It’s been a troublesome 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 sudden 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 advised to lie about it) over the course of a month.
On prime of this, Weapons N’ Roses additionally 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 Stay With Tim Heidecker,” Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy mirrored on this latest 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 bought let go by Sammy months in the past, final yr, I believe, when he was out on the summer season tour,” Portnoy mentioned. It’s simply loopy. It’s craziness.”
He continued, talking particularly about Freese (who joined Foo Fighters in 2023 following the loss of life of Taylor Hawkins one yr prior): “Frankly, it’s surprising. I assumed Josh was good… So, yeah, it’s scary. It’s scary instances for drummers.”
When requested in regards to 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 one in all their exhibits final month.
“Nicely, I don’t know when 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 Track 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 equipment; they already downgraded it [from] an acoustic equipment. They’ve him taking part in an digital equipment, which is absolutely controllable by way of 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 mentioned. “And I’m in, like, 15 bands, so I’ve 15 instances the prospect of getting fired proper now. The percentages are very a lot stacked in opposition to me proper now.”