{"id":8140,"date":"2026-01-08T13:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/08\/foo-fighters-say-guitarist-will-miss-tour-dates-after-bizarre-gardening-accident\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T13:26:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:26:00","slug":"foo-fighters-say-guitarist-will-miss-tour-dates-after-bizarre-gardening-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/08\/foo-fighters-say-guitarist-will-miss-tour-dates-after-bizarre-gardening-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"Foo Fighters say guitarist will miss tour dates after \u2018bizarre gardening accident\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"NEW <\/div>
The Foo Fighters will be without their long-time guitarist at upcoming shows (Picture: Kevin Mazur\/ Getty Images for FF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Foo Fighters<\/a> guitarist Pat Smear has been forced to sit out of some of their upcoming shows<\/a> after \u2018smashing the s*** out of his left foot\u2019.<\/p>\n

The musician \u2013 born Georg Albert Ruthenberg \u2013 was previously a rhythm guitarist for Nirvana and joined Foo Fighters<\/a> when it was formed by Dave Grohl<\/a> in 1994 following Kurt Cobain\u2019s death<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He left the band in 1997 before rejoining as a touring guitarist in 2005 and being promoted back to a full-time member in 2010.<\/p>\n

However, he\u2019s now been forced to pull out of several gigs due to an injury.<\/p>\n

Posting a mock-tabloid newspaper cover on social media<\/a>, the band announced: \u2018BREAKING NEWS!<\/p>\n

\u2018In the classic tradition of rockstars having bizarre gardening accidents, Pat Smear has apparently rung in the new year by smashing the s*** out of his left foot.<\/p>\n

\n
\"DANA <\/div>
Pat Smear has been left with a nasty injury after ‘smashing his left foot’ (Picture: Jeff Kravitz\/ FilmMagic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DTNyWXrFEbA\/?utm_source=ig_embed<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u2018This means he\u2019ll unfortunately be missing a few shows while the multiple broken bones in his foot heal. We\u2019ll miss our beloved Pat as much as you will, but we want him fully healed and back on his feet as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

\u2018Beck and St. Vincent guitar wizard Jason Falkner will be filling in for Pat while he\u2019s on the mend.\u2019<\/p>\n

The announcement was a reference to a punchline in Rob Reiner<\/a>\u2019s film This is Spinal Tap, when a discussion is had about the fictional band\u2019s first drummer \u2018Stumpy\u2019 John Pepys.<\/p>\n

\n
\"LOS <\/div>
Pat, pictured left, joined the band when it was formed by Dave Grohl in 1994 (Picture: Jon Kopaloff\/ WireImage)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Asked about his fate, the David St. Hubbins character says that \u2018he died in a bizarre gardening accident\u2019, with guitarist Nigel Tufnel adding: \u2018Authorities said\u2026best leave it\u2026unsolved\u2019.<\/p>\n

Jason Falkner, a guitarist with Beck, St. Vincent and Jellyfish will fill in for Smear on the tour dates \u2013 which at the moment appear to be three shows across January.<\/p>\n

As listed on their website, the band is due to play at Feria Estatal de Le\u00f3n in Guanajuato, Mexico on Saturday, as well as at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on January 14 and UTAS Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania on January 24.<\/p>\n

Their next scheduled show isn\u2019t until May \u2013 at Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, Florida.<\/p>\n

Although this change in the line-up is only temporary, last year the band parted ways with drummer Josh Freese in May.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DJuQb14u09w\/?utm_source=ig_embed<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Freese, 52, joined the group in 2023, following the death of longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins a year earlier.<\/p>\n

He was previously a drummer for Guns N\u2019 Roses and has worked with the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Sting, The Offspring, and many more.<\/p>\n

But when revealing his exit from Foo Fighters, he made it clear he\u2019d been fired and was less than impressed.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Foo Fighters called me Monday night to let me know they\u2019ve decided \u201cto go in a different direction with their drummer.\u201d No reason was given,\u2019 he wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Foo <\/div>
The Foo Fighters have had several line-up changes over the years (Picture: Andy Willsher\/ Redferns)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Regardless, I enjoyed the past two years with them, both on and off stage, and I support whatever they feel is best for the band.\u2019<\/p>\n

He continued: \u2018In my 40 years of drumming professionally, I\u2019ve never been let go from a band, so while I\u2019m not angry\u2014just a bit shocked and disappointed.<\/p>\n

\u2018But as most of you know I\u2019ve always worked freelance and bounced between bands so, I\u2019m fine. Stay tuned for my \u201cTop 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foo Fighters\u201d list.\u2019<\/p>\n

He was then replaced by Ilan Rubin, the former drummer for Nine Inch Nails, while Freese went on to replace him when returning to that same band.<\/p>\n

Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page – we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n

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He had an unfortunate start to the New Year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8140\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}