Brad Wilk is the drummer for Audioslave, the current incarnation of Rage Against the Machine. He was born in Portland, Oregon, but moved around constantly. Brad began drumming at the age of fourteen, and used it as an outlet. He has only been in four bands in his entire life - everything else has just been jamming with various musicians.
After High School, Brad worked various odd jobs to keep himself afloat. He once held a job delivering pizza, which helped him replace his cymbals, which were cracking left and right. He once bought a pair of Paiste hi-hats, which promptly cracked. He says he has a letter from Paiste telling him that he wasn't playing them correctly. He says he wants to frame that letter - "you're playing wrong."
Brad says he tries not to place a lot of value on money, after watching it tear his father apart when he was a child. His dad, who died during Lollapalooza '94, lost his shirt more than once in the stock market, and they then had to pack into their LTD and drive across the country.
Brad met Tom Morello at an audition for Inside Out, Tom's pre-RATM project. He didn't make the cut, but after Inside Out got dropped from their label, Tom gave Brad a call. They later met up with Zack and Tim, and the rest is history.
Brad uses:
Drums: (Premier Signia Marquis)
- 22"x16" Bass Drum
- 14"x5.5" Snare Drum (Premier or Pork Pie Custom)
- 12"x9" Rack Tom
- 16"x16" Floor Tom
Cymbals: (Zildjian)
- 14" New Beat Hi-Hats
- 18" Z Series or K Series Custom Medium Crash/Ride
- 19" Z Custom Medium Crash
- 20" A Series Medium Ride
Miscellaneous
- Vic Firth Sticks
- Remo Drum Heads
- DW Hardware and Pedals
- LP Percussion
Sources:
http://penguinguitars.tripod.com/RATM/#brad-drums
"Rage Against the Machine", Colin Devenish