Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear has been forced to sit out of some of their upcoming shows after ‘smashing the s*** out of his left foot’.
The musician – born Georg Albert Ruthenberg – was previously a rhythm guitarist for Nirvana and joined Foo Fighters when it was formed by Dave Grohl in 1994 following Kurt Cobain’s death.
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.
However, he’s now been forced to pull out of several gigs due to an injury.
Posting a mock-tabloid newspaper cover on social media, the band announced: ‘BREAKING NEWS!
‘In 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.
‘This means he’ll unfortunately be missing a few shows while the multiple broken bones in his foot heal. We’ll miss our beloved Pat as much as you will, but we want him fully healed and back on his feet as soon as possible.
‘Beck and St. Vincent guitar wizard Jason Falkner will be filling in for Pat while he’s on the mend.’
The announcement was a reference to a punchline in Rob Reiner’s film This is Spinal Tap, when a discussion is had about the fictional band’s first drummer ‘Stumpy’ John Pepys.
Asked about his fate, the David St. Hubbins character says that ‘he died in a bizarre gardening accident’, with guitarist Nigel Tufnel adding: ‘Authorities said…best leave it…unsolved’.
Jason Falkner, a guitarist with Beck, St. Vincent and Jellyfish will fill in for Smear on the tour dates – which at the moment appear to be three shows across January.
As listed on their website, the band is due to play at Feria Estatal de León 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.
Their next scheduled show isn’t until May – at Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Although this change in the line-up is only temporary, last year the band parted ways with drummer Josh Freese in May.
Freese, 52, joined the group in 2023, following the death of longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins a year earlier.
He was previously a drummer for Guns N’ Roses and has worked with the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Sting, The Offspring, and many more.
But when revealing his exit from Foo Fighters, he made it clear he’d been fired and was less than impressed.
‘The Foo Fighters called me Monday night to let me know they’ve decided “to go in a different direction with their drummer.” No reason was given,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘Regardless, I enjoyed the past two years with them, both on and off stage, and I support whatever they feel is best for the band.’
He continued: ‘In my 40 years of drumming professionally, I’ve never been let go from a band, so while I’m not angry—just a bit shocked and disappointed.
‘But as most of you know I’ve always worked freelance and bounced between bands so, I’m fine. Stay tuned for my “Top 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foo Fighters” list.’
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.
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