Biography
Born in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1951, Willie was first inspired by his father, a trombone and bass player. Willie would watch his dad playing concerts in the park and fondly remembers the feeling of going up on stage after the band’s performance and watching all the musicians packing up their instruments. There seemed to be something magical about being on that stage and at 10 years of age Willie was hooked!
He would go on to study drums and percussion as a teenager in Glens Falls NY at the local drum shop, “Freddy’s.” He worked in the drum shop cleaning and repairing Ludwig drum kits, studying & eventually teaching. Here, he attended drum clinics with Max Roach, Gene Krupa, Ludwig’s Joe Morello, and Mel Taylor of the “Ventures.” Teo Macero, producer of many of the Miles Davis records lived in Glens Falls and had an Italian restaurant there called “Maceros.” Teo invited the big-bands to play there as a favor to him on the way to their Montreal gigs from New York. Wille sat in the front row as a 16-year-old kid watching Count Basie, Woody Herman, Duke Ellington, Max Roach, and Gene Krupa playing live! Willie was the intermission entertainment between the band’s sets playing drums, along with Freddie Hubbard and John Coltrane records on a huge stereo system behind the bar.
He got to meet and mingle with his big band and Gene asked drumming idols and one night to sit in with his band further cementing Willie’s career path into the drumming world.
Willie graduated high school winning a scholarship to the Berklee School of Music performing a percussion piece with a resident pianist and composer Dr. Maurice Whitney. They performed the piece by the French composer “Darius Milhaud” titled: “Concerto for percussion and small orchestra.” It featured timpani, marimba, suspended bass drum, triangles, ratchets, and multiple percussion instruments. This was a piece that was normally performed by college graduates as their final performance piece for graduation at schools like Julliard and Manhattan School of Music.
Willie completed a year at the Berklee School of Music and quickly transferred to the Manhattan School of Music in NYC.
While in New York Willie studied drums with legendary jazz drum instructor Jim Blackley. While attending college, he played at the playboy club and the big band mountain circuit, playing live shows in the Catskills for the classic acts.
During his last year at the Manhattan School of Music Willie auditioned for the Daryl Hall and John Oates band. They were preparing to tour their new record “Abandon Luncheonette” featuring the hit song “She’s Gone”. Willie aced the audition and went on to tour extensively with Daryl and John opening for artists like Lou Reed, The Bee Gees, and Dr. John. This would be the beginning of his rock music drumming career. The next landmark opportunity brought the recording of the record “War Babies” with Hall and Oates. This would be Willie’s first meeting with Todd Rundgren who would become a lifelong musical collaboration with Willie in the band “Utopia.”
Willie took a gig with Bette Midler playing the show “Clams on The Half Shell” and performed on Broadway for six months at the Minskoff Theatre. This was a big band gig and also starred legendary vibes player “Lionel Hampton” and legendary bass player “Gerald Jemott,” Aretha Franklin’s long-time bass player.
It was just after these six months that Willie was asked to join “Utopia” with Todd Rundgren. This would become a 25-year collaboration recording some 25 records, and participating in multiple U.S and world tours.
During this time period, Willie also played drums on albums for Meat Loaf ”Bat Out of Hell,” Todd Rundgren solo records, Shaun Cassidy, and Steve Hillage. Other live and studio projects also included Mick Jagger and Ringo Starr.
Willie had a significant songwriting career composing and producing songs with artists like Luther Vandross, The Pointer Sisters, Natalie Cole, Kylie Minogue, Hall and Oates, Meat Loaf, Manny Pacquiao and scoring a #1 hit with dance artist Stacy Q, “We Connect.”
Willie would continue his production and composing career at NBC Universal Television writing theme songs for shows like Jim Cramer’s “Mad Money.”
He has spent the last 10 years as the senior audio director at the largest gaming companies in the world, Bally Technologies and Scientific Games where he produced and remixed all the original tracks from Michael’s hits for the Michael Jackson games in 5.1 surround sound.
Equipment
Throughout his career with Utopia, Wilcox has been photographed playing drumsets by Sonor, Yamaha Recording Series, Leedy, and Ludwig. Ludwig Drum Company currently endorses him.
Wilcox's most memorable drum set was an electronic percussion configuration built on a motorcycle's frame. Its first incarnation, built in 1979, was simply known as the "Motorcycle" and consisted of Pearl Syncussion pads, a synthesized kick drum made from a Remo practice pad and a PAiA synthesizer, Zildijan acoustic cymbals mounted on the handlebars, and an acoustic snare drum in case the Syncussions went out. [1] The unit also contained fog machines and working headlights, and was mounted on a spinning base. Offstage technicians controlled these elements during Wilcox's drum solo. [2] Wilcox played the Motorcycle on the tour for Utopia's Adventures in Utopia album, including an appearance on The Mike Douglas Show . The original Motorcycle made its last appearance in the music video for the Utopia song "Crybaby" from the Oblivion album in 1984. [3]
The second incarnation of the motorcycle drum set was known as the "Trapparatus". Built in 1985 and designed by Wilcox and Rick Downey (the then-drummer for Blue Öyster Cult), it consisted of Clavia ddrum electronic pads and sample modules, as well as Sabian acoustic cymbals. The ddrum modules contained samples of Wilcox's Sonor drums, as well as some samples of Simmons electronic sounds. [4] The Trapparatus was played on the tour for Utopia's 1985 album POV. According to Utopia keyboardist Roger Powell, the Trapparatus was destroyed in 1986 when a warehouse containing most of Utopia's touring equipment was set ablaze by arsonists. [5]
In the early 1980s, he became an endorser of Sonor drums, and is seen playing a Sonor Signature drumset in Utopia's concert videos An Evening With Utopia and Live In Boston 1982. Early in his career, Wilcox played Zildjian cymbals, switching to Sabian cymbals in the mid-1980s. [6]
As of 2017, Wilcox played a 4-piece Sonor Delite drumset with Sabian cymbals, Remo drumheads, and Vic Firth drumsticks. [7]
For the 2018 Utopia reunion, Wilcox announced that he was returning to the Ludwig Drum Company, and played a turquoise sparkle kit on the tour. This kit appears with the band on their July 2018 performance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show .
