A biography for Josh Freesehasn’t been written yet.
“I always joke that I need to keep the Vandals in my back pocket for punk rock cred while I work with some of these pop superstars.”
“I love the stuff I recorded with Ron Sexsmith, the album is called 'Long Player Late Bloomer' and it's beautiful.”
“I think having a place to create is very important. Whether it's in your garage, in the corner of your bedroom or at separate facility away from your home.”
“I'm always balancing how much I can be gone, and how much I can be around for my kids and standard poodles.”
“I always say - half-joking but serious, too - that when little boys are day dreaming of cool-sounding jobs 'when they grow up,' that being a drummer is right up there alongside of astronaut, baseball player, fireman, etc.”
“The Vandals aren't a full-time job; we play gigs here and there. It's more of a labor of love that I do for fun.”
“I literally grew up at Disneyland. Instead of daycare, I would go with friends and spend the whole day there and just meet up with my dad after a show at Carnation Plaza.”
“For sure there's that old stigma, like the joke: 'What do you call a guy who hangs around with musicians? A drummer.' But I never take any of those things personally. If someone does make that joke, I go, 'Yes - but they're not talking about me.”
“Tons of people know me from Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle, and they think I'm very goth. It's like, 'He's Trent Reznor's drummer and he's very dark.'”
“My little brother is just an amazing Jazz pianist and sax player.”
“My dad conducted the Disneyland band since I was born, and I was around big band music a lot.”
“Sometimes, when people stop making records with the four-tracks and go into the studio, they lose the edge and the craziness and the DIY punk-ness.”
“The older I get and the busier I am, there just aren't enough hours in the day.”
“One of my favourite musicians in the world is Jaco Pastorius.”
“About 98% of the sessions I do are with a click. Just practicing to a click or metronome is a great way to practice playing with one.”
“I feel so fortunate about making a living doing something I like that if I'm not working really, really hard at it, I feel I'm taking it for granted.”
“My drum set up never gets that crazy or out of the ordinary.”
“Even if you have one band that's your favorite in the whole world, don't listen to only that band. There's a lot of greatness out there, and it's all educational.”
“Slider is the kind of band I would be a fan of if I played in it or not. It's something I'll be able to grow with artistically as an equal member. I'd rather take the risk.”
“It was nine years between my first solo album and the second one. I didn't want it to take that long, and I didn't want anyone thinking I was pulling a fast one.”