Brad Wilk was born September 5, 1968 in Portland, Oregon. With a turbulent childhood filled with emotional upheavals and musical reliance, Brad Wilk was fated for Rage against the Machine. As well as being a fan of Bonham and Moon, he also delved into jazz, funk, and anything else he could find that would anchor his emotional weight. But it wasn’t until he met Morello and De La Rocha through an ad that he found his musical centre. If you’ve ever listened to the blistering sounds from Rage against The Machine or Audioslave then you know exactly who Brad Wilk is. Responsible for driving such modern anthems like “Killing in the name of” and “Cochise”, Brad Wilk likes his sound big and he certainly knows how to groove. From his initial grassroots Premier drum kit, right through to his current Gretsch kit incarnation, Wilk knows exactly what kind of sound he is trying to achieve. Combining 70’s funk and modern alternative rock seamlessly. Citing John Bonham, Keith Moon and Elvin Jones are his top three influences its easy to see where so much of that big band sound comes from.
Brad Wilk Background and RATM:
As soon as Brad received his first CB700 kit at 14 he began playing to records and taking lessons. Honing his rudiment skills further on a practice pad. Playing with various people Brad was eager to get a full band up and running. After putting out an advert in 1991 saying he was looking to form a band that would explore many different styles to make a unique type of music. Brad was lucky enough to find three other people who were into that. Tom Morello responded to his ad in 1991. Former Lock Up guitarist Tom Morello was looking to pick up where Lock Up left off and start a new band, 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. The group played for three months in a warehouse, recorded, and started playing shows and their own tapes. From the outset Rage had the interest of record company’s and the phenomena that was Rage against the Machine was born. Brad Wilk drummed with Rage from 1990 until their abrupt split in 2000.
Brad Wilk and Soundgarden:
After Zach de la Rocha left Rage against the Machine, 2001 saw music producer Rick Rubin suggesting that the three remaining members of Rage get together with former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, and “see what happens”.
By May 2001, they had begun to work in the studio, writing their first song “Light My Way”. By April of 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, leaving the bands future in question.
Brad Wilk returns as Rage against the Machine reforms:
An announcement was made on January 22 that all original members of Rage against the Machine would be re-forming to perform at the 2007 Coachella festival. Originally thought of as a one-off, the band then confirmed 4 more dates planned for the band as part of Rock the Bells with Wu-Tang Clan, and later an additional night in NYC after the first night sold out in twenty minutes.
