Brad Wilk

Brad Wilk, (born September 5, 1968 in Portland, Oregon) is the drummer for the popular rock band Audioslave, and was the drummer of controversial rap-rock band Rage Against the Machine until the band's

Brad Wilk, (born September 5, 1968 in Portland, Oregon) is the drummer for the popular rock band Audioslave, and was the drummer of controversial rap-rock band Rage Against the Machine until the band's break-up in 2000. He is influenced by Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Growing up, Brad watched money ruin his father and when his father died in 1994 Brad vowed not to put much meaning in material things.

Brad's success as the drummer of Rage came from the failure of a different band; he once auditioned for a band called Lock Up, who released one album (titled Somethin' Bitchin' This Way Comes) through Geffen records in 1989 and broke up when the album received little media attention upon release. Former Lock Up guitarist Tom Morello was looking to pick up where Lock Up left off and start a new band, and called up Brad to see if he was interested in playing the drums. A short while after, the duo met Zack de la Rocha, a rapper, and through de la Rocha met bassist Tim Commerford (a childhood friend of Zack's) and RATM was born.