Gene Trautmann (born 1966) is a former drummer for

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

Eagles of Death Metal Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes (vocals, guitar) and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band's ...

Dig Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock (geology), rock on the surface of Earth. Di ...

, and

the Miracle Workers The Miracle Workers were a rock and roll band in the 1980s, who began as a garage rock revival band in Portland, Oregon. Background The Miracle Workers were formed in January 1982 by Gerry Mohr (vocals), and Joel Barnett (bass guitar). The o ...

Biography

Born and raised in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, Trautmann started playing along to records when he was 11 or 12. “The KISS Halloween special was sort of like that moment of clarity that told me I wanted to be involved and I had to do this for a living,” he says. He began playing in

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

bands in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and eventually joined a group called

The Miracle Workers The Miracle Workers were a rock and roll band in the 1980s, who began as a garage rock revival band in Portland, Oregon. Background The Miracle Workers were formed in January 1982 by Gerry Mohr (vocals), and Joel Barnett (bass guitar). The o ...

, who were dedicated to reviving the first-generation punk of mid-’60s

garage band Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

s like

The Sonics The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma, Washington (state), Washington that formed in 1960. Their aggressive, hard-edged sound has been a major influence on Punk rock, punk and Garage rock, garage music worl ...

and the

Count Five Count Five was an American garage rock band, formed in San Jose, California in 1964, known for their hit single "Psychotic Reaction". Background The band was founded in 1964 by lead guitarist John "Mouse" Michalski (born 1948, Cleveland, Ohio) ...

. After graduating in 1985 from

Oregon Episcopal School Oregon Episcopal School (OES) is an American private, coeducational, college preparatory, day and boarding school in the Raleigh Hills area of Portland, Oregon. It was preceded by St. Helen's Hall, a day and boarding school for girls establish ...

, he followed the band to Los Angeles and played with it on several albums, in addition to touring the U.S. and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Trautmann was also briefly a member of the band

from 1997 to 1999, playing on their third album, 1999's ''Life Like''. They disbanded later that same year. After

Brant Bjork Brant Bjork (born March 19, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is perhaps best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork played in Vista Chino, along with ...

left

Kyuss Kyuss ( ) was an American rock band, formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987. The band disbanded in 1995, and since then, members of Kyuss have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, D ...

, Trautmann auditioned to be drummer. He played with the group for two weeks before the gig eventually went to

Alfredo Hernández Alfredo Hernández is an American drummer best known as a former member of desert rock bands Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Brant Bjork and the Bros and Yawning Man, and as a current member of the band, Avon. Career Hernández joined Kyuss ...

. Trautmann then played on four tracks on ''

Rated R Rated R refers to movies (and also to TV shows and video games in certain systems) that have been given a "restricted" rating by one of the following film rating systems: * Motion Picture Association of America film rating system * Canadian Home Vid ...

'' and on two tracks on ''

Songs for the Deaf ''Songs for the Deaf'' is the third studio album by the American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on August 27, 2002 by Interscope Records. It features guest musicians including drummer Dave Grohl, and was the last Queens of the Stone ...

'', the second and third albums by

Josh Homme Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...

's post-Kyuss band,

. Trautmann was also a member of the band's touring group from June 1999 until September 2001. Trautmann was a touring member of

from 2006 to 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trautmann, Gene 1966 births Living people American rock drummers Queens of the Stone Age members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Eagles of Death Metal members Oregon Episcopal School alumni