| Chad Sexton | |
|---|---|
Chad Sexton playing behind his massive drum set during a concert at the USANA Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City, Utah as a part of 311's 2009 Summer Unity Tour. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Chad Ronald Sexton |
| Born | September 7, 1970 Lexington, Kentucky |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Genres | Alternative rock, rap rock, funk rock, reggae rock |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Years active | 1988–present[1] |
| Labels | Capricorn, Volcano Entertainment |
| Associated acts | 311 |
| Website | www.311.com |
Chad Ronald Sexton (born September 7, 1970, in Lexington, Kentucky) is the drummer for American rock band 311. He grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and went to Westside High School with fellow band members Nick Hexum and Tim Mahoney.
Prior to joining the band he marched snare with the Railmen drum corps in Omaha, Nebraska and the Sky Ryders drum corps in Hutchinson, Kansas.
Sexton is currently sponsored by Pearl Drums, and Zildjian cymbals. He was previously sponsored by Orange County Drum and Percussion.
While living in Omaha, he took lessons from Steve Thomas at Joe Voda's Drum City. He became friends with the store employees and his mother Linda began working there. Voda's Drum City was bought out and is no longer in business. In 2006, he asked help from Joe and Linda and re-opened the Drum City under the name Chad Sexton's Drum City, which is now a music store in North Hollywood, California which specializes in gear, tour supplies, drum lessons, repairs, and sales.
Sexton has also mixed records for up and coming bands such as The Rivalry, Agents Of The Sun, The Urgency, Ballyhoo!, and rap-rock veterans Shootyz Groove.
He says he has been influenced by drummers such as Buddy Rich, Ginger Baker and Bill Bruford. He incorporates various styles into his playing including reggae, hip-hop, jazz and rock.
Amongst fans, he is best known for his drum solo on the song Applied Science, which is often played much longer in live shows, notably on 311's Live! album. In the past few years, the entire band has joined in on the drum solo. They bring out floor toms, a snare, and cymbals for each of the other band members to play. This drum solo has been known to last five or more minutes.
Chad is known for a distinctive, high pitched and ringy snare sound. While many listeners argue that this sound is achieved by the snare's tuning and dimensions (he uses custom Orange County Percussion snares that are usually 3 or 4 times as thick as a normal snare drum), Chad has mentioned in interviews that it is in fact his method of striking the drum that produces the high pitched note. He has demonstrated that he hits rimshots with the bead of the stick lying abnormally close to the rim of the drum, and with the tapered neck of the stick hitting the rim in a style reminiscent of methods used when playing timbales. While he has stated that he does tune his snare rather high, it is nothing out of the ordinary accepted range for a snare drum.
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