Musician (drummer), 1975-
(Our Lady Peace)
Jeremy Taggart was born in Ontario, on April 7, 1975. Music was a central part of his youth, as his parents were also musicians. Jeremy learned to play drums at an early age and was displaying a reasonably large amount of talent by the time he was in high school. Despite this talent, music was more of a hobby for him (especially at this point in his life). He had yet to finish high school when he auditioned for the then up-and-coming Our Lady Peace in 1992.
Jim Newell, OLP's previous drummer, had decided that he didn't want to be in the band anymore due to commitment issues. The remaining members and their management decided to hold open auditions for his replacement. They auditioned over a hundred drummers -- and none of them thought a 17-year-old high school senior could possibly come out on top.
"About twenty seconds go by, and I run out of the control room into the recording area, and yell, 'I know I'm not supposed to do this, but this is the kid right here. If you let this guy go, you're a bunch of idiots.'"
- Arnold Lanni (OLP's former producer)
The band offered him the drumming position and he accepted it. OLP had also recently been given a record deal with
Sony Music Canada and were playing some small club shows. This caused a few small legal problems; Jeremy was only 17 and performers have to be
legal drinking age (which is 19 in
Ontario) in order to perform in bars and clubs -- even if they're not drinking. OLP was caught trying to perform with Jeremy a few times, and had to cancel several performances. They held off recording their first album,
Naveed, until he had finished high school.
Jeremy started recording Naveed with OLP after graduating. His parents had originally hoped he would pursue post-secondary studies but being in the band was too big of an opportunity for him to pass up. He's said (in interviews) that his parents were disappointed at first, but eventually realized that he had to make his own decisions and that post-secondary education isn't really for everyone.
Jeremy has often described himself as the "zany" member of the band, and has a self-professed fondness for practical jokes. He is also allergic to many food products including apple juice, caffeine, chocolate, MSG, alcohol and processed meats. He is easily recognizable due to his thick-rimmed glasses, curly hair, and clothes that usually sport a large number 7 (a tribute to Mickey Mantle, his favourite baseball player). Jeremy also has a giantlike love for the sport of baseball.
His musical influences come mainly from jazz (especially the late Elvin Jones, John Coltrane and Miles Davis) but he also derives much of his style from classic rock. The parts he creates blend a variety of different styles into one song. A popular fan in-joke referred to his third arm, a reference to his extremely fast drumming style.
After Mike Turner left the band, Jeremy took on the role of fan liason on the Clumsy Congress. He posts every now and then to let fans know how the band is doing and to shed light on upcoming projects.
Jeremy most often uses drums by Ayotte and Greg Keplinger and cymbals by Zildjian.
Resources:
Jeremy Taggart http://www.geocities.com/jeremytaggartfansite/2004JTFS.htm 18 June 2004