Claude Coleman Jr. | |
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![]() Coleman performing in 2007 | |
Background information | |
Born | Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | August 29, 1974
Occupation(s) | Drummer |
Years active | 1989–present |
Website | amandlanet |
Claude Coleman Jr. (born August 29, 1974) [1] is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock group Ween. [2] He has also worked with Eagles of Death Metal, Chocolate Genius, the Wooden Soldiers, Elysian Fields and 3 Input Woman. Coleman has also served as a touring member of Mike Dillon's band on multiple occasions.
A multi-instrumentalist, Coleman is also the singer/songwriter for his own group Amandla. In 2006, he released his second album as Amandla, titled The Full Catastrophe.
Coleman survived a near-fatal car crash on August 7, 2002, in which he suffered multiple pelvic fractures and brain injuries. [3] During his extensive and difficult recovery, members of Ween organized a series of benefit concerts on October 7 and 8, 2002, hosted at New York's Bowery Ballroom. Josh Freese performed with Ween in Coleman's place. Coleman eventually recovered, and remained an active member of Ween until their dissolution in 2012 and since their reunion in 2016 [4]
Coleman is also active in music education through the Paul Green School of Rock, and through the New York City music program Music Ascension. [5]
Since 2017, he has co-owned and actively managed SoundSpace@Rabbit's, a music rehearsal and art studio facility inside of a 1947 Black-owned tourist court and soul food café known as Rabbit's Motel, in the historically African-American district of Southside, Asheville, North Carolina. [6]
Coleman endorses Aquarian drumheads, Bosphorus cymbals, and Vater drumsticks.
A resident of Maplewood, New Jersey, [7] he is a graduate of Columbia High School in Maplewood. [8]
Main articles: Ween discography
With Amandla
Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 25,684, an increase of 1,817 (+7.6%) from the 2010 census count of 23,867, which in turn reflected a decline of one person from the 23,868 counted in the 2000 census.
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Michael Melchiondo Jr., better known by his stage name Dean Ween, is an American guitarist, singer and a founding member of the alternative rock group Ween. He is currently active in the groups Ween, Moistboyz and The Dean Ween Group.
Aaron Freeman, better known by his stage name Gene Ween, is an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the experimental alternative rock group Ween. Freeman, along with childhood friend Mickey Melchiondo, started the group in the mid-1980s. Ween would expand to five members and perform together until May 2012 when Freeman abruptly quit the band due to his want to move forward with a solo career, as well as his desire to remain sober. Over the next few years, Freeman would briefly abandon the Gene Ween name and lead a new five-piece band called Freeman. Shortly after reviving the Gene Ween name for a series of Billy Joel tribute performances, Ween reunited in February 2016 for three concerts in Broomfield, Colorado. The band has continued to perform and tour since.
Ugly Kid Joe is an American hard rock band from Isla Vista, California, formed in 1989. The band's name spoofs the glam metal band Pretty Boy Floyd's name.
GodWeenSatan: The Oneness is the debut studio album by American rock band Ween, released on November 16, 1990, by Twin/Tone Records. The album introduces several key themes for the group, including their eclecticism, gonzo sense of humor, and their demon god/mascot, the Boognish.
Chocolate and Cheese is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Ween, originally released by Elektra Records in 1994. It was the first Ween album to be recorded in a professional studio, in contrast to the four-track home recordings of The Pod and Pure Guava. However, most of the instruments were still played by Dean and Gene Ween, including their drum machine.
The Motels are an American new wave band from Berkeley, California, that is best known for the singles "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, in 1982 and 1983, respectively. In 1980, The Motels song "Total Control" reached No. 7 on the Australian chart, and their song "Danger" reached No. 15 on the French chart.
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Mark Kramer known professionally as Kramer, is a musician, composer, record producer and founder of the New York City record label Shimmy-Disc. He was a full-time member of the bands New York Gong, Shockabilly, Bongwater and Dogbowl & Kramer, has played on tour with bands such as Butthole Surfers, B.A.L.L., Ween, Half Japanese and The Fugs, and has also performed regularly with John Zorn and other improvising musicians of New York City's so-called "downtown scene" of the 1980s.
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La Cucaracha is the ninth and final studio album released by the American alternative rock band Ween. The album was available streaming on the band's MySpace page October 16–19, 2007, and it was released on October 23. It was named the 2007 Album of the Year by Magnet magazine. A bonus track, "Bag of Fat," was available as an iTunes exclusive with the purchase of the entire album.
Tomato is an American musician who is best known for being the lead singer and drummer for the alternative rock band Sound of Urchin. Tomato was born in New York City, grew up in Rockland County, NY, and presently resides in Brooklyn, NY. He also plays drums in The Moistboyz as well as Dave Dreiwitz from Ween's "Crescent Moon". Tomato was mentored by Gary Chester, author of Modern Drummer publication's drum book "The New Breed". Tomato has played drums for Ween, as well as for Ellen Foley and the Dirty Old Men, and recorded drums with Tenacious D for the Comedy Central Crank Yankers version of "The Friendship Song". Tomato also appeared on an episode of the Nickelodeon kids' show The Naked Brothers Band as a guest drummer along with Questlove and Claude Coleman, Jr. Tomato is also married to internet celebrity Lori Harfenist, host of The Resident.
Saint Motel is an American indie pop band from Los Angeles, whose music has been described as everything from dream pop to progressive indie. The band is composed of singer, songwriter, and producer, A. J. Jackson, Aaron Sharp, Dak Lerdamornpong (bass) and Greg Erwin (drums).
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Joe Russo's Almost Dead is an American rock band formed in 2013 that mainly covers the music of the Grateful Dead. Formed by Furthur and Benevento/Russo Duo drummer Joe Russo, the band played their first show on January 26, 2013 at the Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to drummer Joe Russo, the band also includes Ween's bassist Dave Dreiwitz, keyboardist Marco Benevento, Scott Metzger on guitar and vocals, and Tom Hamilton of Brothers Past, Ghost Light, and American Babies on guitar and vocals.