Tony Hajjar (born August 17, 1974) is a

Lebanese American Lebanese Americans ( ar, أمريكيون لبنانيون) are Americans of Lebanese descent. This includes both those who are native to the United States of America, as well as immigrants from Lebanon. Lebanese Americans comprise 0.79% of the ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

, best known for playing in

At the Drive-In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (dru ...

and

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

. As of 2016, he is playing in the reformed At The Drive-In, as well as the new group,

Gone Is Gone Gone Is Gone is an American rock supergroup formed in 2016. The band consists of Troy Sanders, singer and bassist of Mastodon, Troy Van Leeuwen, one of the guitarists of Queens of the Stone Age, Tony Hajjar, drummer of At the Drive-In, and Mik ...

. Tony also produced and drummed on the forthcoming New Language record. Both New Language and Gone Is Gone made their live debuts on April 27, 2016 to a sold out crowd at the Dragonfly in Los Angeles.

Biography

Hajjar was born in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Lebanon. His family fled Lebanon during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, moving to the United States and settling in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. When Hajjar was fourteen his mother died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

and his father, who had been distant, left the family. His brother, only 18 years old at the time, assumed responsibility for the family and raised Tony and his sister. Hajjar joined

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band At The Drive-In in 1996, becoming the band's fourth drummer. He remained with the band until they split up in 2001. During breaks from touring Hajjar taught

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

. Following the demise of At The Drive-In Hajjar formed the band

with fellow ATD-I members

Paul Hinojos Pablo J. Hinojos-Gonzalez (born July 17, 1975), also known as Paul Hinojos, is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for At the Drive-In, and former touring member of The Mars Volta. He is also a former guitarist of Sparta. Biogr ...

and Jim Ward. He also played on several other bands' recordings, including Jimmy Eat World's "Disintegration" on their " Stay on My Side Tonight" EP. As a drummer, his technique is particularly unusual. He plays a right-handed set up, playing right-handed, but switching to his naturally more dominant left hand during fills and rolls. In 2006 Hajjar released a 16-minute short film entitled "Eme Nakia" (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

for ''Mother Nakia'', Hajjar's mother's name) as part of a special edition of Sparta's album,

Threes ''Threes'' (stylized as ''Threes!'') is a puzzle video game by Sirvo, an independent development team consisting of game designer Asher Vollmer, illustrator Greg Wohlwend, and composer Jimmy Hinson. The game was released on February 6, 2014, for ...

following Hajjar's early life story.

Discography

With At the Drive-In

El Gran Orgo ''El Gran Orgo'' is the third EP by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In. It was recorded and released in 1997 without the presence of Jim Ward, whose guitar duties were filled by Ben Rodriguez and Omar Rodriguez, the latter of whom had ...

(1997) *

In/Casino/Out ''In/Casino/Out'' (stylized as ''in/CASINO/OUT'') is the second full-length album by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released on August 18, 1998, through Fearless Records. It was recorded as a live studio album, with the intention o ...

(1998) * Vaya (1999) *

Relationship of Command ''Relationship of Command'' is the third studio album by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released on September 12, 2000. The album combines an aggressive edge with a melodic drive, harmonious, emotive vocals, and surreal lyrics. Whil ...

(2000) *

This Station Is Non-Operational ''This Station Is Non-Operational'' is a compilation album by El Paso, Texas-based post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released May 24, 2005 by Fearless Records, four years after the band went on indefinite hiatus. Its tracks span the band's caree ...

(2005) ompilation*

in•ter a•li•a ''in•ter a•li•a'' is the fourth studio album by At the Drive-In, released on May 5, 2017. It is their first studio album in 17 years since ''Relationship of Command'', and their first release since the 2005 compilation album ''This Station I ...

(2017) * Diamanté (2017)

With Sparta

* Austere (2002) *

Wiretap Scars ''Wiretap Scars'' is an album by Sparta, released on August 13, 2002 on DreamWorks Records and peaked at number 71 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Only months separated this release from their debut EP '' Austere''. The album is greatly influenced by t ...

(2002) *

Live at La Zona Rosa 3.19.04 Live at La Zona Rosa 3.19.04 is a live album released by Sparta. The album has since been out of print. Only 1000 copies were made. There is also a live EP released by the band Coheed and Cambria Coheed and Cambria are an American progressi ...

(2004) *

Porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

(2004) *

(2006)

With Nakia

Nakia Nakia Reynoso (born February 20, 1975), known professionally as Nakia, is an American musician, singer-songwriter and actor living in Austin, Texas. He is a native of Fort Payne, Alabama. Professional background Nakia moved to Austin in 200 ...

(2004)

With New Language

* ''Come Alive'' (2017)

With Gone Is Gone

* ''Gone Is Gone'' EP (2016) * '' Echolocation'' LP (2017) * ''If Everything Happens for a Reason... Then Nothing Really Matters at All'' LP (2020)

External links

References

Lebanese rock drummers Sparta (band) members At the Drive-In members Musicians from Beirut 1974 births Living people Lebanese rock musicians 21st-century drummers {{lebanon-musician-stub