It’s been a tricky month for drummers, to say the least. Simply two weeks in the past, inside days of one another, each Josh Freese and Zak Starkey (son of The Beatles’ Ringo Starr) have been let go from their drumming gigs with Foo Fighters and The Who. Whereas Freese’s exit was surprising and abrupt, Starkey’s departure got here with a little bit of drama. After practically 30 years with The Who, Starkey was fired, rehired, after which fired once more (and allegedly instructed to lie about it) over the course of a month.
On prime of this, Weapons N’ Roses additionally just lately introduced “the amicable exit” of longtime drummer Frank Ferrer, and final yr Sammy Hagar parted methods with Jason Bonham (son of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham).
Now, throughout an look on the podcast “Workplace Hours Reside With Tim Heidecker,” Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy mirrored on this current flurry of big-name drummers being canned.
“I believe it’s the Spinal Faucet conspiracy. I believe no one is secure. Ringo’s [Starr] son was fired from The Who. John Bonham’s son was fired from Sammy Hagar’s band. I imply, if the spawn of Ringo and Bonzo aren’t secure, no one is secure… Jason Bonham received let go by Sammy months in the past, final yr, I believe, when he was out on the summer time tour,” Portnoy stated. It’s simply loopy. It’s craziness.”
He continued, talking particularly about Freese (who joined Foo Fighters in 2023 following the dying of Taylor Hawkins one yr prior): “Frankly, it’s surprising. I assumed Josh was good… So, yeah, it’s scary. It’s scary occasions for drummers.”
When requested concerning the rumors that Taylor Hawkins’ son Shane might take over on drums for Dave Grohl and co., Portnoy responded: “However even well-known drummers’ sons aren’t secure, like I simply identified. It doesn’t matter.”
He then went on to defend Starkey, who previous to his firing was accused by frontman Roger Daltrey of taking part in too loud throughout considered one of their exhibits final month.
“Nicely, I don’t know in case you noticed the clips. The entire thing with Zak Starkey began – [The Who] did a present final month on the Royal Albert Corridor. They have been doing ‘The Tune Is Over’, and Roger [Daltrey] got here into the second verse early and stopped the band, rotated and blamed it on his combine, that the drums have been powering out his combine,” Portnoy defined.
“Now, thoughts you, Zak Starkey is on an digital package; they already downgraded it [from] an acoustic package. They’ve him taking part in an digital package, which is totally controllable when it comes to quantity by way of the sound man. So, if something, he ought to have fired the monitor man, not Zak.”
Considerably jokingly, Portnoy added that each one of this has led him to be involved about his standing as a drummer. “I’m scared for my life and profession at this level,” he stated. “And I’m in, like, 15 bands, so I’ve 15 occasions the possibility of getting fired proper now. The chances are very a lot stacked towards me proper now.”
