Josh Freese (b. December 25, 1972) is a long time drummer for Orange Country punk outfit The Vandals and currently a professional studio drummer. Consistently rated as one of the "top two" drummers in the world by the American press, many consider Josh Freese to be the best drummer in the world. He's been hailed "The Bruce Lee Of Drums" and was recently presented with the key to Los Angeles when the Mayor declared July 24th "Josh Freese Day" in Los Angeles.

Background

Josh Freese was born on Christmas Day, 1972 in Orlando, Florida but has lived in Southern California since he was 6 months old. Having been brought up in a musical family (father conducted the Disneyland Band and mother was a classical pianist) he was surrounded by music from an early age and began playing the drums around the time he was 7 or 8 years old. He started playing professionally at the age of 12 (in a Top 40 band at Disneyland) and starting touring and making records at the age of 15. First with Dweezil Zappa and then the Vandals. Currently still a member of the 'Vandals', 'Devo' and 'A Perfect Circle', Josh Freese has also worked with many respected artists in the last 10 years perpetually filling in as session drummer and sometimes as a temporary replacement.

Studio Musician

Aside from being a permanent member for A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, Josh Freese is primarily a professional studio drummer, appearing on more than 2,500 records, including but not limited to: Paul Westerberg, Chris Cornell, Suicidal Tendencies, Juliana Hatfield, Mike Ness, Tracy Bonham, and Guns and Roses. (see Discography page for a more current listing)

Album

In 2000, Freese went solo by recording a number of songs that he wrote and performed himself (including bass, guitar, keyboards and vocals). Resulting in the full-length entitled The Notorious One Man Orgy, Kung Fu Records contributed in the 2000 release of this 12-song album of straight pop-punk. With guest appearances by the likes of Stone Gossard, Warren Fitzgerald, Michael Ward, Lyle Workman, and Jason Freese, the N.O.M.O. offers a hard driving pop-punk musical insight into what it's like to be Josh Freese on a daily basis. Evidently it's not easy.

Current Bands

Aside from being an L.A. studio musician in which he calls his "day job", the whereabouts of Josh Freese are currently unkown (in my perspective). However, it has been recently announced that Josh will join Sting's "Broken Music Tour" in April 2005 with guitarist Dominic Miller and guitarist Shane Fontayne. The tour kicks off April 1 in San Jose, California and ends on April 30 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Discography

• Album (2004)

• A Perfect Circle "eMOTIVe"
• A Perfect Circle "Mer De Noms"
• A Perfect Circle "Thirteenth Step"
• Abandoned Pools "Humanistic"
• All Day "First EP"
• Bic Runga "Drive"
• Bob and Mark Mothersbaugh "200 Cigarettes" Soundtrack
• Boxing Gandhis "Howard"
• Chris Cornell "Euphoria Morning"
• Cinematic (upcoming record)
• Crumb "Romance Is A Slowdance"
• Crumb "Seconds, Minutes, Hours"
• Danny Elfman "Freeways" Soundtrack
• DEVO "Pioneers Who Got Scalped"
• DEVO "Tank Girl" Soundtrack
• Dweezil Zappa "Confessions"
• Emm Gryner "Public"
• Evanescence "Fallen"
• F.Y.P. "Toys That Kill"
• Flying Traps (Various Drummers)
• Gordon
• Guns n' Roses "End Of Days" Soundtrack
• Hayden "Closer I Get"
• Hoku "Hoku"
• Infectious Grooves "Sarsippius' Ark"
• Jamie Blake
• John Doe "Freedom Is"
• Josh Freese "The Notorious One Man Orgy"
• Juliana Hatfield "Only Everything"
• Lazlo Bane "Short-Style"
• Lazlo Bane "Transistor"
• Leona Ness "Comatised"
• Magnapop "Rubbing Doesn't Help"
• Mary Lou Lord "Got No Shadow"
• Mary Lou Lord "Martian Saints EP"
• Maypole "Product"
• Meredith Brooks "Blurring The Edges"
• Mike Ness "Cheating At Solataire"
• Nash Kato "Debutante"
• New Radicals "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too"
• Palo Alto (upcoming record)
• Paul Westerberg "14 Songs"
• Paul Westerberg "Eventually"
• Paul Westerberg "Suicaine Gratifaction"
• Poe (upcoming record)
• Possum Dixon "Star Maps"
• Princess "Destroy Earth As Soon As Possible"
• Rickie Lee Jones "Ghosty Head"
• Rob Zombie "Mission Impossible 2" soundtrack
• School Of Fish "Human Cannonball"
• "Strange Days"Soundtrack
• Shawn Mullins "First Ten Years"
• Suicidal Tendencies "The Art Of Rebellion"
• Taxi Ride
• Tender Fury "If Anger Was Soul....."
• The Daredevils "Hate You"
• The Indigo Girls "Shaming Of The Sun"
• The Martinis "Smitten"
• The Vandals "Fear Of A Punk Planet"
• The Vandals "Glory Daze" Soundtrack
• The Vandals "Hitler Bad, Vandals Good"
• The Vandals "Live Fast.....Diarrea"
• The Vandals "Oi To The World"
• The Vandals "Sweatin' To The Oldies"
• The Vandals "The Quickening"
• The Wailing Souls "Psychedelic Souls"
• Thermadore "Monkey On Rico"
• Tommy Stinson "Village Gorilla Head"
• Tracy Bonham "Down Here"
• Tracy Bonham "The Burdens Of Being Upright"
• Wayne Kraemer "The Hard Stuff"
• Xtra Large "Now I Eat Them"
• A Perfect circle Rock

External links

• Number Josh's Personal Site