Damon DeLaPaz (born July 22, 1974) is an American drummer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the punk rock groups Fenix TX, 30footFALL, Demasiado, and Sing The Body Electric. He has also recorded an instrumental solo project called Sci-Fi/Horror. DeLaPaz has recorded, performed and toured with a variety of different bands and also toured as a fill in drummer for

Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...

The Vandals The Vandals are an American punk rock band, established in 1980 in Orange County, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums, three live albums, three live DVDs and have toured the world extensively, including performances on ...

Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band formed in Waldorf, Maryland, in 1995. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of Joel Madden (lead vocals), Benji Madden (guitar, vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin (guitar, keyboards), and ...

Pulley Sheave without a rope A pulley is a wheel on an axle or shaft enabling a taut cable or belt passing over the wheel to move and change direction, or transfer power between itself and a shaft. A pulley may have a groove or grooves between flan ...

Home Grown Home Grown is an American ska punk/pop punk band formed in 1994 in Orange County, California. They released three full-length albums and several Extended play, EPs before disbanding in 2005. Their music is often characterized as pop punk, lyr ...

, Ape Machine,

Trash Talk (band) Trash Talk is an American hardcore punk band from Sacramento, California, formed in 2005. They have toured all around the world including Japan and Europe, as well as performed in many festivals in support of their releases which helped give the ...

, and

The Last Internationale The Last Internationale (TLI) is an American rock band formed by New York City guitarist Edgey Pires and vocalist Delila Paz. The group is known for its socially-conscious lyrics and strong live performances. Ben Hugues at Uber Rock says that " ...

History

30 Foot Fall

DeLaPaz was recruited to play drums for 30 Foot Fall in the early 1990s by then drummer Rubio Cisneros and lead singer Butch Klotz. Touring Houston,

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, and

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, 30 Foot Fall's popularity grew. The band at this point had developed their own sound, comparable to early

NOFX NOFX () was an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Bassist/lead vocalist Fat Mike, rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin were original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

or based on elements developed by

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...

. DeLaPaz's first recording with the band was on the "Elementary School Love" 7". 30 Foot Fall then recorded and released their first full length LP, ''Divided We Stand'' on Fuzzgun Records in 1995 and began touring the United States extensively, eventually gaining a strong underground fanbase. The band followed up their first LP with the Junior High Sucked 7" and in 1996

Fearless Records Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...

signed the band and produced their next record, ''

Acme-143 30 Foot Fall (stylized as 30footFALL) is an American punk rock band that began in Houston, Texas.30 Foot FallMyspace.com/ref> History The band played their first show on Mother's Day in 1993Fitzgeralds, "Fitzgerald's Christmas Show W/30 Foot F ...

''. DeLaPaz toured extensively with the band during their most active years before moving to California with his other band, Fenix TX.

Riverfenix / Fenix Tx

Fenix TX formed in late 1995 in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

under the name Riverfenix by

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

s Will Salazar and Damon DeLaPaz (also the drummer for 30 Foot Fall at the time). The four piece played extensively on the

Texan Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wit ...

pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

scene alongside such renowned bands as 30 Foot Fall, Good Riddance and Goldfinger. In 1996, the band released their debut EP '' G.B.O.H.'' under the Houston-based

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

Fuzzgun Records, which they then followed by playing the Mullets Across America Tour with

Cousin Oliver File:The Brady Bunch.jpg, 300px, Characters of ''The Brady Bunch'' (Mouse over to identify) rect 0 0 105 79 Marcia Brady rect 108 0 211 79 Carol Brady rect 216 0 320 79 Greg Brady rect 0 82 105 159 Jan Brady rect 108 82 211 15 ...

and

The Hippos The Hippos were an United States, American Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Los Angeles, California, and disbanded in 2002. The band released three full-length albums. Their early work is best classified as part of the third wave of ska ...

. Two Mojo Records

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

s Richard and Stefanie Reines, were on the brink of starting their own label,

Drive-Thru Records Drive-Thru Records was a California-based independent record label owned by siblings Richard and Stefanie Reines. The label was partially responsible for popularizing the pop-punk/emo merger sound of the early to mid-2000s. After facing financi ...

