Foo Fighters and Nine Inch Nails swap drummers
Foo Fighters fired its new drummer Josh Freese this year, just two years into his tenure behind one of the most coveted thrones in rock following the death of Taylor Hawkins in 2022. The band quickly announced it had a replacement ready in Ilan Rubin, the touring and session vet who most recently played in Nine Inch Nails. At 32, Rubin was the youngest musician inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, and spent 16 years with the band.
It's unclear if Rubin is permanent addition to the band or a touring member, but the Foos have dates booked in Indonesia on Oct. 2, followed by Singapore, Japan and Mexico City. They recently released 'Today's Song,' its first new music since 2023, to celebrate the band's 30th anniversary. 'Over the years, we've had moments of unbridled joy, and moments of devastating heartbreak,' Grohl said in a note about the new song. 'Moments of beautiful victory, and moments of painful defeat. We have mended broken bones and broken hearts. But we have followed this road together, with each other, for each other, no matter what. Because in life, you just can't go it alone.'
Freese, however, did not look long for new work. Nine Inch Nails, who had a sudden vacancy behind the kit just a week before its extensive 'Peel It Back' North American Tour began, announced they had re-hired Freese, who performed with the band from 2005-2008. The band posted a photo of Freese, captioned 'Let's f- go,' acknowledging the hire.
Freese also posted a note about returning to the NIN fold. 'Leaving Nine Inch Nails at the end of 2008 was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. My wife and I were expecting our third child, and I knew I needed to step away from life on the road to be home with my family,' he said. 'NIN was a band that left me walking off stage every single night thinking, 'That was incredible. We absolutely crushed it' ...That level of intensity, pride, and satisfaction after each show is something I've rarely experienced anywhere else. Now, being back on tour with Trent and the crew—helping them do what they do best night after night—is something I'm incredibly excited about.'
This drummer swap must come as a happy relief for both acts with big tours impending. Now if Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham can truly re-connect, we'll be in a golden age for peaceful rock reunions.
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Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Foo Fighters and Nine Inch Nails swap drummers
Foo Fighters have a new drummer: the former percussionist for Nine Inch Nails. Nine Inch Nails have a new drummer: The former sticksman for Foo Fighters. Foo Fighters fired its new drummer Josh Freese this year, just two years into his tenure behind one of the most coveted thrones in rock following the death of Taylor Hawkins in 2022. The band quickly announced it had a replacement ready in Ilan Rubin, the touring and session vet who most recently played in Nine Inch Nails. At 32, Rubin was the youngest musician inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, and spent 16 years with the band. It's unclear if Rubin is permanent addition to the band or a touring member, but the Foos have dates booked in Indonesia on Oct. 2, followed by Singapore, Japan and Mexico City. They recently released 'Today's Song,' its first new music since 2023, to celebrate the band's 30th anniversary. 'Over the years, we've had moments of unbridled joy, and moments of devastating heartbreak,' Grohl said in a note about the new song. 'Moments of beautiful victory, and moments of painful defeat. We have mended broken bones and broken hearts. But we have followed this road together, with each other, for each other, no matter what. Because in life, you just can't go it alone.' Freese, however, did not look long for new work. Nine Inch Nails, who had a sudden vacancy behind the kit just a week before its extensive 'Peel It Back' North American Tour began, announced they had re-hired Freese, who performed with the band from 2005-2008. The band posted a photo of Freese, captioned 'Let's f- go,' acknowledging the hire. Freese also posted a note about returning to the NIN fold. 'Leaving Nine Inch Nails at the end of 2008 was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. My wife and I were expecting our third child, and I knew I needed to step away from life on the road to be home with my family,' he said. 'NIN was a band that left me walking off stage every single night thinking, 'That was incredible. We absolutely crushed it' ...That level of intensity, pride, and satisfaction after each show is something I've rarely experienced anywhere else. Now, being back on tour with Trent and the crew—helping them do what they do best night after night—is something I'm incredibly excited about.' This drummer swap must come as a happy relief for both acts with big tours impending. Now if Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham can truly re-connect, we'll be in a golden age for peaceful rock reunions.
