Gregg Keplinger is an American drummer, drum maker, and drum tech from

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

As a drummer

Keplinger began playing the drums at the age of 14, and has played in a large variety of bands ranging across many different styles, from

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

to New Wave to R&B.

Drum making

Keplinger began making drums in the late 80's during a break in his own musical activity. During the 90's he teamed with Ayotte Drums to produce his snares, though he now produces them by himself again. Gregg handcrafts snare drums, cymbals, and percussion out of a variety of metals, mainly stainless steel. His drums have been used by the likes of

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebra ...

Matt Cameron Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986. He appeared on each of ...

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

Jeremy Taggart Jeremy Ronald John Taggart (born April 7, 1975) is a Canadian drummer, radio host, and author, best known for playing with Our Lady Peace from 1993 until 2014. Early life Taggart was born in Toronto, Ontario, later growing up in Mansfield, On ...

, and

Zach Hill Zachary Charles Hill (born December 28, 1979) is an American multi-instrumentalist and visual artist. He is best known as the drummer and co-producer of the groups Death Grips and the I.L.Y's, and as the drummer of math rock band Hella. Ar ...

. Keplinger is best known for his stainless steel drums, which are often noted for their explosive sound as well as heavy weight and shell thickness (3mm).

Drum teching

Gregg has toured the world as a drum tech for Matt Cameron with

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Ya ...

and

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...

Our Lady Peace Our Lady Peace (sometimes shortened to OLP) is a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guitars, and ...

, and

Sunny Day Real Estate Sunny Day Real Estate is an American emo/ indie rock band from Seattle, formed in 1992. The band currently consists of founding members Jeremy Enigk (vocals, guitar), Dan Hoerner (guitar) and William Goldsmith (drums), alongside Greg Sura ...

among others. He also served as a drum tech in the recording studio on Soundgarden's breakthrough album

Superunknown ''Superunknown'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on March 8, 1994, through A&M Records. It is the band's second album with bassist Ben Shepherd, and features new producer Michael Beinhorn. Soundgarden bega ...

. Matt Cameron stated in the June 1994 issue of

Modern Drummer ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, and columns offering advice on technique, as well as information for the general public. ''M ...

magazine that "Gregg (Keplinger) was in the studio this time to help me out with things, changing heads and putting up cymbals. But one of the biggest things to me was that he would play the drums while I went into the control room and helped dial in the sounds. That saved a lot of time and kept me fresh when it was time to do a take."

References

External links

Official Website

Keplinger Drums Website
Living people Musicians from Seattle American drummers Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-drummer-stub