Drummerworld left arrow drummer page gallery
John Tempesta
September 26, 1964
next drummer Drummerworld
John Tempesta Drummerworld




John Tempesta Drummerworld
John Tempesta
In a career spanning two decades, drummer John Tempesta has built a body of work that's deservedly earned him a place among metal's most popular and well-respected players. Perhaps best known for his tenure with Rob Zombie - both in White Zombie and with Rob's solo project - John worked his way up through the drumming ranks, always looking for his next challenge and never resting on past achievements. John's extensive professional resume includes gigs with Exodus, Testament, Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society, Tony Iommi, Helmet and Scum of The Earth (which features John's brother, guitarist Mike Tempesta). Presently, John can be found touring the world behind the drum throne of The Cult.

Growing up in the Bronx, John was first inspired to play drums as a child after watching the classic Beatles' film, A Hard Day's Night on TV. "I thought that Ringo Starr looked so cool," he remembers. "I knew right then that I wanted to be a drummer." A short time later, John heard that a neighbor was selling a drum kit and he begged his mom to let him buy it for the price of $25. "It all happened from there," says John. In 1977 John attended his first live concert when he went to see David Bowie at New York City's Madison Square Garden. There, he was blown away by Bowie's drummer, Dennis Davis. "Dennis was amazing," says John. "He was such a soulful, groove player but also a total rock drummer. Dennis Davis became my first major drum influence."

Coming up, John was further influenced and inspired by the techniques of hard-hitting rock drummers like John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Alex Van Halen and Bill Ward of Black Sabbath - one of John's favorite bands. "Besides Van Halen and Black Sabbath, I saw so many great shows as a kid. Being in the crowd, under the lights with the smoke and the sound - I got so inspired. That kept me very focused on my goal," he admits. As John began to experiment stylistically, getting into progressive rock and fusion, Terry Bozzio became another important influence along with prolific session drummers like Simon Phillips and Cozy Powell.

Early in his career, John gained crucial experience on the road and in the studio as drum tech for Anthrax's Charlie Benante. "Charlie definitely taught me how to approach playing thrash metal, because I wasn't that type of drummer," says John. "From watching his double bass technique, I learned so much about how to improve my speed and accuracy. I owe a lot to Charlie for his help." In 1989, after four years with Anthrax, John moved behind the drum throne of Bay Area thrash metal stalwarts Exodus, with whom he recorded three albums. He then joined cross-town rivals Testament. Although he recorded only one studio album with that band (1994's Low), John left a lasting impression on guitarist Eric Peterson. "John is definitely one of the best drummers in the country," Peterson remarks. "He has the power of John Bonham, the finesse of Carter Beauford, and the aggression of Dave Lombardo. As a drummer, John really has it all."

John's profile grew in 1994, the year he joined industrial metal juggernauts White Zombie. The release of 1995's Astro-Creep 2000 made White Zombie a household name, largely due to the dance club hit "More Human Than Human" and its accompanying video. "John was the best," says former White Zombie bassist Sean Yseult. "White Zombie toured quite a bit with Pantera, and besides Vinnie Paul, there were no drummers that could compare to him. He's like a machine, but brutal. You rarely hear such a hard hitter with such speed, detail and finesse." Rob Zombie liked John's playing so much that after White Zombie split up in 1997, he kept him on as drummer for his solo band. Playing with Rob Zombie also gave John the freedom to drum on albums like Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi's self-titled solo record, as well as Black Label Society's Hangover Music Vol. VI.

When Rob Zombie put his band on hiatus in 2003, John wasted no time landing his next gig. But he never imagined he'd become a core member in the new version of Helmet, one of the '90s' most influential metal bands. The way he tells the story, it was all about timing. "I was kicking around the idea of playing with other people when I was introduced to [Helmet guitarist/ singer/songwriter] Page Hamilton," John explains. "Page was in LA looking to put a new band together. I had been a longtime fan of Helmet as well. After talking on the phone, we met at a bar for a couple beers, and he brought me a demo CD of his songs."

