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Joseph "Joey" Waronker (born May 21, 1969) is an American drummer. He first became known in the early 1990s for his work with Beck (Odelay, Mutations, Midnite Vultures, Sea Change, and Guero), and was also a session drummer on The Smashing Pumpkins' 1998 platinum album Adore. Although he only contributed to three songs on the album, Waronker was invited to become the band's full-time drummer (at least for the subsequent tour) but declined as his financial requests were not met.
Between 1998 and 2002, Waronker toured with R.E.M. and appeared on two albums - 1998's Up and the 2001 release, Reveal - after the departure of Bill Berry in late 1997 (see Joey Waronker: The R.E.M. years).
Waronker's first professional project was the Saint Paul, Minnesota indie group Walt Mink in the early 1990s, which he formed while attending Macalester College.
In 1998, Waronker played drums on two songs - 'Bled White' and 'Bottle Up and Explode!' - on Elliott Smith's XO. He also appeared on 'Stupidity Tries' on Smith's next release, 2000's Figure 8. The song was one of three recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. He has also worked with Johnny Cash, Nelly Furtado, and in 2005 appeared on Paul McCartney's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, playing bongos, bass drums and shaker.
In 1996, Waronker scored Miguel Arteta's movie, Star Maps, followed by Chuck & Buck in 2000 and The Good Girl (2002). In 2003, AMC invited him to score several documentary movies, including 2002's Lost in La Mancha. Other Waronker compositions have appeared in the drama Alias, sit-com Malcolm in the Middle and on FOX Sports. His drumming performances, meanwhile, have appeared in several scores: Man on the Moon (1999), Badly Drawn Boy's About a Boy soundtrack (2002), Collateral (2004), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Walking Tall (2004), for example.
His musical collaborations include Nina Persson of The Cardigans and E of the Eels.
After vacating the R.E.M. drum stool to make way for Bill Rieflin, Waronker began to delve into production, basing himself at his home studio, Casa Zapopan. He has produced such artists as the Eels, Lisa Germano, The Incredible Moses Leroy, Gemma Hayes and Judd & Maggie. He was also a member of Ima Robot for a short period of time in the early 2000s.
Trivia
- Waronker grew up in Pacific Palisades, California.
- He is married with four cats. [1]
- He is is the son of record producer Lenny Waronker and singer/actress Donna Loren, grandson of record executive and professional violinist Simon Waronker, and brother of Anna Waronker.
- His background vocals are featured on Beck's 2002 Sea Change album.