Thomas Armon Pridgen (born November 23, 1983) is an American drummer, best known for his role as the drummer of

The Mars Volta The Mars Volta is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership forms the core of the ban ...

from 2006 until 2009. He is touring with rapper Residente and is the drummer for

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 ...

band

Trash Talk Trash talk is a form of spoken insult usually found in sports events, although it is not exclusive to sports or similarly characterized events. It is often used to intimidate the opposition and/or make them less confident in their ability to wi ...

, as well as his own project The Memorials. In 2023 he joined

Fever 333 Fever 333 (or the Fever 333) is an American rock band formed in Inglewood, California, in July 2017. The band was founded by former Letlive vocalist Jason Aalon Butler, former the Chariot guitarist Stephen Harrison and Night Verses drummer A ...

Biography

Pridgen won the Guitar Center Drum-Off at age nine, and at age ten was the youngest recipient for a

Zildjian The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded by the ethnic Armenian Zildjian family in the 17th-century Ottoman Empire, the com ...

endorsement in the nearly 400-year history of the company. Pridgen is also naturally left-handed, but plays the drum kit as if he is a right-hander with his kit set-up right-handed. Pridgen has studied with David Garibaldi, Walfredo Reyes Sr., Troy Lucketta, and Curtis Nutall. He endorses DW Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Evans Drumheads, Audix Microphones, and

Drumsticks (as of 2017). Pridgen was also the recipient of a four-year scholarship to

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

in 1999 at the age of 15; he was the youngest musician to ever receive this scholarship. He has played in clinics with Walfredo Reyes Jr. and Dennis Chambers. By his teenage years he had already done studio sessions with many Bay Area Gospel artists. Pridgen's first non-gospel touring experience was as the drummer for

The Coup The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned politica ...

, who he worked with in 2001 and 2002. In 2006, Pridgen received a call from Omar Rodríguez-López of

: In 2007, Pridgen became the new permanent drummer for The Mars Volta. Pridgen's first appearance was at the March 12 show in New Zealand, where the band debuted the song "Idle Tooth" which was later renamed " Wax Simulacra" for the forthcoming album. After shows in New Zealand and Australia, The Mars Volta toured a few West Coast venues as the headliner, then entered the studio to record their fourth LP, '' The Bedlam in Goliath''. Pridgen's style on ''Bedlam in Goliath'' used "blistering 32nd-note full-set combinations, stunning single-stroke rolls, and blazing single bass drum patterns" along with creative and precise paradiddle technique. Pridgen has been voted as 'Best Up and Coming Drummer' by ''Modern Drummer'' magazine. Besides his work with The Mars Volta, he has also been involved with

Christian Scott Christian Scott may refer to: * Christian Scott (baseball) (born 1999), American baseball player * Christian Scott (musician) Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah () (born March 31, 1983, formerly Christian Scott) is an American jazz trumpeter, multi-instr ...

and Wicked Wisdom. Pridgen, for some time, was working with singer

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole (née Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, television personality and actress. Dubbed by critics as the " Princess of Hip-Hop Soul", she is known for her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. Bor ...

as her live and session drummer and being her music director. He also was featured alongside Tony Royster Jr., Eric Moore, and others in drumming DVD entitled "Shed Sessions", a Gospel Chops DVD. Pridgen was also featured on the Modern Drummer 2008 DVD with footage from his performance at the festival.

Departure from The Mars Volta (2009)

In October 2009, Pridgen left The Mars Volta. To this day, the band has made no official statement as to the reason for the departure. Dave Elitch subsequently filled in the drummer position for the remainder of the tour, who was then replaced by Deantoni Parks.

The Memorials (December 2009)

In December 2009, Pridgen formed another band called The Memorials with friends and former students from

- Viveca Hawkins (vocals) and Nick Brewer (guitars). The band's self-titled debut was released on January 18, 2011.

Elixir on Mute (2010)

By invitation of Elixir on Mute's headman Jordan Ferreira, Pridgen took part in the recording of the band's debut End of Sky (released September 1 2010). November 10, 2011, the band had decided upon a name, Giraffe Tongue Orchestra. By then the supergroup was working on writing songs. In January 2012, it was announced that fellow former The Mars Volta drummer

Jon Theodore Jon Philip Theodore (born December 30, 1973) is an American drummer. He has been the current drummer for Queens of the Stone Age since 2013, and is also known for being the drummer for the Mars Volta from 2001 to 2006. Known for his explosive, ...

replaced Pridgen in Giraffe Tongue Orchestra, though by March 2015, Pridgen once again became the drummer of GTO.

