Tré Cool
| Tré Cool | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Frank Edwin Wright III |
| Also known as | Tré Cool[1][2] The Snoo[3] |
| Born | December 9, 1972 Frankfurt, West Germany[4] |
| Genres | Punk rock, alternative rock, pop punk, hardcore punk, garage rock, new wave |
| Occupations | Musician, Composer |
| Instruments | Drums, vocals, accordion, guitar, percussion, piano, violin |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Labels | Reprise, Lookout!, Adeline |
| Associated acts | Green Day, The Lookouts, The Network, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Samiam |
Frank Edwin Wright III (born on December 9, 1972), better known as Tré Cool, is an American drummer, best known as the drummer for Green Day. He replaced the group's former drummer John Kiffmeyer in 1990. Cool has also played in The Lookouts, Samiam and the Green Day side-projects The Network and the Foxboro Hot Tubs.
Life and career
Frank Edwin Wright III was born in Frankfurt, West Germany. He lived in Willits, California with his father and his elder sister Lori. His father was a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War.[5] Wright's closest neighbor was Larry Livermore, who at the time was the singer of the punk band The Lookouts. When Wright was 12, Livermore recruited him as the drummer of The Lookouts and gave him the name of "Tré Cool",[5] relying on both the French word "très" (meaning "very")[6] combined with the word "cool". However, the silent "s" has been dropped in the spelling, as a play on the "third" in his name. A common misconception is that Larry Livermore gave Tré Cool his full nickname; however, he was known as "Tré" long before he joined The Lookouts.[7]
When Green Day's drummer, John Kiffmeyer, left the band, the group recruited Cool to be its drummer. In his sophomore year, Cool dropped out of high school and opted to earn a GED. He began taking classes at a local community college but would later drop out as well as the band became a more time consuming priority. During this time the band considered breaking up because it took a long time to adjust to playing with Cool.[5] He is the godfather of lead singer/guitarist of Green Day, Billie Joe Armstrong's children.
Cool's father was supportive and overhauled a bookmobile to transport the band. He would later say: "I watched them go from a bunch of kids to a group of musicians with work ethic", also adding: "On their first tour or two, it was more of a party than anything else. I still scratch my head and say, 'How in the hell did they make it?' They used to practice in my living room here – a lot of the songs they did on Dookie. You hear it coming together, and you don't expect people are going to go out and buy it. But when it does, you just say, 'Wow that's so cool.'"[8]
In 1998, after Green Day won a "Moon Man" Trophy at the MTV Music Awards, Tré Cool famously scaled the Universal Globe at Universal Studios, but escaped with no punishment, only compliments and cheers. Cool has been the only person to ever do so.[9]
In December 2012 Green Day released the third of their trilogy albums entitled ¡Tre! in honour of the drummer. The song Fell For You on Green Day's album ¡Uno! (September 2012) was originally entitled Fell For Snoo (Snoo being Cool's nickname) as seen on Cuatro (Documentary making of the trilogy).
Tré Cool won "Best Punk Drummer" in DRUM! Magazine's 2011 Drummies, which recognizes some of the best drummers across music genres.[10] He was also featured in the Nitpick Six: The Six Best Drum Fills and ranked in at number 6 for the intro to "Basket Case".[11]
Musical style
Before joining Green Day, Cool employed a more intricate drumming style. He explained that "When I started, I had too many drums. I was a little reggae-happy and into fancier beats than was needed. It took me awhile to get it: Play the song, don't play the instrument. I started figuring out how to make the band a stronger unit, to make it jump."[12] After playing with Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt, Cool adopted a more rhythmic style with fewer drum fills to match Dirnt's bass riffs.[12]
Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune referred to Cool as "Green Day's most potent weapon", adding that "His monstrous kick-drum wallop evokes John Bonham, while his manic fills make him punk's answer to Keith Moon."[13] His stage persona has also been compared to Moon.[14] Sound engineer Neill King, who worked with Green Day on Dookie, noted that Cool shares Moon's "wild animal approach" to playing drums, and explained that the band encountered difficulties while recording "Basket Case" due to his unpredictable style: "It’s not that Tré wasn’t a good drummer, but in terms of his performances we wanted the best of the best...So, although we wanted him to do all of his wild fills and crazy drumming, we couldn’t just let him go. He’d drift in and out of time, which is terrific live, but which was unacceptable on radio at that time."[15]
Personal life
Cool was the first member of Green Day to become a father on January 12th 1995 with the birth of his daughter Ramona Isabel. Ramona was named after Cool's hero Joey Ramone. Ramona now resides in New York. Cool's second child Frankito (meaning "Little Frank") was born on March 26th 2001 and is the godson of Billie Joe Armstrong. Tre Cool is also the godfather of Billie Joe Armstrong's two children Jakob and Joseph.
