Willie Wilcox

John "Willie" Wilcox is an American drummer, vocalist, producer, recording engineer and composer, best known for being a member of the band Utopia. He is currently a composer and sound designer for Bally in Las Vegas, Nevada where he develops music and sound effects for gaming machines and casinos.

Equipment

Throughout his career with Utopia, Wilcox has been photographed playing drumsets by Leedy & Ludwig.

Wilcox's most memorable drumset was a motorcycle-shaped electronic percussion configuration nicknamed "Trapparatus". It consisted of pads and pedals which triggered electronic percussion sounds, mounted on an actual motorcycle frame and topped with conventional cymbals. Wilcox can be seen playing the Trapparatus in early 80s Utopia concerts, as well as appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. According to Wilcox, the Trapparatus was destroyed when a warehouse containing most of Utopia's touring equipment was set ablaze by arsonists.

In the early 1980s he became an endorser of Sonor drums, and is seen playing a Sonor Signature drumset in Utopia's concert videos An Evening With Utopia and Live In Boston 1982. Early in his career Wilcox played Zildjian cymbals, switching to Sabian cymbals in the mid 1980s.

Today, Wilcox plays a 4-piece Sonor Delite drumset with Sabian cymbals, Remo drumheads and Vic Firth drumsticks.

Discography

with Hall & Oates

War Babies (1974)

with Meat Loaf

Bat Out Of Hell (1977)

with Utopia

Ra (1977)

Oops, Wrong Planet (1978)

Adventures In Utopia (1979)

Deface The Music (1980)

Utopia (1981)

Swing To The Right (1982)

Oblivion (1984)

POV (1985)

Trivia (1986)

Redux '92: Live In Japan (1992)

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References