John Tumminello (December 8, 1957), better known as Johnny Rod, is an American musician, best known as a former bassist of the
heavy metal band
W.A.S.P.
Biography
Tumminello grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. According to his own statements, he started performing at the age of 11. One of the bands he played with was
King Kobra
King Kobra is an American heavy metal band founded by drummer Carmine Appice after his tenure with Ozzy Osbourne from 1983 to 1984.
History
For their first two albums, the band consisted of four relatively unknown musicians: vocalist Marcie F ...
from 1983 to 1986.
In 1986, Rod received an offer to join
W.A.S.P. His main bass at that time was a yellow B.C. Rich Ironbird. He played on the albums ''
Inside the Electric Circus'' (1986), ''
Live... in the Raw'' (1987) and ''
The Headless Children
''The Headless Children'' is the fourth studio album by heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released in April 1989 through Capitol Records. '' (1989)
and accompanied the band on their 1992 farewell tour. Later attempts for a reunion of the classic lineup failed, mainly due to singer
Blackie Lawless
Steven Edward Duren (born September 4, 1956), better known by his stage name Blackie Lawless, is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist (formerly bassist) for heavy metal band W.A.S.P.B ...
, according to Rod, as well as the rest of the members of W.A.S.P. during that era.
In 2010, Rod reunited with King Kobra. The band went on hiatus after two album releases in 2013, and reunited again in 2016 for several live performances.
In 2017, Rod collaborated with
Carmine Appice on "Monsters and Heroes", a tribute cover song to Ronnie James Dio.
Rod has used both
Fender and
B.C. Rich
B.C. Rich is an American brand of acoustic and electric guitars and bass guitars founded by Bernardo Chavez Rico in 1969.
History
The company started making electric guitars in the 1970s. In the following decade B.C. Rich gained a broad expos ...
basses during his career. He lists the
Fender Precision bass is his all-time favorite guitar.
References
American heavy metal bass guitarists
King Kobra members
W.A.S.P. members
Living people
1957 births
20th-century American bass guitarists
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