Chuck Treece (born May 30, 1964) is a session musician and professional skateboarder from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In 1984, he became famous for being the first African-American skateboarder to be featured on the cover of ''Thrasher'' magazine. His musical credits include starting the 1980s

skate punk Skate punk (also known as skatecore and skate rock) is a skater subculture and punk rock subgenre that developed in the 1980s. Originally a form of hardcore punk that had been closely associated with skate culture, skate punk evolved into a mo ...

band McRad, remixing songs for

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

and

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

, playing the bass line on "

The River of Dreams "The River of Dreams" is a song by American musician Billy Joel. It is the title track and first single from his 1993 album, ''River of Dreams.'' The song was a hit, peaking at number three on the US and UK charts, making it Joel's best-charting ...

" by

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

, filling in on drums at a

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, guita ...

concert, and touring with

Urge Overkill Urge Overkill is an American alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, Illinois, United States, consisting of Nathan Kaatrud, who took the stage name Nash Kato (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser (vocals/guitar/bass guitar). They are widely ...

Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

and

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...

. In 2010, he was awarded a

Pew Fellowships in the Arts A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the th ...

. Chuck currently plays bass in a thrash metal band called ACTiVATE. Treece

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

med on the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''Mass'' by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

Bedouin Soundclash Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band based in Toronto and consisting of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, bass player Eon Sinclair and drummer Chuck Treece. Their sound has been described as a combination of reggae and ska. Bedouin Soundcla ...

Life

Treece grew up in

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington. According to the 2010 United States Census, ...

, where he attended

John Dickinson High School The John Dickinson School, previously known as John Dickinson High School, is a public high school in the Pike Creek, Delaware, Pike Creek area of Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of five high schools in the Red Clay Consolidated School District an ...

, but moved to Philadelphia in 1982 because, according to Treece, "I was sick of high-school and I knew I wasn't going to college. I knew I wanted to do music and skate." Between 1982 and 1990, he was a professional skater with endorsements by several

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

, including

Santa Cruz Skateboards NHS, Inc. is a United States sports equipment distribution company based in Santa Cruz, California.(May 21–27, 1998."Extreme Success - A hedonist work ethic leads to big bucks for SC entrepreneurial slacker"fro''Metro Santa Cruz'' published by ...

Powell-Peralta Powell Peralta is an American skateboard company founded by George Powell and Stacy Peralta in 1978. The company rose to prominence in the 1980s as skateboarding began maturing as a sport. The company featured the Bones Brigade, a team featurin ...

, and Airwalk sneakers. Treece released two albums with his band McRad, ''Absence of Sanity'' in the 1980s (rereleased 2001) and ''FDR'' in 2007. Treece considered his band a skaterock band, stating that in addition to himself, band members Tristan, Ethan and Zeke were also active skaters. Treece also played guitar with

New York hardcore New York hardcore (also known as NYHC) is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Wa ...

band Underdog and recorded on their 1989 LP "Vanishing Point". In 1991, he also released a solo album on

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label originally founded in 1973. Initially founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976, and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. ...

titled ''Dream'n''. Starting in 2001, Treece was also a founding member of Philadelphia punk band Stiffed. The band helped launch the chart-topping solo career of Stiffed's vocalist Santi White under the stage name of

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...

, who credits Treece as "the person that got me to sing." Most recently, Treece joined producer Chris DiBeneditto at Philadelphonic Studios to record the drum tracks for

The Movement The Movement may refer to: Politics * The Movement (Iceland), a political party in Iceland * The Movement (Israel), a political party in Israel, led by Tzipi Livni * Civil rights movement, the African-American political movement * The Movemen ...

's 2008 rock/reggae album '' Set Sail''. After recording the album, fellow McRad bandmember Gary Jackson took on the role as drummer for The Movement. Treece continues to skate at

FDR Skatepark FDR Skatepark is a skatepark located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is accessible from the Pattison Avenue stop of the Broad Street subway line. The park has long been popular with notable local skaters such as Willy Akers, Chu ...

in Philadelphia and works closely with legendary producer Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo. In 2010 Treece joined Philly/NYC punk band

Plastic Eaters Plastic Eaters are a punk rock group formed in 1996 by English musician Stan Stammers and vocalist Rob Daly. Stammers was formerly bass player with Theatre of Hate and later Spear of Destiny. Originally hailing from Philadelphia, the band are n ...

as their resident drummer. In 2014 Treece continued his Long time musical connection with legendary singer Rof the

writing and recording new tracks in the studio and performing live shows on Drums with HR and Philly Dub/ Reggae outfit I Yahn I Arkestra notably featuring Treece's childhood Musical mentor, the original Dub Warrior Timi Tanzania. In January 2016 Treece played second guitar in the DC hardcore group

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

at the

Black Cat A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...

in Washington DC for a benefit show for area musician Doc Night.

References

External links

McRad
on Myspace
McRad Discography
*
Philadelphia City Paper
August 2007 article {{DEFAULTSORT:Treece, Chuck 1964 births Living people African-American rock musicians American skateboarders Musicians from Philadelphia People from Newark, Delaware Pew Fellows in the Arts African-American skateboarders Artist skateboarders 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople