John Stanier (drummer)

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This article is about John Stanier, a drummer. For the soldier, see John Wilfred Stanier.

John Stanier (born 2 August 1968 in Baltimore, Maryland)^{[citation needed]} first came into the spotlight in 1989 as the drummer for the band Helmet.

Stanier grew up in Florida and is a veteran of the local hardcore music scene. He is known for having a drum corps background, but never actually marched a summer season. He played tenor drums for the Florida Wave through a few years of their winter/spring camps. He studied orchestral percussion at the University of South Florida, but has never taken any formal drumset lessons. Stanier cites Neil Peart as his biggest influence, though he hates double bass drumming. He has also been influenced by drummers such as John Bonham, Billy Cobham, Bill Bruford, Terry Bozzio, Carl Palmer, and Lenny White. Stanier's drumming with Helmet has been cited as a big influence on a new generation of rock drummers.

The break up of Helmet in 1998 was very bitter, and Stanier dislikes speaking about the break up or any activity involving Helmet's founder Page Hamilton since that time. Hamilton claims that Stanier has ignored any attempts to communicate or reconcile. Stanier wanted to get involved with another band after taking some time off. A big fan of hip-hop music, he "accidentally" became a professional DJ for a year and a half. The length of his drumming inactivity was in part due to a broken wrist, as well as because he simply could not find a band he wanted to play with. Eventually he found work collaborating with Pitchshifter on their album Deviant. Since 2000, Stanier has been much more active with drumming. He is currently a member of three bands: The Mark of Cain, Tomahawk, and Battles. He also played drums on Melissa Auf der Maur's 2004 self-titled solo album.

[edit] References

Micallef, Ken "Up and Coming: John Stanier of Helmet", Modern Drummer, October 1994. [1]
Worley, Gail "Weapon of Choice: An Interview with John Stanier of Tomahawk", Ink 19, January 2004. [2]