Gene Trautmann is the former drummer for Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...

, the Eagles of Death Metal

Eagles of Death Metal

Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998 by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme. Despite their band name, Eagles of Death Metal are not a death metal band. Hughes stated that a friend was introducing Josh Homme to the death metal genre...

, and the Miracle Workers

The Miracle Workers

The Miracle Workers were a rock and roll band in the 1980s, who began as a garage rock revival band in Portland, Oregon.-Background:The Miracle Workers were formed in January 1982 by Gerry Mohr , and Joel Barnett . The original guitarist and drummer, who were friends of Gerry's, but weren't...

.

Biography

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, Trautmann started playing along to records when he was 11 or 12. “The KISS Halloween special was sort of like that moment of clarity that told me I wanted to be involved and I had to do this for living,” he says. He began playing in punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 bands in high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 and eventually joined a group called the Miracle Workers

Miracle Workers

Miracle Workers is the name of a reality television show on ABC. It premiered on March 6, 2006....

, who were dedicated to reviving the first-generation punk of mid-’60s garage band

Garage band

The term garage band can refer to:* A band that performs garage rock* GarageBand, audio production software published by Apple Inc.* GarageBand.com, a website that helps publicize emerging bands...

s like the Sonics

The Sonics

The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, originating from the early and mid-1960s. Among The Sonics' contemporaries were The Kingsmen, The Wailers, The Dynamics, The Regents, and Paul Revere & the Raiders...

 and the Count Five

Count Five

The Count Five was a 1960s garage rock band from San Jose, California, best known for their Top 10 single "Psychotic Reaction".The band was founded in 1964 by John "Mouse" Michalski and Roy Chaney took over bass duties, two high school friends who had previously played in several short-lived...

.
After graduating in 1985 from Oregon Episcopal School

Oregon Episcopal School

The Oregon Episcopal School is a private, coeducational college preparatory school in the Raleigh Hills suburb of Portland, Oregon.-History:...

, he followed the band to Los Angeles and played with it on several albums, in addition to touring the U.S. and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

After Brant Bjork

Brant Bjork

Brant Bjork is an American musician from Palm Desert, California, who is a drummer, producer, guitarist and one of the more notable figures in the stoner rock and Palm Desert scenes.-Early career and Kyuss:...

 left Kyuss

Kyuss

Kyuss is a rock band, originally from Palm Desert, California. After forming in the late 1980s and releasing an EP under the name Sons of Kyuss in 1990, the band shortened its name to Kyuss. Over the next five years the band released four full-length albums, and one last split EP in 1997 with...

, Trautmann got the call from bandleader Josh Homme to come to the desert for an audition. Although he played with the group for two weeks, the gig eventually went to Alfredo Hernández

Alfredo Hernandez

Alfredo Hernández is an American drummer best known as a member of desert rock bands Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Brant Bjork and the Bros and Yawning Man. He is jazz trained.- Career :...

, and Trautmann was heartbroken. Homme didn’t forget him, though; he called Trautmann again to play on half of 2000’s Rated R

Rated R (Queens of the Stone Age album)

Rated R is the second studio album by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age. It was released on June 6, 2000 through Interscope Records. Rated R was a critical and commercial success and became the band's breakthrough album. It peaked at number 16 on the Top Heatseekers and reached high...

(Interscope), the second album by his new band, the Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...

, and Trautmann was a member of the touring group from June 1999 until September 2001.