Rami Jaffee (born March 11, 1969) is an American musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the
rock band
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) ...
, whom he initially joined in a touring and session capacity in 2005. Jaffee has contributed to six of the band's studio albums, and in 2017 formally joined the band as a full-time member.
Prior to joining Foo Fighters, Jaffee was a member of
The Wallflowers
The Wallflowers is an American rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1989 by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. The band ...
from 1990 to 2005, and again from 2013 to 2015. He has worked with many artists including
Pete Yorn
Peter Joseph Yorn (born July 27, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first gained international recognition after his debut record, '' Musicforthemorningafter'', was released to critical and commercial acclaim in 2001. He is ...
,
Stone Sour,
Joseph Arthur
Joseph Arthur (born September 28, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. He is best known for his solo material, and as a member of Fistful of Mercy and RNDM. Arthur has built his reputation over the years through ...
and
Coheed and Cambria
Coheed and Cambria are an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), ...
.
Early life
Jaffee was born on March 11, 1969, to a
Russian Ashkenazi Jewish father and a
Moroccan Sephardic Jewish mother in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
. When he was 13, he purchased a keyboard and was soon playing with local bands. After graduating from
Fairfax High School, he continued to play in various bands, and he took session work in recording studios.
Career
Around 1989,
Jakob Dylan
Jakob Luke Dylan (born December 9, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter. He rose to fame as the lead singer and primary songwriter for the rock band the Wallflowers.
Born in New York City to musician Bob Dylan and model Sara Lownds, Dylan be ...
and his friend Tobi Miller formed a group called the Apples, playing various clubs in the L.A. area. While waiting in line at
Canter's Deli after 2:00 am, Jaffee heard the Apples wanted an organist and pianist, and he was told that Dylan and Miller were then in the Kibitz Room bar attached to Canter's. They met; Dylan and Miller played Jaffee some demo tapes in their car stereo, and Jaffee immediately joined the group. A few weeks later, they changed their name to the Wallflowers and signed with
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a world ...
. In 1992, they released their first album,
''The Wallflowers''.
The Wallflowers toured throughout the U.S. and Canada in 1992 and early 1993. They served as the opening act for
Cracker
Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to:
Animals
* ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies
* '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker"
Arts and entertainment Films ...
, the
Spin Doctors
Spin Doctors are an American alternative rock band from New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits "Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at No. 7 and N ...
and
10,000 Maniacs
10,000 Maniacs is an American alternative rock band that was founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four album ...
, and they started headlining their own shows.
Virgin appeared to lose interest in the Wallflowers because of poor album sales. The band's two familiar label representatives left the label, after which the record company tried to use the Dylan name as a selling point, against the band's directive. In mid-1993, the label released the band from their contract.
Other labels were not interested in signing the band, and Jaffee filled his time by playing gigs with
El Vez
Robert Alan Lopez (born 1960),"El Vez", ''St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture'', Thomson Gale 2005–2006reproduced online at BookRags.comand accessed online 28 April 2007. better known by his stage name El Vez, is an American singer-songwrit ...
as well as taking more session work. He kept his interest in the Wallflowers, saying later, "I believe in these songs, and I'm here for the duration because no one is writing songs like these anymore, songs that have room for a Hammond organ and me."
The Wallflowers signed to
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...
in 1994. While working with
T Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in film ...
, who was producing the band's next album, Jaffee was frequently called in as a session musician for producers
Paul Fox,
Matt Hyde
Matt Hyde (born June 19, 1964) is an American producer, engineer, mixer and musician. From 1982 to 1985 he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. While still at Berklee in 1984, he obtained an internship at Pyramid Recording Studio in Bost ...
and Rick Neigher. Because of this, in 1996 he was credited on albums by
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B ...
,
the Hookers
The Hookers are an American hardcore punk band based in Louisville, Kentucky. Originally formed in Lexington in 1994 as the Fayette County Hookers, the name was shortened before their first independent release ''Kiss My Fuckin Ass'' 7-inch EP in ...
,
Leah Andreone
Leah Andreone (born May 24, 1972) is an American musician.
Early life and career
Andreone was born and raised in San Diego and attended Helix High School in La Mesa. While attending San Diego State University, she also spent time in Los Ange ...
and
Chalk FarM
Chalk Farm is a small urban district of north London, lying immediately north of Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden.