Once Page and John jammed together, they discovered an undeniable musical chemistry. With the participation of producer Jay Baumgardner (Papa Roach, Drowning Pool) and bassist Rob Nicholson the two recorded demos that attracted the interest of Interscope Records, and Helmet was reborn. John then recorded all drum tracks for Helmet's first album of new material in seven years, Size Matters (released in the fall of 2004). "Page is an amazing musician," John offers. "In the long run, playing with him and learning so much from him about the development of music really made me a better player." John toured the States and Europe extensively with Helmet for nearly three years, at which time he reached a professional crossroads where he was presented with an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

"A friend of mine who is a booking agent for The Cult told me that they were auditioning drummers," John remembers. "At that time I was lined up to record another album with Helmet, and I was also scheduled to go to Dubai to play with Testament. It was one of those things where everything happened in a week. After securing the audition, I learned all of the Cult material that I'd need to play and I felt really confident about the audition, because I'd always been a fan of The Cult. It just clicked, basically." After a couple of auditions, John landed the gig in February of 2006 and has been touring the states, Europe, the UK and South America with The Cult ever since.
"As a drummer," John confesses, "being in the Cult is great for me because I get to play really heavy, but I can play soft as well because there are so many dynamics in this music. It's definitely a change for me from just full out thrashing with Testament or playing all of the loops with Zombie. It's a nice progression and I really enjoy the music. I'm really happy to be with these guys because they've been one of my favorite bands and a big influence on me for many years. The funny thing is I had planned to audition for The Cult in 1993," he recalls. "But then I ended up touring with Testament, and after that I got the White Zombie gig, so timing, again, really is everything."

John's drum clinics have taken him as far away as Moscow - where he performed at Zildjian's Day Out - and Australia. "To play in front of different people around the world - because everyone appreciates music - is really gratifying," John confesses. "Participating these clinics has also given me a chance to play with some great drummers like Dave Weckl, Virgil Donati, John Blackwell, Chad Wackerman, Dom Famularo and many other incredible musicians."




John Tempesta Drummerworld © Jacob Dinesen



John Tempesta Drummerworld



Drummerworld Video
John Tempesta
from Appearance Australian Drumming Festival





John Tempesta DrummerworldMASTERS PLACE



John Tempesta Drummerworld Thomas Lang - John Tempesta - Simon Phillips



John Tempesta Drummerworld



Drummerworld Video
John Tempesta
Appearance Modern Drummer Festival 1997





John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld






John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld



Drummerworld Video
John Tempesta
Rock Grooves - a long way back





John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Drummerworld






John Tempesta Drummerworld



John Tempesta Bernhard Castiglioni Drummerworld Charlie Benante - John Tempesta -
Bernhard (Drummerworld)




John Tempesta Drummerworld thanks for your visit!






CLICK:
the 500 Top Drummers:
Matt Abts

Alex Acuna

Daniel Adair
Chris Adler
Morgan Agren
Airto Moreira Drummerworld
Airto

Tommy Aldridge
Tim Alexander
Rashied Ali
Don Alias
Carl Allen
Tony Allen
Cliff Almond
Barry Altschul
Robby Ameen
Scott Amendola
Animal
Charly Antolini - Drummerworld
Charly Antolini

Carmine Appice - Drummerworld
Carmine Appice

Vinny Appice
Kenny Aronoff - Drummerworld
Kenny Aronoff

Joe Ascione
Mick Avory
Marcel Bach
Manolo Badrena
Colin Bailey
Donald Bailey
Ginger Baker - Drummerworld
Ginger Baker

Jeff Ballard
Joe La Barbera
Danny Barcelona
travis Barker - Drummerworld
Travis Barker

Barriemore Barlow
Joey Baron
Ranjit Barot
Julio Barreto
Ray Bauduc
Eddie Bayers
Marcus Baylor
Frank Beard
Carter Beauford
Bruce Becker
Poogie Bell
Louie Bellson - Drummerworld
Louie Bellson

Frank Bellucci
Brian Bennett
Han Bennink
Joe Bergamini
Tal Bergman
Jon Bermuda Schwartz
Ignacio Berroa
Denzil Best
Pete Ray Biggin
Curt Bisquera
Gregg Bissonette
Jason Bittner
Roger Biwandu
Dave Black
James Black
Jim Black
Cindy Blackman
John Blackwell - Drummerworld
John Blackwell

Brady Blade
Brian Blade - Drummerworld
Brian Blade

Hal Blaine - Drummerworld
Hal Blaine

Art Blakey - Drummerworld
Art Blakey

Jason Bonham
John Bonham - Drummerworld
John Bonham

Gergo Borlai
Paul Bostaph
Terry Bozzio
Paulo Braga
Dirk Brand
Jimmy Branly
Tom Brechtlein - Drummerworld
Tom Brechtlein