Time Magazine
2 days ago
- Time Magazine
An AI Clone of Dave Rubin Is Taking Over His Youtube Show
This August, the political talk show The Rubin Report will air five days a week on YouTube, hosted by Dave Rubin. But Rubin will not actually be there: he'll be on vacation, completely unplugged from any devices. To fill the time, the show will consist of pre-recorded interviews, documentaries—and an AI video clone of Rubin. The clone, generated by the AI startup SkipClass, is trained on hundreds of hours of Rubin's material. In August, it will be prompted with news stories from the zeitgeist, and then deliver monologues reflected through Rubin's conservative lens, likely including gleeful taunts of progressives and the 'endless misery those sick bastards are subjecting themselves to,' as the real Rubin said on a recent episode. Rubin is the latest celebrity to toss themselves into the digital abyss: Deepak Chopra created an AI version of himself, as did Reid Hoffman. Rubin understands that there is a dystopian element to this decision. 'Could this AI experiment go horrifically awry? Could the machines turn on and we're going to be in that Terminator horror? I suppose that is possible,' he tells TIME. 'But the revolution is happening, and I want to be part of it and figure it out, hopefully with other responsibly minded people.' 'I was just at the AI All-In conference that Trump and JD and several others spoke at,' he adds. 'Hopefully we can usher it in, in a somewhat mature way.' Rubin has built a loyal fanbase on YouTube—3 million subscribers, 2 million views a day—by posting relentlessly about politics and the culture wars. But Rubin also prizes his ability to switch off: For each of the last eight Augusts, Rubin has unplugged completely from the Internet for a full month, as a kind of mental reset. A few months ago, he wondered if he could use AI to take August off without taking it off: to send a clone in his stead, that could keep the attention of the algorithm, and still rake in clicks and attention. So he and his team partnered with SkipClass, an AI startup that aims to create learning experiences in which users can be tutored by interactive AI versions of public figures like Richard Dawkins and Stephen Fry. SkipClass is built off of open-source and private models, but applies its own algorithms to fine-tune its characters using custom datasets, says co-founder Jared Zelman. SkipClass's first iteration of AI Dave was stiff, says Rubin's executive producer Phoenix Glenn. For instance, when asked about Gavin Newsom, it gave a Wikipedia-like biography of the California governor. 'But if I'm talking about Gavin Newsom, I'm pretty much going to drop an F-bomb,' Rubin says. With further prompting and training, the model was able to come much closer to Rubin's acerbic, anti-PC style. 'I'm unbelievably impressed with what they've put together,' he says. Does Rubin worry that the AI could render him obsolete? 'I do in some sense. Of course, we're all going to be expendable,' he says. He anticipates that the AI may not capture him completely at this stage: 'It's possible I come back in September and people are like, 'boy, that thing did not get any of the stories right,'' he says. 'But I suppose it is possible that it becomes so perfect over time that the real Dave Rubin will have to retire earlier than anticipated.' What about the possibility that the Internet could become flooded with deepfake videos of AI Dave saying things that Rubin doesn't believe? 'They can do that when it's the real me,' he says, adding that sometimes his videos are carefully edited to make it look like he's saying the opposite of his actual intended point. 'If you're going to speak for a living, you simply cannot worry about that.' Some of Rubin's fans may respond negatively to the stunt. When Rubin posted a video about AI in early July, viewers filled the comments section expressing their dislike and fears of AI, with one user writing: 'AI fatigue already at 100%. It only makes me want to cling to Jesus.' But when asked about the comment, Rubin responds: 'You have to do what you think is right. If that goes horrifically wrong and you get punched in the gut for it, then you can re-evaluate.' Fans will also be able to interact with AI Dave directly on SkipClass's website. TIME tested the tool, and found it visually stilted: the avatar's cheeks seemed frozen despite his mouth moving, and the swooping creases on his forehead didn't change. The AI's vocal delivery and content, however, sounded like Dave Rubin. 'Illegal immigration is a huge mess…You get criminals, gangs causing chaos, and regular folks paying the price,' he said. 'It's insane to think otherwise.' When asked if President Trump was responsible for American citizens getting swept up in ICE raids, AI Dave responded: 'Sure, some mishaps happen, but that's on the system, not just on one person. Trump said his policies and the agencies need to execute them properly. Blame the incompetence within those agencies.'
Forbes
3 days ago
- Forbes
Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails Trade Drummers
Drumming great Josh Freese was blindsided last May--and he wasn't alone--when he was suddenly fired from the Foo Fighters. On Wednesday, Freese announced he has a new gig. He's back with Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails, who'll kick off their North American tour in Oakland, California on August 6. Freese previously toured with NIN from 2005-2008. But where does this leave longtime NIN drummer Ilan Rubin, who's been with the band for 16 years? He's joining the Foo Fighters, of course. The surprising switch, confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, takes place as the Foo Fighters celebrate their 30th anniversary, and prepare to play their first concerts after a year-long absence. While the Foo Fighters haven't formally announced their new hire, Nine Inch Nails shouted Freese's return from the rooftops on social media. The drummer soon chimed in with a post of his own. 'NIN was a band that left me walking off stage every single night thinking, 'That was incredible. We absolutely crushed it,'' he wrote. '…That level of intensity, pride, and satisfaction after each show is something I've rarely experienced anywhere else. Now, being back on tour with Trent and the crew—helping them do what they do best night after night—is something I'm incredibly excited about. To be part of that energy again feels amazing.' Freese joined the Foo Fighters in 2023, after the death of the band's longtime drummer, Taylor Hawkins, in 2022. It was a widely applauded move--Freese has toured and recorded with dozens of music giants, and shared the band's sense of humor and punk roots. When they parted ways in May, Freese said it was the first time he'd ever been let go from a band. 'I'm not angry—just a bit shocked and disappointed,' he wrote on social media. Rubin joined Nine Inch Nails in 2009, and became the youngest member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when he was inducted alongside the rest of the group in 2020. He'll start his run with Foo Fighters with a concert in Jakarta, Indonesia on October 2nd. Earlier this month, the Foo Fighters released a new song, 'Today's Song,' alongside a letter from frontman Dave Grohl, reflecting on the band's 30-year journey.
