Adam David "Atom" Willard (born August 15, 1973) is an American

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

who has been a member of several notable musical acts. Willard's drumming career began in 1990 when he joined Rocket from the Crypt, with whom he remained until 2000. Subsequently, he joined

The Special Goodness The Special Goodness is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1996 by Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson. The band's line-up has included Atom Willard (drums), Weezer bassists Mikey Welsh and Scott Shriner, Pat Fin ...

, The Offspring, and in 2005 became a founding member of Angels & Airwaves. In 2007 Willard departed from The Offspring to focus on his work with Angels & Airwaves, and in April 2009 he also joined Social Distortion, but left the following March. In June 2011, he joined the band Danko Jones and in October 2011 amicably left Angels & Airwaves. He has been the drummer for

Against Me! Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...

since 2013. Currently he is playing in the band the Plosivs with fellow San Diego rock scene veterans Rob Crow (Pinback) and John Reis (Hot Snakes, Rocket From the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu) and Mrs. Magician bassist Jordan Clark.

Musical career

1990–2000, 2011, 2013, 2014: Rocket from the Crypt

Willard joined the

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

rock band Rocket from the Crypt in 1990, after their original drummer Sean had moved away from San Diego. In a 2006 interview Willard recalled of the experience:

It was crazy, man. I was just 16, I would drive down to this kind of sketchy, strange rehearsal space in this part of town I'd never been, and there were people living in some of the spaces. It was just ''weird'', and everybody was older than me. But the sound was rad. It was a lot of
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...
, a lot of Otis Redding,
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...
–but it was up against a serious punk-rock influence, and just regular rock 'n' roll. Every song had four personalities!

Willard performed on Rocket from the Crypt's second album '' Circa: Now!'' (1992) and subsequent albums '' Hot Charity'' (1995), '' Scream, Dracula, Scream!'' (1995), and '' RFTC'' (1998), as well as numerous EPs and singles. During his years with the band he toured the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Willard recalls several wild tour experiences with the group such as touring in a box truck and an

airport shuttle An airport bus, or airport shuttle bus or airport shuttle is a bus used to transport people to and from, or within airports. These vehicles will usually be equipped with larger luggage space, and incorporate special branding. They are also com ...

, both at his suggestion.Pecorelli, 74. In 2000, however, he decided to leave the group due to disagreements with the other members over the band's direction:

I was getting disillusioned with the way we were doing business. It was getting harder and harder to survive–those tours where you'd come home with no money, that was getting less cool. aughs.I didn't just want to get some temp job to survive and go on tour anymore. I wanted to play the drums; I wanted to play music and make a living off of it. And I thought I could. And ''we all'' could. I wanted some changes and Speedo and I were kind of at odds on that stuff; we disagreed on how we should go about it.Pecorelli, 75.

Willard was replaced in Rocket from the Crypt's lineup by Mario Rubalcaba. In October 2011, he reunited with Rocket From the Crypt to perform the song "He's a Chef" on the children's television show Yo Gabba Gabba. In September 2013 he played 3 shows with the band for Riot Fest. In November 2014 he played with the band at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas.

2000–2003: The Special Goodness and temporary acts

After leaving Rocket from the Crypt Willard served as a drum technician for

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...

. In 2000 he filled in as a touring drummer for Alkaline Trio and appeared with them in the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for the single " Private Eye". He soon joined Weezer drummer

Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor and director. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty'' (2000–2001) and ''Oklahoma ...

in his side project

, in which Willard drummed while Wilson sang and played

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

. Willard also filled in with

Moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

in 2002 for tours in support of their third album ''

Provisions, Fiction and Gear ''Provisions, Fiction and Gear'' is the third album, and the first on a major label, by the American alternative rock band MOTH. Track listing All songs written by Brad Stenz. # I See Sound – 3:10 # Thinkin' Please – 3:36 # Hearing Things � ...

'' and appeared in their music video for "I See Sound". Willard's first recorded output with The Special Goodness was 2003's '' Land Air Sea''. The band have not released an album since then. Willard also recorded drum tracks for the songs "Head Unbound" and "Would If I Could" on

Melissa Auf der Maur Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur (; born March 17, 1972) is a Canadian musician. Auf der Maur began performing in 1993 after forming the indie rock band Tinker (band), Tinker while she was a student at Concordia University. She was recruited ...

's debut solo album '' Auf der Maur'' (2004).

2003–2005: The Offspring

In 2003 Willard became an official member of The Offspring, replacing long-time drummer

Ron Welty Ronald Welty (born February 1, 1971) is an American musician and the former drummer for the American punk rock band The Offspring. After The Offspring, Welty formed Steady Ground. Career The Offspring In July 1987, 16-year-old Welty join ...

who had left the group earlier that year. During Willard's tenure with the group he performed on numerous tours but did not perform on any officially released studio recordings. Professional drummer

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American session drummer. He is the son of tuba soloist Stan Freese and the older brother of musician Jason Freese. He is a member of the Vandals (since 1989) and Devo (since 1996), having f ...

had recorded the drum tracks for the band's 2003 album ''

Splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...

'' after Welty left the group. Willard joined shortly before the album's release and appeared with them in the

for the single " (Can't Get My) Head Around You". However, in 2005 he became a founding member of Angels & Airwaves (see below), and his commitments to the new group began to draw him away from The Offspring. The Offspring released a '' Greatest Hits'' compilation in 2005 including two new songs, " Can't Repeat" and a cover of

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

's " Next to You"., though Willard appeared with the band in the "Can't Repeat" music video. In July 2007 he officially left The Offspring to focus on Angels & Airwaves. Freese again recorded drum tracks for The Offspring for '' Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace'' (2008) before he was permanently replaced by former Face to Face drummer

Pete Parada Peter Parada (born July 9, 1973) is an American musician who has been a member of several bands. Parada's drumming career began in 1995 when he joined L.A. band World In Pain on a recommendation from future Korn drummer Ray Luzier and then Steel P ...

