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) had 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 informed to lie about it) over the course of a month.
On prime of this, Weapons N’ Roses additionally not too long ago introduced “the amicable exit” of longtime drummer Frank Ferrer, and final 12 months Sammy Hagar parted methods with Jason Bonham (son of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham).
Now, throughout an look on the podcast “Workplace Hours Dwell 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 protected. 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 should not protected, no one is protected… Jason Bonham acquired let go by Sammy months in the past, final 12 months, 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 dying of Taylor Hawkins one 12 months prior): “Frankly, it’s surprising. I believed Josh was excellent… So, yeah, it’s scary. It’s scary occasions for drummers.”
When requested in regards to the rumors that Taylor Hawkins’ son Shane could take over on drums for Dave Grohl and co., Portnoy responded: “However even well-known drummers’ sons should not protected, 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 enjoying too loud throughout considered one of their reveals final month.
“Effectively, I don’t know in the event you noticed the clips. The entire thing with Zak Starkey began – [The Who] did a present final month on the Royal Albert Corridor. They had 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 had 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 enjoying an digital package, which is totally controllable by way of quantity by the sound man. So, if something, he ought to have fired the monitor man, not Zak.”
Considerably jokingly, Portnoy added that every 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 occasions the possibility of getting fired proper now. The chances are very a lot stacked in opposition to me proper now.”