Gretsch Drums is an iconic American drum brand manufactured in Ridgeland, South Carolina.
For 140 years, our award-winning company has been providing "That Great Gretsch Sound" to drummers around the globe.
USA CUSTOM (White Glass Nitron)
8x12 RT, 9x13” RT, 16x16” FT, 16x18” FT, 18x22” BD, 6.5x14” SD, 6x14” SD, 5.5x12” SD
John Bonham, Taylor Hawkins, Steve Ferrone, Steve Gadd and Abe Laboriel Jr.
I’ve always admired the sound that Gretsch drums produced as well as the company’s incredible history in the industry. I am so honored to be a part the family.
"If music is what you’re passionate about, go for it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re bad at it or you can’t do it. Because, if in your heart you know you can succeed, you will."
Elijah Wood has been surrounded by music and the arts throughout their entire life. Elijah's grandfather was a painter, grandmother a concert pianist, mother a professional vocalist, and father a violinist and founding member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Elijah is currently touring with Shania Twain on her "Now" tour which travels North America, into Europe, Australia and New Zealand until the end of 2018. In 2015, at only 19 years old, Elijah landed the coveted position as Shania's new drummer for her Rock This Country arena tour, which encompassed 75 shows in the US and Canada. The tour lasted 6 months, reached over 1 million people, and at its peak was the 4th highest grossing summer tour after Taylor Swift. The media focused heavily on Elijah as the youngest member of Shania’s band, and a feature in Drum Magazine heralds them as a “19 year old stadium veteran.”
When performing with Shania in Dallas during the 2018 NOW tour one reviewer had this to say:
"And while Twain is unquestionably the life of the tour, its heartbeat is 22-year-old drummer Elijah Wood, the shadowy figure who started the show with a drumbeat...Throughout the first half of the show, Wood shone, but always in the background, in that fundamental way. Then it happened. The drum solo. Drum kit mastery, above jackhammer quickness, involves a simplicity that can erupt into chaos at any moment, always back and forth. Plenty of drummers can parade around a drum kit — often at an impressive clip — but few have mastered its secret monasticism.
...At Wednesday night’s show, Elijah Wood proved herself one of the enlightened drummers. Jammed into an embankment of drums — big drums, a Gretsch kit, with a tight snare and four tom-toms, loud, massive. If you saw it with the music muted, you’d swear Wood — with the long silver hair and a coal-black outfit — was a heavy-metal drummer. Her solo had the wild sharpness of John Bonham, a longtime hero of hers. Like Bonham, she’s a head-down drummer, seeming so enraptured by the beat that she involuntarily faced the floor as she thrashed at the drums, the drumsticks and the clear drumheads colliding with a dangerous intensity that shook the entire stadium." - Dallas Observer
Elijah's first professional opportunity came at age 14 when they became the drummer for their parents’ groundbreaking music education program Electrify Your Strings™ (EYS). Today, Elijah tours regularly with EYS and has become a mentor and role model to the students participating in the program. As part of EYS, Elijah was featured on NBC’s The Today Show, CBS Evening News, and many others. In addition, as a member of The Mark Wood Experience (their parent’s touring band), they perform with symphony orchestras around the world.
In 2014, Elijah became the house drummer for Season 9 of NBC-TV’s hit TV show America's Got Talent, broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in NYC, and was featured on camera numerous times due to their captivating performance style. Videos can be found here. At the conclusion of the season, Elijah was hired as the drummer for the AGT Live! residency at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Elijah continues to perform with contestants in live and studio capacities. In 2016, Elijah started working with Grace VanderWaal during live rounds. Elijah saw her potential since day one and was not surprised when she went on to win season 11. Elijah continued to work with Grace, appearing on Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, The Talk, and more. Elijah performed with Grace on her first headlining tour in 2018.
Elijah is also the drummer for OrKeystra, a prog rock super group created by Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess. The group debuted at the 2015 Winter NAMM Show, performing twice daily at the Korg USA booth. The group is currently working on an album release. Check out a video here.
Elijah is an accomplished studio musician with extensive experience in a variety of recording environments, and has also written and produced their own music.
A brief note from Elijah:
You may notice my appearance has changed a little bit. I recently came out publicly as transgender in January of 2018 and am beginning to hone my androgyny in the public light for the first time in my life–embracing both the male and female sides of me and choosing to start 2018 with confidence and authenticity. People have called me both "he" and "she" in my journey–and to that end, you can call me whatever you so desire. For one of the first times in my life, I am whole heartedly excited for what the future holds for me. Live authentically, people. You only get one life.
Gretsch Drums is an iconic American drum brand manufactured in Ridgeland, South Carolina.
For 140 years, our award-winning company has been providing "That Great Gretsch Sound" to drummers around the globe.
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