, and agreed to sign Riverfenix as their first band. In December 1997, Drive-Thru released Riverfenix's thirteen-track full-length debut '' Riverfenix'', produced by Jim Barnes. Within the following year, the album managed to sell out its first three

print run Print circulation is the average number of copies of a publication. The number of copies of a non-periodical publication (such as a book) are usually called print run. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulat ...

s of 5,000 copies each.

Mark Hoppus Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician and record producer. He is the co-lead vocalist, co-founder, and bassist for the rock band Blink-182 and the only member to appear on every album. Hoppus became interested in ska ...

offered the band an opening slot on an upcoming Blink-182 tour, and eventually became their

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. Hoppus passed managing duties on to Blink-182 manager Rick DeVoe. While Fenix TX's song "Speechless" was slowly garnering radio airplay and major labels' attention, Hoppus' effort in promoting Riverfenix was overheard by Blink-182's record label MCA, who showed major interest in signing the band. Riverfenix became Fenix TX. With a new

record deal A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

, Fenix TX re-recorded the majority of their 1997

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous album for their MCA debut '' Fenix TX'' with new tracks produced by

Ryan Greene Ryan Greene is an American record producer, sound engineer, former owner of Crush Recording Studios in Scottsdale, Arizona and founder of Area 52 Entertainment in Los Angeles, California. He has worked with many artists including Jay-Z, Lita For ...

and mixed by

Jerry Finn Jermone Gregory Finn (March 31, 1969 – August 21, 2008), sometimes credited as "Huckle" Jerry Finn, was an American record producer and mix engineer. He worked with numerous punk rock and pop-punk artists such as Blink-182, AFI, Sum 41, Alka ...

, and released it July 13, 1999. The album debuted at #115 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and reached #3 on ''Billboard'''s

Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

. The hit

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"All My Fault" received heavy radio and TV airplay, triggered through the song's integration in the

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...

Jailbait Jailbait is slang for a person who is younger than the legal age of consent for sexual activity and usually appears older, with the implication that a person above the age of consent might find them sexually attractive. The term ''jailbait'' i ...

'' (2000), which even featured a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

by Fenix TX. The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, in return, starred Alycia Purrott from the cast of ''Jailbait'', as well as Blink-182's Hoppus. "All My Fault" reached #21 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Modern Rock charts. Fenix TX went on numerous tours, including the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...

and both national and international tours with label mates

Blink 182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...

and

New Found Glory New Found Glory (formerly A New Found Glory) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Coral Springs, Florida, in 1997. The band currently consists of Jordan Pundik (lead vocals), Ian Grushka (bass), Chad Gilbert (guitar, backing vocals), ...

. However, in late 2000, drummer Reyes left the band to pursue other interests. To compensate, DeLaPaz took over drumming duties for the band. DeLaPaz's second recording with the band, ''Lechuza'' was released on May 22, 2001 and debuted on #87 of the Billboard 200, with its single "

Threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". While the term ''threesome'' typically refers to sexual activity involvin ...

" reaching #66 on the UK Singles Chart. "Lechuza" featured DeLaPaz on Guitar as well as Drums. The album was produced by

and also includes Keyboard tracks performed by

Roddy Bottum Roswell Christopher Bottum (born July 1, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist for the San Francisco alternative metal band Faith No More. He is also guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the pop group Imperial Teen, best know ...

of the band

Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...

. The hidden track at the end of the album entitled "Kool-Aid", features DeLaPaz on all instruments. The instrumental song was inspired by a

drum cadence In music, a drum cadence or street beat is a work played exclusively by the percussion section of a modern marching band (see marching percussion). It is stylistically descended from early military marches, and related to military cadences, as ...

that DeLaPaz and Salazar performed as part of the drum line in their high school marching band. The decision to break up the band occurred in the middle of the writing process for what would have become Fenix TX's third album. On September 19, 2002, the disbandment of Fenix TX was officially announced. However, the band reunited again to record a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

at The Clubhouse in

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

, which was released under the title '' Purple Reign in Blood - Live'' on November 8, 2005. DeLaPaz's concept for the album's artwork merged the band's logo with the pentagram from Thrash Metal Band

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

's logo on top of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's iconic glyph. The album's artwork resulted in a cease and desist order from Prince's attorneys.

