About

John Wackerman

John Wackerman is a prolific Musical Artist. John grew up in what many call Drum Royalty. Born into a musical family, John Wackerman adds to his musical legacy which was started by his father Chuck, a music teacher for over 50 years and continues with his three brothers: Chad (drums –James Taylor, Frank Zappa, Barbra Streisand, Allan Holdsworth) Bob (bass – Maynard Ferguson, Keiko Matsui, Henry Mancini) and Brooks (drums – AvengedSevenfold, Bad Religion, Tenacious D, Korn).

John Wackerman is the first Drummer to record a Drum Duets project with 15 of the worlds most famous and respected drummers on one project. “John Wackerman Drum Duets Vol.1” features John doing Drum Duets with: Steve Gadd(Eric Clapton, Paul Simmon, James Taylor), Alex Acuna(Weather Report), Ron Tutt(Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond), Peter Erskine, Steve Smith(Vital Information, Journey), Clayton Cameron (Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr.), Adrian Young(No Doubt), John Ferraro(Rod Stewart),Marc Atkinson(Jessica Simpson), Ricky Lawson(Steely Dan), Josh Freese(Nine Inch Nails, Sting), Gary Novak(Alanis Morissette) and his Family Brooks, Chad and Chuck Wackerman.


John Wackerman's Second Solo Drum Duet Project features John playing Drum Duets with Ronnie Vannucci(The Killers), Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa), Mark Schulman(Pink), Dennis Chambers(Santana), Thomas Lang(Falco), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Scott Johnson (Blue Devils) , Jon Theodore (Mars Volta) Bernie Dresel (Brian Setzer), Gene Hogland(Fear Factory), Justin Spencer(Recycled Percussion),Travis Barker (Blink 182) and Marco Minneman.

Early years
Starting piano lessons at the age of five was John’s introduction into performance, but his true passion for percussion began when his father decided to sell his boat to purchase a Vibraphone. “My Mom and Dad would drive me to all my lessons and music competitions and were very supportive” John said in a recent interview, “I was doing all of these private lessons and going to school and things were really hectic, but it taught me persistence and determination”.
John studied under such greats as Ruth Ritchie (mallets), Murray Spivack (classical snare drum), Chuck Flores (drum set independence), Charlie Shoemake (jazz studies), and Earl Hatch (classical marimba).


Sessions and Live Performance
At age 16 John joined the Bill Watrous Big Band and from there moved onto playing with Maynard Ferguson, Kazumi Watanabe, Bunny Brunel, Patrick Moraz ( Moody Blues, Yes), Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard), Lindsay Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), Mark Stoermer (The Killers), the Grammy nominated African Choir,Terry Fator (Band Leader) Live from Las Vegas DVD (RIAA Certified 4X's Platinum sales award), Cirque Du Soleil “KA”, Megan Mullally(Will and Grace) TV talk Show on NBC, Mad About You, Composed the music score to the film Reawakened,  Comic Strip Live, Family Matters, Amen TV Show , Slash, Brent Mason, Mohini Dey, Steve Stevens, Brian Auger, Ray Gomez, Frank Gambale, Michael Angelo Batio, Daniel Powter, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kirsten Chenowithe, Shawn Lane, Tony Orlando,The Commodores, Oprah, John Davidson, Regis and Kelly, Larry King Live, The Tonight Show,The Miller Brothers, Sea World commercials, IBM commercials, Nissan commercials, Porsche commercials, Lexus commercials,  Lens Crafters commercials, 24 hour fitness commercials, Merv Griffin, Will Ferrill, Spinal Tap, Jerry Springer, Issac Washington, John Stamos, Nathen Burton, Linda Suzanne Live, CNN, Circo, Disney, Debra Messing, Terry Brashaw, Rachel Bradshaw, Virtual Pool, Mass Mental(Robert trujillo Metallica), Shock It, Flintface, Peter Galagher, Warner Bros.,Dave Koz, Generation X, Cartoon Circus. John also wrote a best selling drum transcription book “John Wackerman Drum DuetsVol.1"

Magazines
John has been on the cover of DrumHead Magazine(United States), Sticks Magazine(Germany) and SA Drums Magazine(South Africa) and has been featured in Modern Drummer Magazine(United States), Idrum Magazine(United Kingdom), Pulse Magazine(United States), Edge Magazine(United States), Drums and Percussion Magazine(Germany), Rhythm Magazine(United Kingdom), Rhythm and Drums(Japan), Music Connection(United States), Down Beat (United States), Musician Magazine (United States), Mix Magazine (United States), EQ Magazine (United States) and International Musician Magazine(United States)


Endorsements DW Drums and Hardware, Roland V-Drums and Electronics,  Zildjian Cymbals,  Innovative Percussion Sticks and mallets,  Aquarian Drum Heads and inHEads
Mallet KAT
Eccentric Systems Quick Torque Cams (On bass drum pedals)
Audix Mics, Auralex Acoustics, Rhythm Tech Percussion,  Factory Metal Percussion
Protection Racket Cases
Stick Hammock, Kelly Shu,Toft Audio Designs

 

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