[3] A prolific session and touring drummer, Freese has appeared on over 400 albums since 1986[4] and performed live with artists including Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Sublime with Rome, Sting, 100 gecs, the Offspring and Danny Elfman.

Freese became friends with the band's drummer, Jimmy Keegan, and was invited to sit in on a few songs during their sets at the Tomorrowland Terrace stage.

[1] While he was playing at Disneyland with Polo, Freese caught the eye of Dave Quackenbush and Joe Escalante, two members of the punk rock band the Vandals.

In 1996, Freese joined a reformed Devo for a show at the Sundance Film Festival, replacing David Kendrick.

Freese was a member of hard rock band Guns N' Roses from 1997 to 1999, replacing Matt Sorum and signing a two-year contract.

Initially hesitant about joining the band, he was persuaded by his friend and collaborator Paul Westerberg of the Replacements, who told Freese, "You should do it.

Freese drummed on 30 tracks to potentially be included on Chinese Democracy, but his recordings were scrapped and re-recorded note-for-note by Bryan Mantia.

Freese left Guns N' Roses in 1999 to join A Perfect Circle alongside Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan and the band's founder Billy Howerdel.

"[7] A Perfect Circle's first album, 2000's Mer de Noms, was the highest charting debut for a rock group at number four on the Billboard 200 in its first week of sales.

In May 2023, the Foo Fighters introduced Freese as their full-time drummer during a streaming event titled "Preparing Music For Concerts".

He also played some shows in early 1998 with the band 311 as a fill-in drummer for them on the Warped tour in Australia, Japan and Hawaii.

Among the notable albums Freese performed on in the 2000s are The Young and the Hopeless by Good Charlotte, Fallen by Evanescence, Let Go by Avril Lavigne, Thankful by Kelly Clarkson, Quebec by Ween, Next Level by Ayumi Hamasaki, and Crazy Love by Michael Bublé.

[20] Producer Bob Rock has worked frequently with Freese, and requested that he contribute drum tracks for Lostprophets' third album, Liberation Transmission.

Beginning in 2005, Freese served as Sting's touring drummer and went on to appear on several of his studio recordings including the album 57th & 9th.

[22] "With [Nine Inch Nails frontman] Trent [Reznor], I left on good terms because I was like, 'Listen, man, I don't have anything else lined up, I'm not leaving because this band over here offered me more money," Freese said.

[24] Notable albums Freese appeared on as a session musician in the 2010s include Bruce Springsteen's High Hopes, Katy Perry's Teenage Dream, Kelly Clarkson's Stronger, Rascal Flatts' Rewind, and Lana Del Rey's Norman Fucking Rockwell!

In 1998, Freese recorded a number of songs that he wrote and performed himself (including bass, guitar, keyboards and vocals).

In 2000, the songs "Caffeine and Vaseline" and "Rock N' Roll Chicken" were revived for the 12-song album The Notorious One Man Orgy, this time released under Freese's own name by Kung Fu Records.

Guest appearances include Stone Gossard, Warren Fitzgerald, Michael Ward, Lyle Workman, and Freese's brother Jason.

[28] Of the novelty items for sale, Freese stated, "I'm not expecting to sell any of those ridiculously priced packages but I sure did get a lot of good press and attention to the fact that I'm putting out a record because of it!

In 2020, after Freese's touring work came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he recorded an album of one-minute songs at his home studio titled Just a Minute, Volume 1.

Taylor Hawkins, who Freese would go on to succeed in Foo Fighters, featured in a promotional video for the song "Heavy Metal Car Collection", which appeared on the album.