Singing and songwriting
Cool sang and played guitar on the tracks "Dominated Love Slave" and "All by Myself", from Kerplunk and Dookie, respectively, both of which he wrote and composed (on "Dominated Love Slave", guitarist and vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong played drums). He wrote and sang the subtrack "Rock and Roll Girlfriend" from the medley "Homecoming" featured on the album American Idiot. He also sang and composed the track "DUI" ("Driving Under the Influence"), which was recorded for Green Day's fifth studio album Nimrod (1997) and was due to be released on the compilation album Shenanigans in 2002, but was omitted and can only be found online.
During a radio interview at Washington DC's alternative station DC 101, Cool sang and played acoustic guitar on a short song entitled "Like a Rat Does Cheese," a song about the pleasure of fellatio.
Several live tracks also exist, usually from around 1993, such as "Food Around the Corner", a song from the 1943 Elmer Fudd cartoon An Itch in Time. Another live track, "Billie Joe's Mom" was also recorded.
Cool had also recorded a version of Tay Zonday's "Chocolate Rain." It was posted on YouTube on August 1, 2007. His cover was mentioned in several news journals.[16]
Discography
Green Day
- Kerplunk! (1992) – drums, guitar and lead vocals on "Dominated Love Slave"
- Dookie (1994) – drums, guitar and vocals on "All by Myself"
- Insomniac (1995) – drums
- Nimrod (1997) – drums
- Warning (2000) – drums, accordion
- American Idiot (2004) – drums, lead vocals and piano on "Rock and Roll Girlfriend"
- Bullet in a Bible (2005) – drums, backing vocals
- 21st Century Breakdown (2009) – drums
- Awesome as Fuck (2011) – drums, backing vocals
- ¡Uno! (2012) – drums, vocals
- ¡Dos! (2012) – drums
- ¡Tré! (2012) – drums, piano
DVD
- Bullet in a Bible (film; 2005) – drums, himself, backing vocals
- Awesome as Fuck (film; 2011) – drums, himself, backing vocals
The Lookouts
- One Planet One People (1987) – drums, vocals, lead vocals on "The Mushroom Is Exploding"
- Spy Rock Road (1989) – drums, lead vocals on "That Girl's from Outer Space"
Foxboro Hot Tubs
- Stop Drop and Roll!!! (2008) – drums
The Network
- Money Money 2020 (2003) – drums, lead vocals on "Hungry Hungry Models" (as The Snoo)
Other media appearances
- King of the Hill (TV series; 1997) – Cane Skretteberg
- Riding in Vans with Boys (film; 2003) – himself
- Live Freaky! Die Freaky! (film; 2006) – The Maid
- The Simpsons Movie (film; 2007) – himself
- Green Day: Rock Band (video game; 2010) – himself (Singing voice, archive footage, & Virtual likeness/avatar)
- Anchorman: The Legend Continues (film; 2013] - himself
Equipment
Cool has used drums of different companies over the years, including drums built by DW (Drum Workshop), Ayotte, Slingerland, Sherwood, Ludwig, and Leedy. He currently uses Gretsch drums and Zildjian cymbals.
American Idiot Drum Setup:
Drum Set: Five piece Ludwig Classic Maple Series Kit in Silver Sparkle Finish with Remo Drumheads
- 18"×22" Bass drum with a Clear Powerstroke 3 on batter and Ebony Powerstroke 3 (with Green Day's American Idiot logo) on reso
- 10"×14" Rack Tom with a Coated Emperor on batter and Clear Ambassador on reso
- 16"×16" Floor Tom with a Coated Emperor on batter and Clear Ambassador on reso
- 16"×18" Floor Tom with a Coated Emperor on batter and Clear Ambassador on reso
- 7"×14" Noble & Cooley Classic SS Series Snare with a Coated Powerstroke 3 on Batter and hazy snare side Ambassador on reso (Tré occasionally used a 6.5x14 Ludwig Black Beauty Snare)
- 14" K/Z Special Hi-hats
- 19" K Dark Medium Thin Crash
- 19" A Medium Thin Crash
- 22" A Ping Ride or 22" K Heavy Ride
- 21" A Sweet Ride or 20" Vintage Avedis Ride (Used as Crash). A 21" Bosphorus and a 20" K Crashride as well.
