Brad Wilk

Infobox musical artist
Name = Brad Wilk

---

Img_capt = Brad Wilk performing at the 2007 Coachella Festival with Rage Against the Machine.
Img_size = 300
Landscape = yes
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name =
Born = birth date and age|1968|9|5
Portland, 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 in Portland, Oregon) is an American drummer, famous for being the drummer in Rage Against the Machine and was previously for now-defunct Audioslave.

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 in Chicago in his childhood, and then later settled in Southern California. 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 in Lake Tahoecite 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 guitarist Tom 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 met Zack de la Rocha, a rapper, and through de la Rocha met bassist Tim 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. On September 13, 2000, Rage Against the Machine performed their last concert at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The remaining members formed Audioslave with former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.

On April 29, 2007, the band reunited at the Coachella 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 the United States in 2007 (including their first non-festival concert in 7 years at the Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconsin), and in January 2008, they played their first shows outside the US as part of the Big Day Out Festival in Australia and New Zealand.

The band has since continued to tour around the world, headlining many large festivals in Europe and the United States, including Lollapalooza in Chicago.

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 former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, and “see what happens”.Fact|date=August 2008

By 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. On May 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 within Cuba.

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 and Billy Gould of Faith 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 album Skulls & 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 kits used by Brad Wilk during his musical career:

*Rage Against the Machine (1991-2000) era:
*Premier Signia Marquis Drums and Zildjian Cymbals: [http://www.drummerworld.com/pics/drum32/bradwilk92.jpg]
**12x9" Tom
**16x16" Floor Tom
**14x6.5 Tama 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 and Paiste 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) and Vic 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 and Ed Asner.
*When Audioslave covered Hunger Strike, he was singing with Chris Cornell.
*In a 2004 performance on The tonight Show with Jay Leno, A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan sported a white tank top with "I <3 Brad Wilk" emblazoned across the front.

References