History
Manor of Rugmere
Chalk Farm was originally known as the Manor of Rugmere, an estate that was mentioned in ...
. At the same time, the Wallflowers released their second album, ''
Bringing Down the Horse
''Bringing Down the Horse'' is the second album by American rock band the Wallflowers. It was released worldwide on May 21, 1996. The album was produced by T-Bone Burnett and includes four singles: "6th Avenue Heartache", " One Headlight", " Th ...
'', which went quadruple Platinum.
The band toured in support of the album, but in 1997, Jaffee and his wife had a daughter, and he left the tour to be with his family for two months. That same year, he performed session work with
Everclear,
Grant Lee Buffalo
Grant Lee Buffalo was an American rock band based in Los Angeles, California, United States, consisting of Grant-Lee Phillips (vocals and guitar), Paul Kimble ( bass) and Joey Peters (drums). All three were previously members of another Los Ange ...
,
Richie Sambora
Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...
,
Macy Gray
Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday.
Gray ha ...
,
Jeremy Toback,
Joe Henry
Joseph Lee Henry (born December 2, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He has released 15 studio albums and produced multiple recordings for other artists, including three Grammy Award-winning albums.
Early life
H ...
,
Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...
,
Ramsay Midwood and
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
.
The Wallflowers received a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
nomination in 1998 for "Heroes" which appeared in the film ''
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...
''. In late 2000, the band released ''
Breach
Breach, Breached, or The Breach may refer to:
Places
* Breach, Kent, United Kingdom
* Breach, West Sussex, United Kingdom
* ''The Breach'', Great South Bay in the State of New York
People
* Breach (DJ), an Electronic/House music act
* Miroslava ...
''. The band headlined their own tour for a year but also opened for
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...
,
the Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
and
John Mellencamp
John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...
.
Following this, the Wallflowers released ''
Red Letter Days
Red Letter Days is a UK company which was an early adopter of the concept of giving experience day vouchers as gifts and corporate rewards, based in Borehamwood in the offices of its parent company, Buyagift.
The company is now owned by French ...
'', touring again during 2002–2003.
With a new drummer, the band released ''
Rebel, Sweetheart'', their fifth album, on May 24, 2005. The Wallflowers toured to promote the album, but Jaffee disagreed with the band, and he abandoned the tour with three dates remaining.
In 2005, Jaffee began collaborating with
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) ...
. He was made an official member in 2017.
Jaffee led the house band on ''
The Fran Drescher Show
''The Fran Drescher Show'' (also called ''The Fran Drescher Tawk Show'') is an American talk show hosted by actress Fran Drescher. The series premiered on November 26, 2010, in six cities on Fox owned stations: New York on WNYW, Los Angeles on KT ...
'' and, as of 2010, co-owned a recording studio called Fonogenic Studios in the
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
.
In 2012 and 2013, Jaffee was a member of the
Sound City Players
The Sound City Players were a supergroup formed by ex-Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters guitarist and lead-singer Dave Grohl. They consisted in a collaboration of Grohl with Krist Novoselic ex-Nirvana, Stone Sour's and Slipknot's Corey Taylor ...
, a supergroup formed by
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 ...
that, in addition to appearing in Grohl's 2013 documentary, ''
Sound City'', played a limited number of tour dates in 2013. The Sound City Players consisted of a rotating number of artists including Grohl, Jaffee,
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.
After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...
,
Alain Johannes
Alain Johannes Mociulski (born May 2, 1962) is a Chilean-American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, whose primary instruments are guitar and bass. He is a founding member of several bands, including the alternative rock group Eleven, and has ...
,
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
,
Rick Springfield
Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...
,
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 ...
,
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...
,
Krist Novoselic
Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana.
Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, wh ...
and more.
In 2012, Jaffee returned to the Wallflowers, who were coming off a long hiatus.
They released the album ''Glad All Over'' in 2012 and toured in support of it that year and also in 2013. Jaffee then left the band again.
Discography (partial)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffee, Rami
1969 births
Living people
American rock keyboardists
American male organists
American people of Moroccan-Jewish descent
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Foo Fighters members
The Wallflowers members
Mizrahi Jews
Jewish American musicians
Jewish rock musicians
Musicians from Los Angeles
The Minus 5 members
20th-century American musicians
21st-century American keyboardists
21st-century American musicians
21st-century organists
20th-century American keyboardists
American organists