| Tré Cool | |
|---|---|
Tré Cool playing Billie Joe Armstrong's guitar in August 2010. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Frank Edwin Wright III |
| Also known as | Tré Cool[1][2] The Snoo[3] |
| Born | December 9, 1972 Frankfurt, Germany [4] |
| Genres | Punk rock, alternative rock, rock, new wave, hardcore punk, pop punk, garage rock |
| Occupations | Musician, drummer |
| Instruments | Drums, vocals, accordion, guitar, violin |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Labels | Reprise, Lookout!, Adeline |
| Associated acts | Green Day, The Lookouts, The Network, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Samiam |
Frank Edwin Wright III, a.k.a. Tré Cool, (born on December 9, 1972) is an American drummer, best known as the drummer for the punk rock band Green Day. He replaced the group's former drummer John Kiffmeyer in 1990. Cool has also played in The Lookouts, Samiam and the Green Day side-projects The Network and the Foxboro Hot Tubs.
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Frank Edwin Wright III was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He lived in Willits, California with his father and his elder sister, Lori. His father was a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War.[5] Wright's closest neighbor was Larry Livermore, whom at the time was the singer of the punk band The Lookouts. When Wright was 12, Livermore recruited him as the drummer of The Lookouts and gave him the name of "Tre Cool",[5] relying on both the French word "très" (meaning "very")[6] combined with the word "cool". However, the silent "s" has been dropped in the spelling, as a play on the "third" in his name. A common misconception is that Larry Livermore gave Tre Cool his full nickname; however, Cool was known as Tre long before he joined The Lookouts.[7]
When Green Day's drummer, John Kiffmeyer, left the band, the group recruited Cool to be its drummer. In his sophomore year, Cool dropped out of high school and opted to earn a GED. He began taking classes at a local community college but would later drop out as well as the band became a more time consuming priority. During this time the band considered breaking up because it took a long time to adjust to playing with Tre.[5]
Cool's father was supportive and overhauled a bookmobile to transport the band. He would later say: "I watched them go from a bunch of kids to a group of musicians with work ethic", also adding: "On their first tour or two, it was more of a party than anything else. I still scratch my head and say, 'How in the hell did they make it?' They used to practice in my living room here – a lot of the songs they did on Dookie. You hear it coming together, and you don't expect people are going to go out and buy it. But when it does, you just say, 'Wow that's so cool.'"[8]
In 1998, after Green Day won a "Moon Man" Trophy at the MTV Music Awards, Tre Cool famously scaled the Universal Globe at Universal Studios, but escaped with no punishment, only compliments and cheers. Cool has been the only person to ever do so.[9]
Cool sang and played guitar on the tracks "Dominated Love Slave" and "All by Myself", from Kerplunk and Dookie, respectively, both of which he wrote and composed (on "Dominated Love Slave", guitarist and vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong played drums). He wrote and sang the subtrack "Rock and Roll Girlfriend" from the medley "Homecoming" featured on the album American Idiot. He also sang and composed the track "DUI" ("Driving Under the Influence"), which was recorded for Green Day's fifth studio album Nimrod (1997) and was due to be released on the compilation album Shenanigans in 2002, but was omitted and can only be found online.
During a radio interview at Washington DC's alternative station DC 101, Cool sang and played acoustic guitar on a short song entitled "Like a Rat Does Cheese," a song about the pleasure of fellatio.
Several live tracks also exist, usually from around 1993, such as "Food Around the Corner", a song from the 1943 Elmer Fudd cartoon An Itch in Time. Another live track, "Billie Joe's Mom" was also recorded.
Cool had also recorded a version of Tay Zonday's "Chocolate Rain." It was posted on YouTube on August 1, 2007. His cover was mentioned in several news journals.[10]
Cool has used drums of different companies. He currently uses Leedy drums and Zildjian cymbals. In the past, Cool has used drums built by DW (Drum Workshop), Ayotte, Slingerland, Sherwood and Ludwig
American Idiot Drum Setup:
Drum Set: Ludwig Classic Maple Series Kit in Silver Sparkle Finish with Remo Drumheads
21st Century Breakdown Drum Setup
Drum Set: Leedy Custom Maple Kit in White Marine Nitron Finish with Remo Drumheads
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