The Memorials (Delirium), TEN (Eric McFadden), Vigilant (Jon Reshard), Thundercat (Stephen Bruner), Elixir On Mute (Jordan Ferreira), Wicked Evolution (Jada Pinkett Smith) (2012)

''The Memorials'' Still working on his personal project The Memorials. His second album, Delirium, released on June 5, 2012. The track "Fluorescent's Unforgiving" was released via Soundcloud in November 2011. ''TEN'' Spring of 2012, teamed up with guitarist, Eric McFadden (P-Funk, The Animals, Stockholm Syndrome), and Fishbone bassist, Norwood Fisher. phYne Entertainment produced five tracks for the new trio in a San Francisco studio. The project is called, TEN, as there is talk of a tour in the fall. ''Vigilant'' Recording album with Jon Reshard, Chloe Pappas, Jordan Ferreira. Work to be released in 2012. ''Thundercat'' Guest live drummer in support of Thundercat. Toured all over Europe in spring 2012. ''Wicked Evolution'' Took part in Wicked Evolution Jada Pinkett Smith's Live Recorded Sessions. ''European tour with The Memorials'' After completing 3 tours (Freedom Tour, Equinox Tour, Waterguns, B B Q, & Hot Chocolate Tour) over the United States with The Memorials, the band are preparing for a European tour to launch in October 2012. ''Pinnick Gales Pridgen'' On February 12, 2013, Magna Carta released the Mike Varney-produced "Pinnick Gales Pridgen", featuring Eric Gales on guitar and vocals, dUg Pinnick (of

King's X King's X is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Springfield, Missouri, in 1979. They were first called the Edge and later became Sneak Preview before settling on its current name in 1985. The band's current lineup has remained intact fo ...

) on bass and vocals, and Pridgen on drums. The 13-track album features one cover song, "

Sunshine of Your Love "Sunshine of Your Love" is a 1967 song by the British rock band Cream. With elements of hard rock and psychedelia, it is one of Cream's best known and most popular songs. Cream bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce based it on a distinctive bass riff h ...

", originally by

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

, one short instrumental based on

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's "

Für Elise Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor (WoO59, Biamonti Catalogue, Bia515) for solo piano, commonly known as "Für Elise" (, ), is one of Ludwig van Beethoven's most significant popular compositions. It was not published during his lifetime, only being disc ...

", and the remaining songs written by some combination of Pinnick, Gales, Pridgen and Varney.

Suicidal Tendencies, Chiodos, Trash Talk (2014)

On March 11, 2014, Pridgen confirmed on his Instagram and Facebook page that he has joined

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice, California, by vocalist Mike Muir. The band has undergone various lineup changes, with Muir as the only remaining original member. Their current lineup includes ...

. On September 3, Pridgen along with Joseph Troy have joined Chiodos after members Derrick Frost and Matt Goddard left the band. During this time period, Pridgen also recorded the drums for the album "No Peace", by

, which was released April 22, 2014.

Giraffe Tongue Orchestra (2011, 2015–2017)

In mid-2011, it was announced that Pridgen was working on a new group with

Mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

vocalist and guitarist Brent Hinds,

the Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of Consonance and ...

guitarist

Ben Weinman Benjamin A. Weinman (born August 8, 1975) is an American musician, most notable for being the lead guitarist and primary songwriter of the mathcore band the Dillinger Escape Plan (DEP). He is the founder and sole constant member of the DEP, he i ...

, and former

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...

bassist

Eric Avery Eric Adam Avery (born April 25, 1965) is an American musician. He is best known as the founding bass guitarist and co-songwriter of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded two studio albums. From 2005 to 2022, Avery ...

. Giraffe Tongue Orchestra was founded in 2012. The band's debut album '' Broken Lines'' was released September 23, 2016 with the main line-up featuring Hinds, Pridgen and Weinman, who were joined by William DuVall from

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

and Pete Griffin from Dethklok.

Residente, rejoining Trash Talk and joining Fever 333 (2017–present)

On March 31, 2017, rapper Residente released his debut solo album self-titled Residente. Pridgen was announced later as part of the touring members of the Residente band. In May 2020, Pridgen announced he has rejoined Trash Talk to record their new EP, Squalor, which is due to be released June 6. In 2021, The Mask of the Phantasm released their debut album '' New Axial Age'' featuring Pridgen on drums alongside another former member of

, Adrián Terrazas-González. In 2023,

frontman

Jason Aalon Butler Jason Aalon Alexander Butler (born July 17, 1986) is an American musician and political activist from Inglewood, California. He is best known as the lead singer of the post-hardcore band Letlive. He is currently part of the rapcore band Fever ...

announced that Pridgen, along with April Kae and Brandon Davis, are the new members of the band, replacing original members Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta, as drummer, bassist and guitarist, respectively. The band's debut single as a quartet, "$wing," was released on May 31, 2023.