Sing the Body Electric

After the breakup of Fenix TX in September 2002, DeLaPaz and Adam Lewis recruited singer Anthony Scalamere, bassist Jason Torbert and ex-Fenix TX guitarist James Love (who was replaced by guitarist/

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

Tony Montemarano in February 2004) for their experimental/hardcore side-project Big Black Boat. Soon after the formation, the name of the project was changed first to ChChCh HaHaHa and officially became Sing the Body Electric on February 15, 2004. Sing the Body Electric recorded their eponymous six song EP ''Sing the Body Electric'', which was released by Restart Records on August 10, 2004. The band put on many energetic live performances in Southern California alongside bands such as

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

and

Unwritten Law Unwritten Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California by drummer Wade Youman. The band has undergone multiple line-up changes, with Youman the sole remaining original member – however, he has left the group twice in i ...

, and embarked on one US tour opening for Fu Manchu. Sing the Body Electric's musical style was completely different from that of Fenix TX, and tended more towards

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

and

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

Equipment

Kit

*Drums - Pork Pie Percussion Custom set **13x9" Tom **16x18" Floor Tom **18x20" Floor Tom **26x22" Bass Drum **14x9" Pork Pie Percussion Custom Snare *Cymbals -

Amedia Amedia AS is the second largest media company in Norway (the largest is Schibsted and the third largest is Polaris Media). The company is whole or partial owner of 50 local and regional newspaper with online newspapers and printing presses, an ...

**15" Hi-Hats **22" Ride **18" Crash **6" Bell *Sticks - Vater ** Vater Signature Sticks.

Discography

* 30footFALL - "Elementary School Love" 7" (Yo Mama's Records, 1994) - Drums * 30footFALL - "Divided We Stand" LP (Fuzzgun Records, 1994) - Drums * 30footFALL - "Jr. High Sucked" 7" (1996) - Drums * 30footFALL - "Acme 143" LP (

, 1997) - Drums * 30footFALL - "Cartoons 7" ( Die Cow Die Records, 1998) - Drums * Riverfenix - "G.B.O.H." EP (Fuzzgun Records, 1996) - Guitar * Riverfenix - S/T LP (

, 1997) - Guitar * Fenix TX - S/T LP (

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

. 1999) - Guitar * Fenix TX - "Lechuza" LP

. 2001) - Drums, Guitar * Fenix TX - "Purple Reign In Blood Live" LP (

. 2005) - Drums * Sing The Body Electric - S/T ( Restart Records, 2004) - Drums * Sci-Fi/Horror - S/T (Sci-Fi/Horror Records, 2006) - All Instruments * Demasiado - "May The Horse Be With You" LP (Sci-Fi/Horror Records, 2006) - All Instruments * Demasiado - "EP" (Sezio Records, 2006) - Drums, Guitar * Demasiado - "One Night In A Vision Cult" - Drums, Guitar * Lindsey Cook - "Cold Days" EP (Sezio Records, 2007) - Drums, Guitar * Demasiado - "Birth of a Worm in the Inner Ear" (2008) - Guitar * Avitia - "Oceanside Boulevard" EP ( Broken Note Records, 2008) - Drums, Percussion * ManOverboard - "Port Towns" (2011) - Drums * Doom, Doom, Doom - "Exiles" (2012) - Guitar *

Ape Machine Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a superfamily of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and Europe in prehistory, and counting humans are found global ...

- "Mangled By The Machine" (2013) - Drums *

- "Live at Freak Valley" (2014) - Drums *

- "Coalition of the Unwilling" (2015) - Drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delapaz, Damon 1974 births American rock drummers American rock guitarists Living people 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 21st-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Drummers from Houston