Amir Bresler
Don Brewer
Gerry Brown
Bill Bruford - Drummerworld
Bill Bruford

Ronald Bruner Jr.
Jack Bruno
Mark Brzezicki
Roy Burns
Ronnie Burrage
William Calhoun
Clayton Cameron
Matt Cameron
Gorden Campbell
Teddy Campbell - Drummerworld
Teddy Campbell

Tommy Campbell
Emmanuelle Caplette
Danny Carey
Keith Carlock - Drummerworld
Keith Carlock

Bun E. Carlos
Karen Carpenter
Terri Lyne Carrington
Bernhard Castiglioni
Joey Castillo
Lenny Castro
Deen Castronovo
Big Sid Catlett
André Ceccarelli
Dave DiCenso
Gary Chaffee
Matt Chamberlain
Jimmy Chamberlin
Dennis Chambers - Drummerworld
Dennis Chambers

Joe Chambers
Ndugu Chancler
Jim Chapin
Gary Chester
Jon Christensen
Kenny Clare
Greg Clark
Mike Clark
Kenny Clarke - Drummerworld
Kenny Clarke

Doug Clifford
Tommy Clufetos
Jimmy Cobb - Drummerworld
Jimmy Cobb

Billy Cobham - Drummerworld
Billy Cobham

Vinnie Colaiuta - Drummerworld
Vinnie Colaiuta

Cozy Cole - Drummerworld
Cozy Cole

Chris Coleman
Cora Coleman-Dunham
Tony Coleman
Phil Collins
Bobby Colomby
Aaron Comess
Luis Conte
Tre Cool
Ray Cooper
Stewart Copeland - Drummerworld
Stewart Copeland

Kirk Covington
René Creemers
Adam Cruz
Sylvia Cuenca
Abe Cunningham
Mickey Curry
Andrew Cyrille
Nick D'Virgilio
Paulinho Da Costa
Duduka Da Fonseca
Brann Dailor
Dino Danelli
Zach Danziger
Flo Dauner
Chris Daddy Dave - Drummerworld
Chris "Daddy" Dave

Alan Dawson - Drummerworld
Alan Dawson

Mikkey Dee
Barrett Deems
Jimmy DeGrasso
Adam Deitch
Jack DeJohnette - Drummerworld
Jack DeJohnette

Kenwood Dennard
John Densmore
Wim DeVries
Dave DiCenso
Rick Dior
Marko Djordjevic
Warren "Baby" Dodds
Peter Donald
Virgil Donati
Gabor Dornyei
Paul Douglas
Brian Downey
Hamid Drake
Bernie Dresel
Martin Drew
The Drumbassadors
Billy Drummond
Aynsley Dunbar
Sly Dunbar
Frankie Dunlop
Mario Duplantier
Bobby Durham
Sheila E.
Phil Ehart
Dave Elitch
Paul Elliott
Sonny Emory
Bertram Engel
Peter Erskine - Drummerworld
Peter Erskine

Dom Famularo
Pierre Favre
Steve Ferrone
Anton Fig
Vera Figueiredo
Sammy Figueroa
Larry Finn
Eric Fischer
Mick Fleetwood
Duduka Da Fonseca
George Fludas
D.J. Fontana
Hannah Ford-Welton
Shannon Forrest
Al Foster - Drummerworld
Al Foster

Vernel Fournier
Panama Francis
Joe Franco
Brian Frasier-Moore
Josh Freese
Kiko Freitas
Steve Gadd - Drummerworld
Steve Gadd

James Gadson
Richie Gajate-Garcia
David Garibaldi - Drummerworld
David Garibaldi

Matt Garstka
Mel Gaynor
Jason Gianni
Andy Gillmann
Marcus Gilmore
Nikki Glaspie
Daniel Glass
Evelyn Glennie
Jim Gordon - Drummerworld
Jim Gordon

Danny Gottlieb
Jimmy DeGrasso
Eric Kamau Gravatt
Milford Graves
Benny Greb - Drummerworld
Benny Greb

Sonny Greer
Rayford Griffin
Dave Grohl
Freddie Gruber
Donny Gruendler
Maison Guidry
Mark Guiliana - Drummerworld
Mark Guiliana

Terreon Gully
Trilok Gurtu
Ralf Gustke
Tomas Haake
Wolfgang Haffner
Omar Hakim - Drummerworld
Omar Hakim

