what’s fun and interesting with my job,” Freese said. “I could get a call this afternoon to work with Prince … I don’t know, it’s open-ended.”