Tony Royster Jr. (born October 9, 1984, in Nuremberg, Germany) is an American drummer. He was raised in

Hinesville, Georgia Hinesville is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is located on the Atlantic coastal plain. The county seat of Liberty County, Georgia, Liberty County, it had a population of 34,891 at the 2020 United States census, 202 ...

and is a 2002 graduate of Liberty County High School. His father began to teach him how to play the drums at the age of three. He is the son of Tony Sr. and Gayle Royster, and has one brother, Calvin Royster. All still reside in Hinesville, GA.

Biography

Royster was given endorsement deals with DW Drums, Zildjian Cymbals,

Vic Firth Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. He was also known for his association ...

sticks, Remo drumheads, LP percussion, Drumframe, Shure microphones, Warner Bros. Publications and Gopro Cameras. Royster has played with Imajin, Lazyeye, New Flava, and

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the singl ...

. He performed on the

42nd Annual Grammy Awards The 42nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2000, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1999. Nominations were announced on January 4, 2000. Santana was the main ...

show at the age of 15, and an international tour in 2001 backing #1 selling Japanese artist

Hikaru Utada , also known mononymously as Utada, is a Japanese and American singer, songwriter, and producer. She is considered to be one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan. She is best known by international audiences for w ...

as well as performing with

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and comedian who served as David Letterman's musical director, bandleader, and sidekick on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1993) and ''Late Show with D ...

(of ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'') in the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

House Band. In addition, he is also currently playing with

Francisco Fattoruso Francisco Fattoruso (born August 10, 1979, in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a Uruguayan musician and bass player. He is the son of Hugo Fattoruso and María de Fátima Quinhões, both of them musicians. He has played with several artists such as: Ru ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

Joe Jonas Joseph Adam Jonas (born August 15, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the pop rock band the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers Kevin Jonas, Kevin and Nick Jonas, Nick. The group released their ...

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and his own band. Royster Jr. released the videos "Pure Energy" (2007), and The Evolution of Tony Royster (2009), which are both more inspirational than instructional. Some other high points of his career include playing the Glastonbury Festival and President Barack Obama's inaugural ball with

in 2009. He has received the “Louis Armstrong Jazz Award”, a prestigious award that recognizes a musician's level of musicianship, character, and individual creativity. Tony has also received a “Senior Award” for his accomplishments in the world of drumming. In 2006, Tony Royster Jr. teamed up with Hidden Beach Recordings to produce Unwrapped Vol. 6: Give the Drummer Some!, debuting at #1 on the jazz charts. On August 22, 2011, he was the featured artist on ''

'', performing a drum solo for Drum Solo Week II. Royster Jr. was also featured The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 3, 2011, and on Conan on November 7, 2011, alongside Joe Jonas. He has also performed a solo on the Jenny Jones show for the World's Most Talented Kids and Pets taping at the age of 12. He also toured with

Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his cover (music), song covers uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record labe ...

in 2016 and 2017, playing over 100 shows with him.

Equipment

His solo kit configuration with groups like Imajin include: * DW Drums Collectors Maple * 18"x22" 2Bass drum with 8"x22" 2Bass drum woofer * 5"x13" Collectors Maple snare * 7"x8" Rack Tom * 8"x10" Rack Tom * 9"x12" Rack Tom * 11"x14" Floor Tom * 13"x15" Floor Tom * 14"x18" Floor Tom His Kit while on tour with Jay-Z consists of: * DW Drums Collectors Maple * 18"x22" Bass drum * 5"x13" Collectors Maple snare * 8"x10" Rack Tom * 9"x12" Rack Tom * 13"x15" Floor Tom * 14"x18" Floor Tom Tony uses DW 9000 pedals, DW 9000 hardware, Remo Drumheads, & Vic Firth Sticks Tony uses Sabian Cymbals as of October 2022 *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Royster, Tony Jr. 1984 births Living people People from Hinesville, Georgia American funk drummers American male drummers American jazz drummers Imajin members African-American drummers Awolnation members 21st-century American drummers 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians Jazz fusion drummers Drummers from Georgia (U.S. state)

Biography

Equipment

References

Further reading

External links