. Offspring singer Dexter Holland later commented:

The simple truth is that Atom had been working on a few of his own projects during our down time, including Angels & Airwaves but other things too. We think that's great. Unfortunately, in order for him to see those things through he isn't left with enough time to devote to future Offspring stuff. It was a tough choice, but we understand. Atom's been a great drummer for us and we're sure Pete will be great too!

2005–2011: Angels & Airwaves

While The Offspring took a "touring hiatus" in 2006, Willard joined Tom DeLonge in his new group Angels & Airwaves. In an interview with Shave Magazine, he said that felt the collective experience of all the members of the band made joining very easy for him. "There’s nobody trying to figure out what is and what isn’t going to work, not just for themselves but for music and for a band, what life’s going to be like on the road and all that kind of stuff. Everybody had enough experience to just buckle down and do the work. It really has made it easier than anything else." DeLonge remarked that Willard "has always felt to me like the single largest score in music. He is a loyal, honest and humble friend, but an even better showman." The band, which also included former

Box Car Racer Box Car Racer is an American pop punk band formed in San Diego, California, in 2001. The group consists of guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge and drummer Travis Barker of Blink-182, formerly alongside guitarist David Kennedy of Hazen Street. An ...

Hazen Street Hazen Street (also typeset Hazen St.) is an American supergroup that formed in early 2004. The band features Freddy Cricien and Hoya Roc ( Madball); Toby Morse ( H2O), David Kennedy (Box Car Racer, Over My Dead Body, later Angels & Airwaves) ...

guitarist David Kennedy and former Distillers bassist

Ryan Sinn Ryan Sinn is the bassist for The Distillers. He currently resides in San Diego, California. Sinn joined The Distillers after their first album. At the time he only played guitar, but he learned the bass parts on their previous album in four days ...

, released their debut album '' We Don't Need to Whisper'' in May 2006. It peaked at #4 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and spawned several successful singles including " The Adventure", " It Hurts", " Do It for Me Now", and " The War", and Willard toured extensively with the group in support of the album. In July 2007, during production of the band's second album ''

I-Empire ''I-Empire'' is the second studio album by alternative rock band Angels & Airwaves. It was officially released worldwide on November 1, 2007 from the Angels & Airwaves website, where it was available for download. It was then released on CD on No ...

'', Willard left The Offspring to focus on his work with Angels & Airwaves. The album was released in November 2007 and went on to sell over 200,000 copies in the United States. Singles from ''I-Empire'' included "

Everything's Magic "Everything's Magic" is a song by the American rock band Angels & Airwaves. It was the lead single from their second studio album, ''I-Empire'' (2007), released on Geffen Records. The song impacted radio on September 18, 2007. It peaked at number ...

", " Secret Crowds", and " Breathe". He also played on Angels & Airwaves third album, ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

'', released in February 2010. Willard toured with Angels & Airwaves in support of the album in May and July. On October 4, 2011, Willard officially left from Angels & Airwaves. The split is said to have been "amicable" with the rest of the band. Prior to his split with Angels & Airwaves, Willard had completed recording all drum tracks for the group's fourth studio album '' Love: Part Two'' released on November 11, 2011.

2009–2010: Social Distortion

In April 2009 Willard replaced Charlie Quintana in Social Distortion. He toured Europe and the United States with Social Distortion in 2009, was scheduled to tour South America with them in April 2010, and had been in the studio recording their seventh studio album. On March 8, 2010, due to scheduling conflicts with Angels & Airwaves, Willard departed from Social Distortion. He was replaced by

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu () is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, co ...

drummer Scott Reeder for their South American tour.

2011: theHELL

In February 2011 Willard joined Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio for a side project called theHELL. Their debut EP, ''Sauves les Requines'', was released in January 2012.

2011–2013: Danko Jones

In June 2011 he became the permanent drummer for Canadian group Danko Jones. As of July 2013 he is no longer in Danko Jones

2013–present: Against Me!

Willard filled in with

for the band's 2013 Australian tour dates. On July 31, 2013, Willard officially announced on his Twitter page that he was the full-time drummer for Against Me!, led by

Laura Jane Grace Laura Jane Grace (born Thomas James Gabel; November 8, 1980) is an American musician best known as the founder, lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me!. In addition to Against Me!, Grace fronts the band Laura ...

In 2018, he also became a member of Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers.

Musical equipment

When performing with Angels and Airwaves his

drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

consists of two

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

s (6.5"x14" and 7"x12"), two

tom-toms A tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snares, named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language. It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between in diameter, though floor toms can go as la ...

(6"x6" and 8"x12"), two floor toms (14"x16" and 16"x18"), and a

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

(18"x26"). For

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

s he uses Zildjian K custom session hi-hats (14"), an A custom EFX crash cymbal (20"), one A custom projection crash (20"), a K custom ride cymbal (22"), and a K custom medium ride cymbal (20"). Since 2010, Atom is an official Drum Workshop endorser, both for hardware and drums.

Discography

This section lists albums and EPs on which Willard has performed. For complete listings of releases by each act, see their individual articles.

Videography

Music video appearances

References

External links

Angels & Airwaves official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willard, Adam American punk rock drummers American male drummers Angels & Airwaves members Musicians from San Diego Rocket from the Crypt members The Offspring members Social Distortion members 1973 births Living people Against Me! members The Special Goodness members 20th-century American drummers 21st-century American drummers