Jack Irons facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jack Irons
Irons in 1984
Background information
Birth name	Jack Steven Irons
Born	(1962-07-18) July 18, 1962 (age 62) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock, punk rock, art rock, funk rock, funk metal
Occupation(s)	Drummer
Years active	1976–present
Labels	MCA, EMI, Capitol, Epic, Morgan Creek, RCA, Hollywood, Pollen, Breaching Whale, Sire

Jack Steven Irons (born July 18, 1962) is a talented American drummer. He is best known as a founding member and drummer for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. He also played drums for the famous band Pearl Jam and was a member of Eleven.

Besides these well-known bands, Jack Irons has also played with The Wallflowers and the Mark Lanegan Band. He has worked with many other artists like Joe Strummer and The Latino Rockabilly War, Redd Kross, and Spinnerette. In 1995, Jack and the other members of Pearl Jam recorded an album called Mirror Ball with music legend Neil Young. Jack Irons has also released his own music, with two solo albums: Attention Dimension (2004) and No Heads Are Better Than One (2010).

In 2012, Jack Irons was honored by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He even joined the band on stage for the first time in 24 years to play their hit song "Give It Away". In 2017, Jack Irons opened shows for the Red Hot Chili Peppers during their The Getaway World Tour.

Biography

Growing up in Los Angeles

Jack Irons was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California. As a kid, he loved music and would use his family's forks and spoons as drumsticks. He played along to songs on the radio. His parents eventually bought him a real drum set, and he started taking drum lessons.

Jack went to Bancroft Jr. High School in Hollywood. There, he met future bandmates Michael "Flea" Balzary and Hillel Slovak. Later, at Fairfax High School, he met more future bandmates, Anthony Kiedis and Alain Johannes. Jack and Hillel were big fans of the band Kiss and even formed a tribute band. Jack was inspired by drummers like Jack DeJohnette, Stewart Copeland, and Keith Moon.

Starting with What Is This? and Red Hot Chili Peppers

When they were teenagers in 1976, Jack Irons, Alain Johannes, Hillel Slovak, and Todd Strassman formed a band called Chain Reaction. After their first show, they changed their name to Anthym. Hillel wasn't happy with Todd's bass playing, so he taught his friend Michael "Flea" Balzary to play bass, and Flea joined the band.

After high school, the band changed its name again to What Is This?. This name came from a question people often asked when they heard the band play. Flea later left for a short time to play bass with another punk band called Fear. What Is This? kept playing many shows along the California coast.

In 1983, Flea, along with Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, and Jack Irons, formed a new band just for one show. They called themselves Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem. Their performance was a big hit! They decided to keep playing together and changed their name to Red Hot Chili Peppers. They quickly became very popular in Los Angeles.

After six months, they got a record deal with EMI to record their first album. However, What Is This? had signed a record deal two weeks earlier. Since Hillel and Jack saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers as a side project, they decided to leave the band. With What Is This?, Jack Irons recorded an EP called Squeezed (EP) in 1984, another EP called 3 Out of 5 Live in 1985, and a full album that same year.

What Is This? broke up after recording their album because Hillel Slovak decided to rejoin the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In the meantime, Jack played on some recordings for Walk the Moon, a duo with Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider. In 1986, Jack Irons returned to the Red Hot Chili Peppers after their drummer Cliff Martinez left.

Jack Irons played drums on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' first demo tape and their third album, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, released in 1987. In 1988, Jack decided to leave the band again after a sad event involving a friend. He felt he couldn't continue with the group.

On August 12, 2012, Jack Irons and Cliff Martinez played "Give It Away" with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at a concert in Los Angeles. In 2017, Jack Irons was an opening act for several shows on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' The Getaway World Tour.

Playing with Eleven

After leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Irons took some time to focus on himself. After a short time playing with Joe Strummer's band, The Latino Rockabilly War, Jack teamed up with Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider in 1990. They formed a new band called Eleven.

With Eleven, Jack Irons recorded two albums: Awake in a Dream (1991) and Eleven (1993). While they were recording their third album, Thunk (1995), Jack left to play drums for Pearl Jam. Matt Cameron from Soundgarden finished playing drums on the remaining songs for Thunk. Jack returned to Eleven in 2002 before they recorded their fifth album, Howling Book (2003). Natasha Shneider passed away in 2008. Before her passing, the band was working on a sixth album.

