Drummer Academy

Brad Wilk (born September 5, 1968 in Portland, Oregon) is an acclaimed American drummer. He lived in Chicago in his childhood, and then later settled in Southern California. While growing up, Brad was a huge fan of music. Some of his favorite bands were Led Zeppelin and The Sex Pistols. He has also cited that he has been influenced by James Brown, and George Clinton. Brad started to play the drums when he was 13 years old and got his first kit when he was 14. Brad decided right away to make playing the drums his career choice. Brad started out by placing an advertisement in a local newspaper that current Audioslave, former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello happened to read. Brad and Tom joined forces with Tim Commerford, and Zach De La Rocha to form Rage Against the Machine. Rage went on to release four albums before breaking up in 2000. Brad, Tom, and Tim went on to join forces with former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell to form Audioslave who have been together ever since. Brad enjoys many artists including Black Sabbath, Leonard Cohen, MC5, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Gene Krupa, and many more. Brad is a Buddhist, and is seen by many as being very grounded and compassionate. He recently married his girlfriend of 11 years.

Brad Wilk's Work

Rage Against The Machine
Brad's success as the drummer of Rage came from the failure of a different band; he once auditioned for a band called Lock Up, who released one album (titled Somethin' Bitchin' This Way Comes) through Geffen records in 1989 and broke up when the album received little media attention upon release. Former Lock Up guitarist Tom Morello was looking to pick up where Lock Up left off and start a new band, and called up Brad to see if he was interested in playing the drums. A short while after, the duo met Zack de la Rocha, a rapper, and through de la Rocha met bassist Tim Commerford (a childhood friend of Zack's) and RATM was born. Brad is in fact Jewish, for he recited a Hebrew prayer in a RATM concert in Israel.

Audioslave
When Zack De La Rocha left Rage Against the Machine in late 2000, Brad and the two remaining members, Tom Morello and Tim Commerford, opted to stay together to form a new rock band. Producer Rick Rubin suggested they have a jam session with former Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell. The meeting was an immediate success and they subsequently formed a band called Civilian, which was later renamed Audioslave. Brad Wilk has been the drummer of Audioslave since its formation in 2001.

The Number 3
Brad has mentioned a weird connection to the number 3 throughout his life, and little 3's are plastered all over his drumkit. He also thanked the number 3 in the liner notes to the 1999 RATM release The Battle of Los Angeles, and even has a black-and-gray half-sleeve of the numeral 3 tattooed on his upper left arm. He also has a lion's head on his upper right arm. Along with other former members of RATM, Brad is now a member of the band Audioslave. Brad Wilk also played with Eddie Vedder, the frontman of Pearl Jam.

Source Name: Audio Slave Fan Forum, Wikipedia Brad Wilk Entry

Source Link: www.audioslaved.com/ftopicp-237890.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Wilk

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