Aaron Gillespie
Encyclopedia
Aaron Roderick Gillespie (born July 18, 1983) is an American musician, best known for being the former drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 and clean vocalist for the metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...

 band Underoath
Underoath
Underoath is an American Christian metalcore band from Tampa, Florida. Founded by Dallas Taylor and Luke Morton on November 30, 1997 in Ocala, Florida, subsequently its additional members were from Tampa, Florida...

, and the current lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band The Almost
The Almost
The Almost is an American alternative rock band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 2005, and is most notable for being the side project of former Underoath drummer, Aaron Gillespie.-History:...

. Gillespie also maintains his own solo project, and released his debut full-length album, Anthem Song on March 8, 2011.

Background

Aaron Roderick Gillespie was born on July 18, 1983 in Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...

. He grew up in a devout Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 family, attended private schools and went to church regularly. Aaron's parents divorced when he was 18 years old. He has a step brother named Jordan Stone from Livingston, NJ. They have limited contact due to Aaron being on tour frequently. At age 14, Aaron worked at the church and vacuumed for $60 a week. He enjoyed playing the drums at church, but was told he did not play well and that he played too loud. At only 14 years old, he received a call from Underoath
Underoath
Underoath is an American Christian metalcore band from Tampa, Florida. Founded by Dallas Taylor and Luke Morton on November 30, 1997 in Ocala, Florida, subsequently its additional members were from Tampa, Florida...

 asking him to play drums for them. He has been nearly blind in his left eye since birth. Gillespie married Jamie Anne Robertson on November 25, 2006, and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

. A year later, Aaron and Jamie moved back to Florida, and they currently reside in Tarpon Springs, Florida. It has been confirmed over Twitter that Jamie and Aaron are expecting a baby soon. Jamie posted on Tumblr on April 17, 2011, " But [Aaron] will be back May 1st and on May 2nd we have our first ultrasound!!!! And then we leave for a cruise! Very excited for May 2nd! Be praying for twins! and no were not crazy."

In 2008 he achieved the HM magazine's Readers Award for "favorite drummer", along with his band mate Timothy McTague who received "favorite guitarist" of 2008. He is currently involved with Unveiled Church, based in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.

Aaron runs a clothing label, Pig Cloth, with his wife Jamie. Gillespie left Underoath after their European Tour in 2010. In the summer of 2010, Aaron finished a solo record, called "Anthem Song", released later on March 8, 2011.

Recently Aaron has done guest vocals on the song "All About Us" by indie pop band He Is We, which was released on the album "My Forever" on November 23, 2010.

Underoath

Gillespie had performed on every Underoath
Underoath
Underoath is an American Christian metalcore band from Tampa, Florida. Founded by Dallas Taylor and Luke Morton on November 30, 1997 in Ocala, Florida, subsequently its additional members were from Tampa, Florida...

 release before Ø (Disambiguation)
Ø (Disambiguation)
Ø is the seventh album by American metalcore band Underoath. Released on November 9, 2010 through Tooth & Nail Records, the album is the band's first without founding member Aaron Gillespie, the first with Daniel Davison, formerly of Norma Jean. As of this album, none of the members that appeared...

 and first began to add clean vocals on Underoath's third album The Changing of Times
The Changing of Times
-Personnel:Underoath*Aaron Gillespie – drums, percussion, clean vocals , backing vocals*Dallas Taylor – lead vocals, backing clean vocals*Octavio Fernandez – rhythm guitar*Tim McTague – lead guitar*William Nottke – bass guitar...

, which shifted Underoath's original extreme metal music style into a more straightforward metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...

 sound and was released in 2002. After lead vocalist Dallas Taylor
Dallas Taylor
Dallas Taylor may refer to:* Dallas Taylor , an American session drummer* Dallas Taylor , vocalist for the band Maylene and the Sons of Disaster* David Dallas Taylor, one of the FBI's ten most wanted fugitives in 1953...

 parted with the band, Spencer Chamberlain
Spencer Chamberlain
Spencer Chamberlain is an American musician, best known as lead vocalist for the metalcore band Underoath. Before fronting Underoath, Chamberlain was also the vocalist for the band This Runs Through in which his brother, Phil Chamberlain, was the drummer.-Background:Spencer Chamberlain was born in...

 joined and the band began to change its style of music even more.

Most of the lyrics on the album They're Only Chasing Safety
They're Only Chasing Safety
- Personnel :Underoath*Aaron Gillespie – drums, percussion, vocals*Spencer Chamberlain – lead vocals*Timothy McTague - lead guitar*Grant Brandell – bass guitar*James Smith - rhythm guitar*Christopher Dudley – keyboards, synthesizersAdditional musicians...

 are written by Gillespie and are about him ending a four year relationship. He stated to Alternative Press "I think I would've died if we didn't write those songs. I thought I had ruined someone's life. It's hard to explain, but you can't just pretend that things are great and go on and get married,". The follow-up to They're Only Chasing Safety, Define the Great Line
Define the Great Line
Define the Great Line is the fifth album by American metalcore band Underoath. The album was released in the United States on June 20, 2006 along with a limited edition version containing exclusive artwork and DVD. For the recording of this album Underoath's usual producer, James Paul Wisner, was...

 was released on June 20, 2006, it debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 selling over 98,000 copies in its first week, the record was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 11, 2006, representing 500,000 shipped units of the album.

On April 5, 2010, Underoath announced that the band and Aaron had agreed to mutually part ways pending the end of their European tour. "We are taking this opportunity to sadly inform you the six of us have decided at the end of the current European tour, Aaron will no longer be playing in Underoath. This was not a decision made in haste but a thought out and prayed upon group agreement. It in no way affects any of the shows left on this tour. They will still be our best efforts and enjoyable experiences for all. For the future, Aaron will be pursuing other musical and ministry endeavors. As for the rest of us we will continue to work hard on the new Underoath record. We appreciate the love and support from everyone in the past and hope that all of us will continue to receive your support on our future paths. We love you guys."