Joining Pearl Jam

In 1990, Jeff Ament (bassist) and Stone Gossard (guitarist) invited Jack Irons to join their new band, Mookie Blaylock, which later became Pearl Jam. At that time, the band was still looking for a singer and a drummer. Jack couldn't join then because he was committed to Eleven. However, he did something very helpful: he gave a cassette tape of the band's music to a singer he knew from the music scene in San Diego, Eddie Vedder. Jack and Eddie were friends and even played basketball together. Eddie Vedder later joined the band and became their lead singer.

Jack also called the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1991 and asked if Pearl Jam could open for them on their upcoming Blood Sugar ... Magik tour.

Jack Irons officially became the drummer for Pearl Jam in late 1994. His first recording with the band was a song called "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" for their album Vitalogy (1994). Stone Gossard said that Jack brought a "breath of fresh air" to the band and everyone felt a strong friendship with him right away.

Jack's first live performance with Pearl Jam was at Neil Young's 1994 Bridge School Benefit. He was officially announced as the new drummer during a special radio broadcast in 1995. Jack then played many live shows with Pearl Jam to support the Vitalogy album.

Jack Irons also played with other members of Pearl Jam on Neil Young's 1995 album, Mirror Ball. He then toured Europe as part of Neil Young's band.

With Jack Irons, Pearl Jam recorded their fourth studio album, No Code, released in 1996. Jack also toured to support this album. The band then released Yield in 1998. The song "Do the Evolution" from Yield was even nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance.

Jack Irons brought a special drumming style to Pearl Jam. He was known for his unique drum fills and even used a trash can lid as a cymbal! He helped write the music for several songs on No Code, including "Who You Are" and "In My Tree". He also wrote and sang on Pearl Jam songs like "Happy When I'm Crying" and "Whale Song".

Jack played with Pearl Jam until March 1998. Before Pearl Jam's U.S. Yield Tour, Jack decided to leave the band because he found touring difficult. Eddie Vedder said that Jack's decision to leave was very hard for the band. Coincidentally, Matt Cameron, who had just left Soundgarden, replaced him again, just as he had done four years earlier with Eleven.

Other musical projects

Solo album: Attention Dimension

On September 7, 2004, Jack Irons released his first solo album called Attention Dimension. He started working on his own drum music in 1994. But it wasn't until 1999, about a year after he left Pearl Jam, that he seriously began recording for a possible solo album.

The album features many of his former bandmates and friends, including Alain Johannes, Flea, Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Les Claypool. Eddie Vedder even sang on a cover of Pink Floyd's song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". Critics said that Attention Dimension was Jack's chance to shine on his own.

Working with other artists

Besides the bands mentioned, Jack Irons has recorded and toured with many other musicians. He played with Joe Strummer's band, The Latino Rockabilly War, for their album Earthquake Weather (1989). He also toured with Redd Kross in 1990 and appeared in their music video for "Annie's Gone".

In 1992, Jack played drums for Raging Slab. They recorded an entire album called Freeburden, but it was never released. In 2000, Jack was part of the first lineup for Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade. He also played on the song "Milky Ave" for Perry Farrell's band Satellite Party in 2007, where his former bandmate Flea also appeared. In 2012, he played on Flea's solo EP, Helen Burns.

Jack Irons has also worked as a drumming advisor and teacher for different TV shows in the U.S. More recently, he played on five songs for To Be One With You (2019), the first solo album by former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who uses the name Pluralone. He then played on four more songs for Josh's next album, I Don't Feel Well, released in 2020.

Equipment

Jack Irons uses drums from Masters of Maple Drums. He also uses Zildjian cymbals and Pro-Mark drumsticks.

Personal life

Jack Irons is married and has two children. His son, Zach Irons, is a talented musician too. Zach is the founder and lead guitarist for a band called Irontom. In September 2015, Zach Irons also became the lead guitarist for AWOLNATION.

Discography

What Is This? discography

Red Hot Chili Peppers discography

Eleven discography

Pearl Jam discography

Solo discography

Spinnerette discography

Contributions and collaborations (selected)

See also

In Spanish: Jack Irons para niños