Derrick William Plourde (October 17, 1971 – March 30, 2005) was an American drummer, musician and artist. Born in

Goleta, California Goleta (; ; Spanish for "Schooner") is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It was incorporated as a city in 2002, after a long period as the largest unincorporated populated area in the county. As of the 2000 c ...

, he was active from 1989 until his death in 2005. Although best known as a former member of

Lagwagon Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara. They formed in 1989, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the band's tour van, which ca ...

, Plourde also played in several different bands like

Bad Astronaut Bad Astronaut is an American indie/alternative rock band founded in 2000 by Joey Cape, singer from Lagwagon. In Bad Astronaut, Joey Cape explores a style of alternative rock, with lyrics often about deep and intricate personal matters. The ban ...

, Jaws,

The Ataris The Ataris are an American punk rock band from Anderson, Indiana. Formed in 1996, they released five studio albums between 1997 and 2007. Their best-selling album is ''So Long, Astoria'' (2003), which was certified gold. Their high-charting s ...

Mad Caddies The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) are a ska punk band from Solvang, California, United States. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. To date, Mad Caddies have sold over 500,000 albums wo ...

and

Rich Kids on LSD Rich Kids on LSD (RKL) was a Californian hardcore punk band formed in 1982 in Montecito, California, a suburb of Santa Barbara. They were associated with the "Nardcore" scene that evolved out of nearby Oxnard. Their music expanded over the year ...

, among others. Besides drums, he played guitar and was described as a multi-instrumentalist. Aside from music, he was known as a skilled painter and gifted carpenter, and appreciated for his off-beat sense of humor. After a long battle with drug addiction, Plourde died by suicide on March 30, 2005.

Career

Plourde first caught the attention of the pop-punk underground in the Goleta/Santa Barbara scene in the early 1990s in the band

(then called Section 8). That recognition expanded outside of the Southern California scene in 1992 with the release of Lagwagon's debut album '' Duh'' (the first release from Fat Wreck Chords) and the two follow-up albums '' Trashed'' and '' Hoss''. Plourde left Lagwagon in 1995 and was replaced by Dave Raun of

RKL Rich Kids on LSD (RKL) was a Californian hardcore punk band formed in 1982 in Montecito, California, a suburb of Santa Barbara. They were associated with the " Nardcore" scene that evolved out of nearby Oxnard. Their music expanded over the yea ...

. In 1997, Plourde contacted

Kris Roe The Ataris are an American punk rock band from Anderson, Indiana. Formed in 1996, they released five studio albums between 1997 and 2007. Their best-selling album is ''So Long, Astoria'' (2003), which was certified gold. Their high-charting s ...

, who were looking for a rhythm section at the time. The two immediately hit it off and Plourde would stay with the band through the recording of their debut album '' Anywhere but Here''. Plourde also played with acclaimed Santa Barbara outfit

, and appeared on their 2001 album ''

Rock the Plank ''Rock the Plank'' is the third full-length release from the Mad Caddies The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) are a ska punk band from Solvang, California, United States. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live ...

''. Later in 2001, Plourde teamed up with his friend and former bandmate Joey Cape in the band Bad Astronaut and played on their first two albums, ''Acrophobe'' and '' Houston: We Have a Drinking Problem''. The band also released a third album in 2006, named ''

Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment ''Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment'' is the third studio album from the American indie rock band, Bad Astronaut. It was released in November, 2006, on Fat Wreck Chords and follows '' Houston: We Have a Drinking Problem'' from 2002 an ...

'', which included several tracks featuring Plourde on drums. After Plourde's death, Cape announced that there will be no more Bad Astronaut albums because "without Derrick, there is no Bad Astronaut".

Influences and playing style

Although Rush's

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

and

's Bomer Manzullo are often credited as his biggest influences, Plourde developed his own distinctive sound and style that was considered innovative and fresh in the hardcore/punk music scene. His playing style can best be described as a mixture of fast, complex grooves and fills, often played with a lot of dynamics. Songs like "Move the Car" and "Rifle" by Lagwagon are often considered the best examples of his skill, speed and technique as these songs involved many things that were prominent in Plourde's style such as linear and syncopated drum grooves, fast single strokes and double strokes with both hands and feet. Songs like "Bury the Hatchet", "Mr.Coffee" and "Give It Back" by

, all originally recorded with Plourde on drums, are also often cited as examples of his

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

influences and outstanding skill and versatility.

Death and tributes

Although the official cause of death and other details were not immediately disclosed, a posting by

frontman

to that band's website confirmed reports that Plourde died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. On the subject of Plourde's suicide, Joey Cape said that he and others felt like "it's not ''if'', it's ''when''". Lagwagon produced a tribute album titled ''

Resolve Resolve may refer to: * ''Resolve'' (Lagwagon album) * ''Resolve'' (Last Tuesday album) * "Resolve" (song), by the Foo Fighters *''The Resolve'', a 1915 American silent short drama film * "Resolve" (''One Tree Hill'' episode) *''Resolve'', a Briti ...

'' in his honor and made a video for the song "Heartbreaking Music" that consisted almost entirely of different photographs of Plourde along with the footage of the band playing. The first verse in the lyrics for the

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on ever ...

song "Doornails", on their '' Wolves in Wolves' Clothing'' album is about Plourde while the song itself is a tribute to punk rock musicians who have died.

References

External links

*
Lagwagon Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plourde, Derrick People with bipolar disorder Suicides by firearm in California 1971 births 2005 suicides People from Goleta, California American punk rock drummers American male drummers American rock drummers 20th-century American drummers The Ataris members Bad Astronaut members Lagwagon members Rich Kids on LSD members 20th-century American male musicians Mad Caddies members