A Little more about me

I'm a prolific Musical Artist. I 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 – Avenged Sevenfold, Bad Religion, Tenacious D, Korn).

My Story

I was 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 Drum Duets Vol.2

My Second Solo Drum Duets Project features John playing Drum Duets with Ronnie Vannucci(The Killers), Terry Bozzio (Jeff Beck), 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 (Joe Satriani).

My Early Years

Starting piano lessons at the age of five was my introduction into performance, but my true passion for percussion began when my dad 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. 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 privately with Ruth Ritchie (mallets), Charlie Shoemake (jazz studies), Earl Hatch (classical marimba) Murray Spivack (classical snare drum), Chuck Flores (drum set independence).

Sessions and Live Performances

At age 16 I 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, Ty Herndon, Jamie O'Neil, Kyle Everson, Dasha, Ingrid Andress, David Archuleta, Brooke Eden, Lindsay Ell, Runaway June, Shelly Fairchild,The Kentucky Gentlemen, Michael Passons, Kalie Shorr, Sam Williams, A.J. Lang, Melissa Greene, Erik Halbig, Scotty Huff, Josh Bryant, David Browning, Jada Cato, 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, 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, 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 Duets Vol.1"

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