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 Fenix TX (styled as Fenix*TX) is an American pop punk band. The band originally formed as Riverfenix in 1995 in Houston, Texas. They released an Extended play, EP, ''G.B.O.H.'', and an album, ''Riverfenix (album), Riverfenix'', on independent rec ...

, 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 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...

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, two live albums, and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped ...

Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of twin brothers Joel Madden (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (guitar and vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin (g ...

Pulley A pulley is a wheel on an axle or shaft that is designed to support movement and change of direction of a taut cable or belt, or transfer of power between the shaft and cable or belt. In the case of a pulley supported by a frame or shell that ...

Home Grown Home Grown was a North American ska punk/pop punk band formed in 1994 in Orange County, California. They released three full-length albums and several EPs before disbanding in 2005. Their music is often characterized as pop punk, lyrically f ...

, 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 "Li ...

History

30 Foot Fall

DeLaPaz was recruited to play drums for

30 Foot Fall 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 ...

in the early 90s by then drummer Rubio Cisneros and lead singer Butch Klotz. Touring Houston,

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, and

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

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

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are 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 guitaris ...

. 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,

Riverfenix / Fenix Tx

Fenix TX formed in late 1995 in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

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 themselv ...

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 (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

scene alongside such renowned bands as

, Good Riddance and Goldfinger. In 1996, the band released their debut EP '' G.B.O.H.'' under the Houston-based

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

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, Marcia Brady rect 108 0 211 79 #Carol Brady, Carol Brady rect 216 0 320 79 #Greg Brady, Greg Brady rect 0 ...

and

The Hippos The Hippos were an American 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 music, or as ska-punk, th ...

. 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 practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

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 financia ...

, 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, songwriter and record producer best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist for the rock band Blink-182, being the only constant member and the only one to appear on every album. ...

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

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. 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 artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

, Fenix TX re-recorded the majority of their 1997

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous album for their MCA debut ''

'' 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. In an over 25-year-long career he has worked with many art ...

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, Alkal ...

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

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "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 by new an ...

. 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 or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

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

by Fenix TX. The

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

, 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 advertise ...

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

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

and both national and international tours with label mates

Blink 182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...

and

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

. 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 commonly understood as "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". Though ''threesome'' most commonly refers to sexua ...

" reaching #66 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. "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 kn ...

of the band

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...

. 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, ...

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 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 ...

at The Clubhouse in

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

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

'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. Th ...

'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 instr ...

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 ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

and

Unwritten Law Unwritten Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California. They have released seven full-length studio albums and have toured internationally, including performances on the Warped Tour. They are notable for their singles " ...

, 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; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

and

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

Equipment

Kit

*Drums -

Pork Pie Percussion Pork Pie Percussion is a US musical instrument manufacturing company based in Canoga Park, California. Established in 1987, it has been producing handmade Drum kits and hardware since then. Part of the products are manufactured in Taiwan.

Custom set **13x9" Tom **16x18" Floor Tom **18x20" Floor Tom **26x22" Bass Drum **14x9"

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, and ...

**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 *

- S/T LP (

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. 1999) - Guitar *

- "Lechuza" LP

. 2001) - Drums, Guitar *

- "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 - "Mangled By The Machine" (2013) - Drums * Ape Machine - "Live at Freak Valley" (2014) - Drums * Ape Machine - "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