Equipment

With The Mars Volta

Bedlam Tour Kit (2007 - 2008)

* DW Collector's Series &

Cymbals: *Drums - Clear Acrylic **12x8" Tom **13x10" Tom **15x13" Floor Tom **16x14" Floor Tom **18x16" Floor Tom **24x20" Bass Drum **14x6.5" DW Copper Snare *Cymbals -

**18" 2A Crashes used as Hi-Hats **24" A Medium Ride **20" A Armand Ride **20" A Custom Crash **20" Oriental Crash Of Doom **18" A Custom EFX Crash, 9" Oriental Splash, 16" Oriental China (x2) (cymbals stacked) **19" K Custom Hybrid China

Octahedron Tour Kit (2009)

* DW Jazz Series &

Cymbals: *Drums - Maple & Gum **12x12" Tom **13x13" Tom **15x13" Floor Tom **16x14" Floor Tom **18x16" Floor Tom **24x20" Bass Drum **14x7 Red Maple Snare *Cymbals -

**18" A Crashes 2used as Hi-Hats **24" A Medium Ride **24" K Custom Ride 2**18" A Custom EFX Crash, 9" Oriental Splash, 16" Oriental China (x2) (cymbals stacked) **20" A Custom China **20" Crash of Doom

With The Memorials

* DW Collector's Series &

Cymbals: *Drums - Clear Acrylic **12x7" Tom **13x8" Tom **16x14" Floor Tom **18x16" Floor Tom **24x16" Bass Drum **14x6.5" DW Stainless steel snare *Cymbals -

**19" 2Z3 Custom Crashes used as Hi-Hats **24" A Medium Ride **20" A Custom Crash **20" Z3 Crash **18" A Custom EFX Crash, 9" Oriental Splash, 16" Oriental China (x2) (cymbals stacked) **20" A Custom China **Wind Chimes *Drum Heads - Evans **Toms: (12", 13", 15", 16") Clear G2s (top), Clear Resonants (bottom) **Bass Drum: (24") Clear EQ3 (batter), Clear EQ3 (with small hole) (resonant) **Snares : (14") Clear G2 (top), 300 Hazy (bottom) *Thomas also used DW 9000 Series Hardware and Pedals, Pro-Mark TX510 Thomas Pridgen Autograph drumsticks, &

Shure Shure Inc. is an audio products corporation headquartered in the USA. It was founded by Sidney N. Shure in Chicago, Illinois, in 1925 as a supplier of radio parts kits. The company became a manufacturer of consumer and professional audio-electr ...

Microphones. *Thomas has recently been seen using a kit made from resin by a company based out of Ventura, CA Thump Drums.

Discography

For a more complete discography, se
Thomas Pridgen's entry on Album Credits

With Zenith Patrol

* ''VU'' (2005)

With Christian Scott

*'' Rewind That'' (2006)

With Eric Gales

*''Crystal Vision'' - (2006) *''Psychedelic Underground (Eric Gales album)'' - (2007)

With dUg Pinnick and Eric Gales

*"Pinnick Gales Pridgen" - (2013) *"PGP 2" - (2014)

With The Mars Volta

* '' The Bedlam in Goliath'' (2008) * ''

Octahedron In geometry, an octahedron (: octahedra or octahedrons) is any polyhedron with eight faces. One special case is the regular octahedron, a Platonic solid composed of eight equilateral triangles, four of which meet at each vertex. Many types of i ...

'' (2009)

With Omar Rodríguez-López

*'' Calibration (Is Pushing Luck and Key Too Far)'' (2007) - "Mexico", "Sidewalk Fins", "Las Lagrimas de Arakuine" *'' Los Sueños de un Hígado'' (2009) *''

Xenophanes Xenophanes of Colophon ( ; ; – c. 478 BC) was a Greek philosopher, theologian, poet, and critic of Homer. He was born in Ionia and travelled throughout the Greek-speaking world in early classical antiquity. As a poet, Xenophanes was known f ...

'' (2009) *''

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun appears directly above the equator, rather than to its north or south. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise directly east and set directly west. This occurs twice each year, arou ...

'' (2013) - "Sueños Salvajes" & "Popolon" *''¿Sólo Extraño?'' (2013) - "Common Condescend" *'' Nom de Guerre Cabal'' (2016) - "Nom de Guerre" *'' Some Need It Lonely'' (2016) - "Sanity a Dream", "Back to the Same", "Zero Worth"/"Barachiel Is At It Again" *'' Gorilla Preacher Cartel'' (2017) - "Lección en Ignoracia" *'' Solid State Mercenaries'' (2017) - "Five Star" & "Try On Little Man"

With Juliette Lewis

* ''

Terra Incognita ''Terra incognita'' or ''terra ignota'' (Latin "unknown land"; ''incognita'' is stressed on its second syllable in Latin, but with variation in pronunciation in English) is a term used in cartography for regions that have not been mapped or d ...

'' (2009)

With Elixir on Mute

*''End of Sky'' (2010)

With Foxy Shazam

*'' Foxy Shazam'' (2010)

With Thundercat

*''Lotus And The Jondy'' (2013)

With Jada Pinkett Smith

*''Live Recording Sessions'' (2012)

With The Memorials

*'' The Memorials'' (2011) *''Delirium'' (2012)

With Trash Talk

*" No Peace" (2014) *"Squalor" (2020)

With Spiritworld

*''Pagan Rhythms'' (2020) *''DEATHWESTERN'' (2022)

References

External links

*
Thomas Pridgen's on Album CreditsDrum Channel , Thomas Pridgen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pridgen, Thomas 1983 births Living people People from Alameda County, California African-American drummers African-American rock musicians Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni Berklee College of Music alumni Grammy Award winners Progressive rock drummers 21st-century American drummers 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians Drummers from California American male drummers