Matt Halpern
Chico Hamilton
Jeff Hamilton - Drummerworld
Jeff Hamilton

Lionel Hampton
Jake Hanna
Eric Harland - Drummerworld
Eric Harland

Buddy Harman
Gavin Harrison - Drummerworld
Gavin Harrison

Mickey Hart
Billy Hart
Steve Hass
Fritz Hauser
Roger Hawkins
Taylor Hawkins
Louis Hayes - Drummerworld
Louis Hayes

Roy Haynes - Drummerworld
Roy Haynes

Richie Hayward
Albert Tootie Heath
Levon Helm
Gerry Hemingway
Don Henley
Horacio Hernandez
Claus Hessler
Gerald Heyward - Drummerworld
Gerald Heyward

Giovanni Hidalgo
Billy Higgins - Drummerworld
Billy Higgins

Jeff Hirshfield
Jon Hiseman
Ari Hoenig
Gene Hoglan
Rodney Holmes
Steve Houghton
Daniel Humair
Ralph Humphrey
Gary Husband
Zakir Hussain
Greg Hutchinson
Susie Ibarra
Tommy Igoe
Tris Imboden
Al Jackson
Duffy Jackson
Gene Jackson
Huub Janssen
Bobby Jarzombek
Akira Jimbo
Jonas Johansen
Jack DeJohnette Drummerworld
Jack DeJohnette

Gus Johnson
Mike Johnston
Daru Jones
Elvin Jones - Drummerworld
Elvin Jones

Harold Jones
Papa Jo Jones - Drummerworld
Papa Jo Jones

Philly Joe Jones - Drummerworld
Philly Joe Jones

Rufus "Speedy" Jones
Steve Jordan - Drummerworld
Steve Jordan

Joey Jordison
Jonathan Joseph
Manu Katché
Senri Kawaguchi
Jim Keltner - Drummerworld
Jim Keltner

Will Kennedy
Billy Kilson
George Kollias
Glenn Kotche
Joey Kramer
Bill Kreutzmann
Gene Krupa - Drummerworld
Gene Krupa

Russ Kunkel
Joe La Barbera
Abe Laboriel, jr.
Gene Lake
Don Lamond
Thomas Lang
Dave Langguth
Shannon Larkin
Pete LaRoca Sims
Karl Latham
Rick Latham
Trevor Lawrence Jr.
Ricky Lawson - Drummerworld
Ricky Lawson

Chris Layton
Tommy Lee
Felix M. Lehrmann
Paul Leim
Stan Levey
Larnell Lewis
Mel Lewis
Victor Lewis
Pete Lockett
Dave Lombardo
Larrie Londin
John Longstreth
Hakim Ludin
Ray Luzier
Peter Magadini
Mike Mangini
Shelly Manne - Drummerworld
Shelly Manne

Brian "Brain" Mantia
Sherrie Maricle
Rick Marotta
John Marshall
Billy Martin
Pedrito Martinez
Ken K. Mary
Harvey Mason - Drummerworld
Harvey Mason

Nick Mason
Pat Mastelotto
Dave Mattacks
Phil Maturano
Jojo Mayer - Drummerworld
JoJo Mayer

Marilyn Mazur
Nicko McBrain
Joe McCarthy
George Spanky McCurdy
Jason McGerr
Russ McKinnon
Marvin McQuitty
Buddy Miles
Butch Miles
Russ Miller
Marco Minnemann
Mike Mitchell
Mitch Mitchell - Drummerworld
Mitch Mitchell

Joseph Ziggy Modeliste
Jonathan Moffett
Mark Mondesir
Drori Mondlak
Keith Moon - Drummerworld
Keith Moon

Eric Moore
Stanton Moore - Drummerworld
Stanton Moore

Steve Moore
Airto Moreira Drummerworld
Airto Moreira

Joe Morello - Drummerworld
Joe Morello

Rod Morgenstein
Joe Morris
Nate Morton
Paul Motian
Famadou Don Moye
Alphonse Mouzon
Jonathan Mover
Moritz Mueller
Idris Muhammad
Narada
Lewis Nash
Sandy Nelson
Andy Newmark
Jost Nickel
Anika Nilles
David Northrup
Gary Novak
Nippy Noya
Adam Nussbaum
Volkan Oektem
Jamie Oldaker
Nigel Olsson
Tony Oxley
Ian Paice - Drummerworld
Ian Paice

Carl Palmer - Drummerworld
Carl Palmer

Earl Palmer - Drummerworld
Earl Palmer

Francis Panama
Toss Panos
Chris Parker
Leon Parker
Vinnie Paul
Jim Payne
Sonny Payne
Lee Pearson
Neil Peart - Drummerworld
Neil Peart

