Freese was born in Orlando, Florida, and moved to southern California as a child. At the age of 5 he began playing the drums. By the time he was 12, he was playing in the band at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. He started playing professionally at the age of 15.
Freese came into Nine Inch Nails in September of 2005, when then-drummer Dillon announced he needed some time off to tend to a personal health matter. Freese played three two shows with the band before departing to focus on other projects. Carapetis then played drums for a short time. By the end of NIN's Fall 2005 tour, Freese was available and became the official drummer.
On October 8, 2008, Freese announced that the second North American leg of the [[Lights In The Sky Tour]] would be his last with NIN.