Playing with Rage Against the Machine in the '90s and Audioslave in the '00s, Brad Wilk pounded the snare with unique force while keeping simple beats that allowed guitarist Tom Morello and iconic frontmen Zack de la Rocha and Chris Cornell plenty of room to breathe.
Now, he plays the skins for Last Internationale, a socially-conscious trio that includes Wilk, Delila Paz and Edgey Pires.
When it comes to the dainty show-me-what-you-got solo missions, Wilk usually shies away from the spotlight.
But while soloing was not necessarily his forte, that doesn't mean he has no respect for the art. In fact, he sat down with Radio.com this weekend to discuss his five favorite drum solos of all-time.
Buddy Rich (1970)
"If I had to say my number one, it would be this Buddy Rich drum solo from 1970," Wilk said. "At four seconds in, he knocks the overhead mic out. To me, he was just the epitome of a drummer. He was unbelievable. His fluidity, his power, his grace, his aggression, his momentum, he was a force to be reckoned with. What Buddy Rich could do on a hi-hat, most drummers couldn't do on a 17-piece drum set. The guy was a freak of nature, and always a pleasure to watch."
Elvin Jones - A Different Drummer (1979)
"When I watch him, it's like I'm watching colors and numbers flying from his drums," Wilk said. "He's like a painter to me, he's like painting this incredible picture on the drums. Could I see myself playing jazz at some point? No. To me, if you're going to be a jazz musician, you've got to live it, you've got to breathe it, it's no joke. I'm not going to go up there and fake something like that. I haven't spent my life playing jazz music. I have played jazz, but I'm more of a rock and roll drummer. But what I love is rock drummers who can really swing."
Neil Peart - "YYZ (Live)" (1982)
"I played that drum solo at my talent show in high school," Wilk said. "I think Neil Peart has such an incredible mind to have created that drum solo. It's an iconic drum solo! That's not an easy thing to do. Every piece of that drum solo is a beautiful piece of work, and is executed with mass precision. That drum solo probably meant more to me than all the other drum solos that we're talking about, because when I was 12 or 13 it was the first drum solo that I saw that made me say, 'I want to do that.'"
John Bonham - "Bonzo's Montreaux" (released in 1982)
"I absolutely love that, because it's so musical," Wilk said. "He's playing these steel drums. If you really listen to what he's playing on his kick pedal, it's nothing short of astounding. It's like a freight train coming right at you."
Keith Moon - "Happy Jack" (1966) and "Bargain" (1971)
"Two of my favorite drum solo-type things that he does are like drum solos within a song," Wilk said. "The first one would be 'Happy Jack,' I'll never forget when I first heard that song. I was 12 years old and my brother bought The Kids Are Alright soundtrack [to the Who's documentary film of the same name] on vinyl and the cover was so colorful and Keith Moon was just an absolute lunatic and then I put on the record and heard 'Happy Jack' and he just sounded like an orchestra... on the drums. It's absolutely insane."
"The other one I particularly love is called 'Bargain,' from Who's Next. I don't even know what those notes are that he's playing, they're so fast. It sounds like thunder getting closer and closer. I love it so much because I'm still not really sure what he was doing, so it's still magical to me."
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Here are The Last Internationale's upcoming tour dates:
08/25: West Babylon, NY @ Looney Tunes CDs
09/05: Vinyle Nightclub (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino) @ Las Vegas, NV
09/06: The Alley @ Sparks, NV
09/08: The Casbah @ San Diego, CA
09/09: Velvet Jones @ Santa Barbara, CA
09/12: DNA Lounge @ San Francisco, CA
09/13: Discovery Park @ Sacramento, CA
09/16: El Corazon @ Seattle, WA
09/17: Lola's In Crystal Ballroom @ Portland, OR
09/20: Sunset Strip Music Festival @ West Hollywood, CA
09/29: The Flycatcher @ Tucson, AZ
10/05: Austin City Limits @ Austin, TX
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