John Wright (sometimes known as Mr. Right) (born February 23, 1962) is a Canadian musician and songwriter.

Biography

Wright is best known as the drummer, keyboardist, occasional vocalist and co-songwriter in the progressive punk rock/

punk jazz Punk jazz is a genre of music that combines elements of jazz, especially improvisation, with the instrumentation and performance style of punk rock. The term was first used to describe James Chance and the Contortions' 1979 album ''Buy''. Punk ...

band

NoMeansNo Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No) was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They issued 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, a ...

, as well as the lead singer and co-songwriter of the

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 ...

group The Hanson Brothers. Both groups also feature Wright's older brother Rob and guitarist

Tom Holliston Tom Holliston (born April 21, 1960) is a Canadian punk rock musician."Down time good time for Holliston solo tour". ''Calgary Herald'', September 18, 2013. Primarily associated with the bands Nomeansno and The Hanson Brothers, he also leads ...

. He has also performed in noted Canadian punk groups DOA, the

Showbusiness Giants Tom Holliston (born April 21, 1960) is a Canadian punk rock musician."Down time good time for Holliston solo tour". ''Calgary Herald'', September 18, 2013. Primarily associated with the bands Nomeansno and The Hanson Brothers, he also leads ...

, and the Infamous Scientists. He is currently the songwriter and "musical director" for

Compressorhead Compressorhead is an animatronic robot band created by Berlin-based artist Frank Barnes and collaborators Markus Kolb, Stock Plum, and John and Rob Wright Rob Wright (sometimes known as Mr. Wrong, born 1954) is a Canadian musician and song ...

, a collaboration with

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

-based artist Frank Barnes consisting of a "band" of robots that play real instruments. Wright's distinct style of drumming utilizes

traditional grip In percussion, grip refers to the manner in which the player holds the percussion mallet or mallets, whether drum sticks or other mallets. For some instruments, such as triangles and large gongs, only one mallet or beater is normally used, held ...

, an uncommon method for hard rock drummers, and fuses

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, rock and

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 ...

techniques. His playing has been cited as an influence by several noted drummers, including

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

and the

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

, Tre Cool of

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

, and Tim Solyan of Victims Family and Plaid Retina. Nomeansno further emphasized the drumming in the live environment by positioning the drum kit not near the back of the stage as is more common, but rather near the front of the stage so that the audience may see a side view of the drummer. Wright confirmed that this arrangement was intentional: An avid homebrewer of beer, he has filmed and released an instructional video detailing his recommended brewing process. This video is currently available on DVD packaged with the live Hanson Brothers record ''It's A Living''. Wright co-owns a craft beer pub in

Powell River, British Columbia Powell River is a city on the northern Sunshine Coast of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Most of its population lives near the eastern shores of Malaspina Strait, which is part of the larger Georgia Strait between Vancouver Island and the ...

. Wright is the father of two sons.

References

External links

NoMeansNo website & message board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, John 1962 births Living people Canadian punk rock drummers Canadian male drummers Canadian rock musicians Musicians from Victoria, British Columbia D.O.A. (band) members Nomeansno members The Hanson Brothers (band) members