Randy Carr (August 13, 1956 – March 27, 2002) was an American musician who played drums in many rock music groups in the

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

area of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

including 7th Grade, Silicone Silos, 16 Tons, and

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

. Carr also played guitar.

Early life

Randy Carr was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

and started playing drums at the age of 12 years. Over the years he played Carr lived and worked in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...

. In addition to playing drums in local bands, he was a drum instructor and wrote the book, ''Advanced Grooves for the Advanced Drummer'' as an aid for his students.

Career

In 1993, Carr joined up with former

The Mechanics {{unreferenced, date=April 2018 The Mechanics (1977–1981) are considered to be the first punk band to come out of Fullerton, California. The Mechanics were a fusion of two bands, the L.A. Brats (Scott, Dennis, Brett and Sandy, which also f ...

guitarist Tim Racca to form 16 Tons. The band 16 Tons, though short-lived, received much critical acclaim for their 1993 instrumental rock CD, ''Motorhome'', consisting primarily of Racca's compositions.

DRUM! Magazine {{italic title ''DRUM!'' is a North American educational drumming magazine. It features artist profiles, product reviews, lessons and advanced transcriptions covering rock, pop and related styles of music. The magazine was launched in 1991 wi ...

wrote in its August 1996 issue, "16 Tons explodes with furious energy, propelled by Carr's powerhouse drumming." Carr worked with the band

from 1993 through 1995. He toured as their drummer at all live performances during this period. After a

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' ...

show, Mike Boehm wrote in the May 8, 1995

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

, "S.D.'s set was the longest and by far the finest of the day, 55 minutes of dark majesty powered by a new drummer, Randy Carr, who played his first major gig with the band and helped

churn and drive with impressive force and fresh suppleness." He was also the studio drummer for OC punk band The Vectors, and is credited on their album ''Behind the Orange Curtain''.

Death

In late 2001 Carr began suffering from

Cushing's syndrome Cushing's syndrome is a collection of signs and symptoms due to prolonged exposure to glucocorticoids such as cortisol. Signs and symptoms may include high blood pressure, abdominal obesity but with thin arms and legs, reddish stretch marks, ...

. He died from the disease on March 27, 2002 at the

University of California, Irvine Medical Center The University of California, Irvine Medical Center (UCIMC or UCI Medical Center) is a major research hospital located in Orange, California. It is the teaching hospital for the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. History Pl ...

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Randy 1956 births 2002 deaths Musicians from Santa Monica, California American punk rock drummers American male drummers People from Fullerton, California Social Distortion members 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians