Claude Coleman Jr.

Claude Coleman Claude Coleman Jr. is best known as the perversely versatile live/studio drummer for cult-rock gods Ween. For more than twelve years he has commanded audiences around the globe with powerfully dynamic performances that have elevated Ween's status as a live band. His drumming talents have also been well employed by many other artists including Eagles of Death Metal, Chocolate Genius and Elysian Fields.

A multi-instrumentalist, Coleman is also the singer/songwriter for his own group Amandla and the owner/operator of recording studio J Town Studio, in his resident town of Jersey City, NJ. He is songwriter, recording engineer, producer, teacher, graphic/web designer, and carpenter. Above all, he rocks, and nothing - not even a recent near fatal car accident has kept him from making music and wielding his personal power - his Amandla..

Unofficially, Coleman's career began at age 9, banging out Kiss tunes in his Newark NJ basement. For a few years, he roamed the neighborhood on Halloween in full Ace Frehley make- up but beyond Kiss, his musical tastes extended to Rush, Styx, Earth Wind & Fire, Led Zeppelin, Santana, Soul Sonic Force and the Soundtrack to Grease.

By the time Coleman reached Maplewood's Columbia High (famous alumni include Lauryn Hill, Max Weinberg and Boris Vallejo) he had taken to channeling verbatim, the drumming style of Stewart Copeland. When he wasn't playing to The Police, he was committed to every orchestra, marching and pit band going as well as extra-curricular jamming with cover-bands.

Never one to limit his talents, he held the New Jersey State record for the 55-yard hurdles. Scholarship offers flowed but music appealed more and Coleman formed his first band Skunk with fellow schoolmates. Following graduation, he headed to Jersey's Kean College, soon switching to Rutgers University's Mason Gross School where he majored in drums. Under the tutelage of Keith Copeland, Coleman studied Jazz drumming for a year before an offer from TwinTone Records signaled the end of his formal education.