Shawn Pelton
Clarence Penn
Chris Pennie
Armando Peraza
Karl Perazzo
Stephen Perkins
Charli Persip
Ralph Peterson
Pat Petrillo
Simon Phillips - Drummerworld
Simon Phillips

Diego Piñera
Jeff Porcaro - Drummerworld
Jeff Porcaro

Mike Portnoy - Drummerworld
Mike Portnoy

Cozy Powell
Bobby Previte
Thomas Pridgen
Aquiles Priester
Dafnis Prieto
Tito Puente
Bernard Purdie - Drummerworld
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie

Alvin Queen
Jeff Queen
Questlove
Johnny Rabb
Tobias Ralph
Stanley Randolph
Rich Redmond
Raul Rekow
Walfredo Reyes, Jr.
Walfredo Reyes
Buddy Rich - Drummerworld
Buddy Rich

Dannie Richmond
Sean Rickman
Alex Riel
Karriem Riggins
Ben Riley
Herlin Riley
Jim Riley
John Riley - Drummerworld
John Riley

Ringo Starr - Drummerworld
Ringo

Max Roach - Drummerworld
Max Roach

Lil John Roberts
John J.R. Robinson - Drummerworld
John J.R. Robinson

Pete LaRoca Sims
Bobby Rock
Derek Roddy
Calvin Rodgers
Mickey Roker
Bobby Rondinelli
Joel Rosenblatt
Tony Royster Jr.
Ilan Rubin
Phil Rudd
Daniel Sadownick
Bobby Sanabria
Antonio Sanchez - Drummerworld
Antonio Sanchez

Poncho Sanchez
Mongo Santamaria
Cindy Blackman Santana
Christoph Schneider
Jared Schonig
Mark Schulman
Jon Bermuda Schwartz
Kendrick Scott
Robert Sput Searight
Denny Seiwell
Danny Seraphine
Paco Séry
Chad Sexton
Gil Sharone
Ed Shaughnessy
Michael Shrieve
El Estepario Siberiano
Pete LaRoca Sims
Eric Singer
Zutty Singleton
Jeff Sipe
Chad Smith
Marvin "Smitty" Smith
Nate Smith
Nick Smith
Steve Smith - Drummerworld
Steve Smith

Ash Soan
Glen Sobel
Yoyoka Soma
Ed Soph
Matt Sorum
Richard Spaven
Aaron Spears - Drummerworld
Aaron Spears

Jeremy Stacey
David Stanoch
Zak Starkey
John "Jabo" Starks

Ringo Starr

Aaron Sterling
Billy Stewart - Drummerworld
Bill Stewart

Nisan Stewart

Clyde Stubblefield

Fredy Studer
Todd Sucherman
James "The Rev" Sullivan
Jason Sutter
Fukushi Tainaka
Grady Tate
Garo Tavitjan
Art Taylor
Joel Taylor
Mel Taylor
Roger Taylor
John Tempesta
Jon Theodore
Aaron Thier
Ed Thigpen - Drummerworld
Ed Thigpen

Ian Thomas
Questlove Thompson
Chester Thompson
Brian Tichy
Top Secret Drum Corps
Pat Torpey
Tico Torres
Dave Tough
Nat Townsley
Scott Travis
Ron Tutt
Justin Tyson
Lars Ulrich
Vadrum
Andrea Vadrucci

Christian Vander
Alex Van Halen
Ronnie Vannucci
Nana Vasconcelos
Carlos Vega
Glen Velez
Ronnie Verrell
Nicolas Viccaro
Johnny Vidacovich
Jimmy Vincent
Nick D'Virgilio
Chad Wackerman
Nasheet Waits
Narada Michael Walden
Bill Ward
Billy Ward
Kenny Washington
Derico Watson
Charlie Watts - Drummerworld
Charlie Watts

Jeff "Tain" Watts
Chick Webb
Dave Weckl - Drummerworld
Dave Weckl

Max Weinberg
Klaus Weiss
Hannah Ford Welton
Paul Wertico
Genius Lee Wesley
George Wettling
Alan White
Lenny White
Steve White
Pete Wilhoit
Brad Wilk
Rashid Williams
Tony Williams - Drummerworld
Tony Williams

Matt Wilson
Shadow Wilson
David "Pick" Withers
Kenny Wollesen
Nate Wood
Sam Woodyard
Pete York
Yoyoka
Pete Zeldman
Zoro