- Brad Wilk
Infobox musical artist
Name = Brad Wilk
Img_capt = Brad Wilk performing at the 2007Coachella Festival withRage Against the Machine .
Img_size = 300
Landscape = yes
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name =
Born = birth date and age|1968|9|5Portland, Oregon , U.S.
Died =
Instrument = drums
Genre =Alternative rock Rapcore Alternative metal Funk metal Hard rock Funkcore Post-grunge
Occupation =Musician ,Songwriter
Years_active = 1991 - Present
Label =Sony BMG
Epic
Interscope
Associated_acts =Rage Against the Machine Audioslave Puscifer
Greta
URL = [http://www.ratm.com ratm.com]Brad Wilk (born
September 5 ,1968 inPortland, Oregon ) is an American drummer, famous for being the drummer inRage Against the Machine and was previously for now-defunctAudioslave .Personal life
He is of German and Russian Jewish roots. Wilk (pronounced: Villk) being Polish for Wolf, his last name was changed when his fathers side of the family escaped Germany and migrated to America through Poland, during the holocaust.Brad was born in 1968 in
Portland, Oregon . He lived inChicago in his childhood, and then later settled in SouthernCalifornia . Wilk started to play the drums when he was 13 years old and got his first kit when he was 14.In late 2005, Brad Wilk married his girlfriend Selene Vigil. The wedding ceremony took place on
10 December at Emerald Bay inLake Tahoe cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Axis of Justice | "The Mary Morello and Cindy Sheehan Show" | Episode 06
work =
publisher = Axis of Justice
date =August 6 ,2007
url = http://www.axisofjustice.org/MM_080607.htm
format = HTML
doi =
accessdate = 2008-01-09 ] with only family in attendance. They have two children, Luka and Alex.Musical career
Rage Against the Machine (1991-2000; 2007-present)
Brad's success as the drummer of
Rage Against the Machine came from the failure of a different band; he once auditioned for a band called Lock Up, who released one album (titled "Something Bitchin' This Way Comes ") through Geffen records in 1989 and broke up when the album received little media attention upon release. Former Lock Up guitaristTom Morello was looking to pick up where Lock Up left off and start a new band, and contacted Brad, who was playing with the band Greta, to see if he was interested in playing the drums. A short while after, the duo metZack de la Rocha , a rapper, and through de la Rocha met bassistTim Commerford (a childhood friend of Zack's) and Rage Against the Machine was born. After frequenting the L.A. club circuit, Rage Against the Machine signed a record deal with Epic Records in 1992. That same year, the band released their self titled debut. They achieved a phenomenal amount of mainstream success and released three more studio albums.In late
2000 , de la Rocha quit the band. OnSeptember 13 ,2000 , Rage Against the Machine performed their last concert at theGrand Olympic Auditorium inLos Angeles ,California . The remaining members formedAudioslave with formerSoundgarden frontmanChris Cornell .On
April 29 ,2007 , the band reunited at theCoachella Music Festival . The band played in front of an EZLN backdrop to the largest crowds of the festival. The performance was initially thought to be a one-off, this turned out not to be the case. The band played 7 more shows in theUnited States in2007 (including their first non-festival concert in 7 years at theAlpine Valley Music Theater inEast Troy ,Wisconsin ), and inJanuary 2008 , they played their first shows outside the US as part of theBig Day Out Festival inAustralia andNew Zealand .The band has since continued to tour around the world, headlining many large festivals in
Europe and theUnited States , includingLollapalooza inChicago .Audioslave (2001-2007)
After Zach de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine, music producer
Rick Rubin suggested the three remaining members of Rage get together with formerSoundgarden singerChris Cornell , and “see what happens”.Fact|date=August 2008By May 2001, they had begun to work in the studio, writing their first song “Light My Way”. By April 2002, the newly formed band had split due to “outside” pressures, mainly from management companies. They soon got back together though, and on
November 19 ,2002 they released their eponymous debut, which would attain triple platinum status. Audioslave attained a large amount of success, and released another two studio albums. OnMay 5 ,2005 Brad & Audioslave played a free concert in front of 65,000 Cuban fans, becoming the first American rock band to play a concert withinCuba .On
February 15 ,2007 ,Chris Cornell officially announced his departure from Audioslave, disbanding the band.Other projects
Wilk and bandmate Tom Morello joined with
Maynard James Keenan of Tool andBilly Gould ofFaith No More to record the song "Calling Dr Love" for the 1994 Kiss tribute album "Kiss My Ass". The lineup was billed as Shandi's Addiction.Brad also contributed drums to rap group
Cypress Hill 's albumSkulls & Bones .Brad Wilk and bassist Tim Commerford contributed in Keenan’s side project
Puscifer and his album ""V" Is for Vagina " on the track "Momma Sed".In addition, Brad composed the song "Snoop Bounce (Roc N Roll Remix)" for
Snoop Dogg 's "Death Row's Greatest Hits" CD.Equipment
The following are the
drum kit s used by Brad Wilk during his musical career:*Rage Against the Machine (1991-2000) era:
*Premier Signia Marquis Drums andZildjian Cymbals: [http://www.drummerworld.com/pics/drum32/bradwilk92.jpg]
**12x9" Tom
**16x16" Floor Tom
**14x6.5Tama Bell Brass Snare or 14x5.5" Pork Pie Snare
**22x18" Bass Drum
**14" New Beat Hi-Hats
**20" A Medium Ride
**18" Z Custom Crash
**19" A Custom Crash
**18" Zildjian China or 19" Zildjian Crash (Only used until 1995)
**LP Cowbell (x2)*Audioslave (2002-2006) era:
*Gretsch USA Maple Custom Drums andPaiste Cymbals: [http://www.dianerichterphotography.com/store/DRP0728c.jpg]
**12x10" Tom
**16x16" Floor Tom
**18x16" Floor Tom
**14x6.5"Tama Bell Brass Snare
**22x18" Bass Drum
**14" Paiste Signature Sound Edge Hi-Hats
**18" Paiste Signature Power Crash
**19" Paiste Signature Power Crash
**19" Dimensions Power Crash
**22" Paiste 2002 Ride
**LP Cowbell**Brad Wilk also uses DW Hardware (9000 Series),
Remo drum heads (Emperors & Ambassadors) andVic Firth 5B sticks (hickory with wood tips).Discography
Studio albums:
With Rage Against The Machine "(Main article:
Rage Against the Machine discography )"* "Rage Against The Machine" (
November 3 ,1992 )
* "Evil Empire" (April 16 ,1996 )
* "The Battle of Los Angeles" (November 2 ,1999 )
* "Renegades" (December 5 ,2000 )With Audioslave "(Main article:
Audioslave discography )"* "Audioslave" (
November 19 ,2002 )
* "Out of Exile " (May 24 ,2005 )
* "Revelations" (September 5 ,2006 )Trivia
*Wilk performed as an actor for the first time as star of "Sleeping Dogs Lie" with
Maynard James Keenan andEd Asner .
*When Audioslave covered Hunger Strike, he was singing with Chris Cornell.
*In a 2004 performance onThe tonight Show with Jay Leno ,A Perfect Circle frontmanMaynard James Keenan sported a white tank top with "I <3 Brad Wilk" emblazoned across the front.References
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