- 20" FX Oriental Classic China (Tré occasionally used the 20" FX Oriental China "Trash")
21st Century Breakdown Drum Setup
Drum Set: Five piece Leedy Custom Maple Kit in White Marine Nitron Finish with Remo Drumheads
- 16"×22" Bass drum with a Clear Powerstroke 3 on batter and Smooth White Powerstroke 3 (with Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown logo) on reso
- 09"×13" Tom with a Coated Emperor on batter and Clear Ambassador on reso
- 16"×16" Floor Tom with a Coated Emperor on batter and Clear Ambassador on reso
- 16"×18" Floor Tom with a Coated Emperor on batter and Clear Ambassador on reso
- 6.5"×14" Leedy Broadway Standard Snare with a Coated Emperor x on batter and hazy snare side Ambassador on reso
- 14" K/Z Special Hi-hats
- 19" K Dark Thin Crash
- 19" A Medium Thin Crash
- 22" A Ping Ride or 22" A Deep Ride
- 21" A Sweet Ride
- 20" FX Oriental Classic China (Tre has used the 20" but in the later shows of the 21st Century Breakdown Tour, He can be seen using the 22 Inch)
‘¡Uno!’ ‘¡Dos!’ ‘¡Tré!’ Setup:
Drum Set: Five piece Gretsch USA Custom Kit with Remo Drumheads
((These drum sizes are most likely correct, but have not been confirmed. The cymbals and drum heads are confirmed.))
- 16"×22" Bass drum with Clear Powerstroke 3 on batter and a Powerstroke 3 (with "¡Uno!" "¡Dos!" and "¡Tré!" logo) on the Resonant.
- 9"×13" Rack Tom with a Coated Emperor on the batter, and a Clear Ambassador on the reso.
- 16"×16" Floor Tom with Coated Emperor on the batter, and clear ambassador on the reso.
- 16"×18" Floor Tom with Coated Emperor on the batter, and clear ambassador on the reso.
- 6.5"×14" USA Custom Wood Snare Drum with an Emperor Coated X on the Batter and a hazy snare side Ambassador on the reso.
- 14" K/Z Special Hi-hats
- 19" K Dark Thin Crash
- 19" A Medium Thin Crash
- 22" A Deep Ride
- 21" A Sweet Ride
- 19" K Custom Hybrid Trash Smash
Gretsch Drums posted a photo in June 2012 on their official Facebook page of Cool with a Gretsch Brooklyn Series Kit in Ruby Red Oyster finish. The picture was accompanied by caption saying, "Green Day’s Tré Cool takes some time from rehearsals from the band’s forthcoming world tour to show some love for his Gretsch Brooklyn". Another was recently posted with Cool standing behind a Gretsch kit in plain oyster finish with an alternative bass drum head displaying the usual "¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, ¡Tré!" insignia. It is still unknown whether this is a set that will be used later in the tour or not.
References
- ^ The spelling Tré is used in the opening and closing credits of the Bullet in a Bible DVD.
- ^ This article on the Bullet in a Bible DVD repeats the Tré spelling found in the credits.
- ^ Owen, Chess. "Names -> Music Performer Pseudonyms -> S". Retrieved 2008-05-12. "The Snoo, Frank Edwin Wright LXI, Tré's cover name when he plays in the band The Network"
- ^ Tre Cool Biography. Greendayauthority.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-26.
- ^ très Reverso French-English Dictionary
- ^ larrylivermore.com: That Damned Exclamation Point. Larrylivermore.blogspot.com (2009-09-13). Retrieved on 2011-06-26.
- ^ Rolling Stone, January 26, 1995
- ^ "Tré Cool Climbs The MTV Globe". 26 Nov 2006.
- ^ Tre Cool wins "Best Punk Drummer" in the 2011 Drummies. Greendayauthority.com1-07-07). Retrieved on 2013-03-19.
- ^ Wasoba, Ryan. (2011-10-24) [http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/rftmusic/2011/10/the_six_best_drum_fills.php?page= 2 The Six Best Drum Fills – St. Louis – Music – FTomusic – Page 2]. Blogs.riverfronttimes.com Retrieved on 2013-03-19.
- ^ a b Fricke, David (May 15, 2009). "Tre Cool on Growing Up Punk and Finding Green Day's Groove". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Kot, Greg (September 26, 2004). "Review: American Idiot – Green Day". The Chicago Tribune (Tribune Company). Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Paulson, Dave (July 30, 2009). "Green Day surprises with age". The Tennessean (Gannett Company). Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Buskin, Richard (February 2, 2011). "Green Day: 'Basket Case' – Classic Tracks". Sound on Sound. SOS Publications Group. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Joal Ryan (August 9, 2007). "The "Chocolate" Reign of Tay Zonday". Retrieved 2007-08-10.
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Tré Cool |
- Tré Cool at the Internet Movie Database
- DRUM! Magazine's interview with Tre Cool
- Tre Cool at DrummerWorld.com
- Tre Cool at BehindTheDrums.com contains discography and equipment list
- Tre Cool at Zildjian.com
- Tre Cool biography on Green Day Authority
- YouTube Chocolate Rain as performed by Tre Cool
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