On the same day, Gillespie posted this message on his personal blog:

The Almost

Gillespie performs lead vocals for the alternative rock band The Almost
The Almost
The Almost is an American alternative rock band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 2005, and is most notable for being the side project of former Underoath drummer, Aaron Gillespie.-History:...

. The band's debut album Southern Weather
Southern Weather
Southern Weather is the debut album by former Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie's solo-project, The Almost. It was released on April 3, 2007. The whole album was previewed on The Almost's MySpace page. The full album leaked onto the Internet on March 26....

 was released on April 3, 2007 along with their first single, "Say This Sooner". The single reached a peak of #7 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

's US Modern Rock Charts. Gillespie recorded every instrument on the Southern Weather album except for bass on a couple of tracks, with which Kenny Vasoli
Kenny Vasoli
Kenneth Robert "Kenny" Vasoli is the lead singer and bassist of The Starting Line, a pop punk band. Vasoli attended Hatboro-Horsham High School. At the age of 14, he was invited to join the band after Matt Watts read his AOL Instant Messenger profile. His previous bands include The Prize Fight and...

 from The Starting Line
The Starting Line
The Starting Line is an American pop punk band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 1999.- Formation and history :In 1999, the band that would become The Starting Line was initiated in Churchville, Pennsylvania via an e-mail from guitarist Matt Watts to vocalist/bassist Kenny Vasoli...

 helped. Gillespie continues to tour with The Almost. On November 24, 2008, The Almost released an EP entitled No Gift to Bring. On October 6, 2009 The Almost released another EP entitled Monster. On November 3, 2009 The Almost released their sophomore record Monster Monster
Monster Monster
Monster Monster is the second album by American rock band The Almost, released on November 3, 2009. Like the band's debut Southern Weather, Monster Monster was produced by Aaron Sprinkle. Due to the band's lack of a drummer at the time, lead singer Aaron Gillespie played drums for the record...

, in which the rest of the band mates were more incorporated in the writing and recording processes.

Solo work

Shortly after leaving Underoath, Gillespie announced that he was working on a worship-based solo project. He went to The Compound recording studio in Seattle on June 28, 2010 to record the album that would eventually be released on March, 2011. On his Twitter account on July 24, he posted "Finished my record. So great to be a part of it. Goodnight." Gillespie's solo album "Anthem Song" was released on March 8, 2011. It debuted at number 90 on the Billboard 200.

This album wasn't foreign territory for Gillespie, as he started leading worship at the age of 15. A major push, influence on the lyrical tone of the record is from his recent trip to Africa. In an interview with CBN.com, Gillespie recounted the experience and how it helped shape Anthem Song. He stated "I saw people worshiping God because He exists, because that's what we were created to do. I believe everybody worships something, whether it be your job or your family or a relationship or whatever. We were all made to worship just one, and that's Jesus. And it really, really messed me up, seeing these African people who have nothing worshiping God, just because He exists. It gave me the fuel to go and do this record and also convicted me to leave Underoath and to pursue this ministry area in my life."

FM419

Recently, Gillespie has been working and touring with the Billy Graham Association's FM419; an event that helps train students to share their faith. The event is a prelude to a much larger event help a few months later where students can practice what they learned by leading others to Christ after a message from Franklin Graham. He performs each day at the beginning and end of the conference. He performs songs from his album "Anthem Song," as well as other various worship songs.

Emergency surgery

While on tour with Underoath in 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Gillespie underwent emergency surgery due to an infected thumb. Instead of canceling shows, Underoath recruited Kenny Bozich, former drummer of The Almost to fill in on drums. Spencer Chamberlain
Spencer Chamberlain
Spencer Chamberlain is an American musician, best known as lead vocalist for the metalcore band Underoath. Before fronting Underoath, Chamberlain was also the vocalist for the band This Runs Through in which his brother, Phil Chamberlain, was the drummer.-Background:Spencer Chamberlain was born in...

 and Timothy McTague shared duties in singing his vocal parts.

"Here is the story of my thumb. It’s a bit of a drama, I guess — one of those things where, in the end, hope and good prevail. I hope you like it. Last year, Underoath went on a headlining tour. I can’t tell you how stoked we were. It was long over due since it was the first time we had headlined off of our current record. Things were going incredible until about nine days into the trip when I got one of those routine drummer blisters and super glued it shut. I woke the next morning to find that I could barely pull on my pants, my thumb hurt so bad. It was pulsing and had a dark purple-ish hue. This kind of thing has happened before (not to sound tough or anything, but its true) so I just taped it up and played the show that night. I was in extreme pain for the whole the show, and afterwards I started to wonder why this hurt so bad. I mean, my thumb had never been hurt before to the point where it messed up my playing. I went to see the crowd paramedic, you know the little station beside the stage. She told me that it needed to be lanced (cut open and drained) and that she could do it, no problem. So she lanced it and I wrapped up my thumb, ate an In and Out burger and went to sleep. While we were driving to Vegas I woke up and my thumb was even more swollen than before. Also, there were red lines crawling up my arm [a sign of blood poisoning - ed]. Immediately, I went to the emergency room, got a shot, an IV and some minor surgery. It was weird and I was a baby about it. After it was over, I had to go home for a few days, but I made it back just in time to record our live CD/DVD Survive Kaleidoscope."

Discography

With Underoath
Underoath
Underoath is an American Christian metalcore band from Tampa, Florida. Founded by Dallas Taylor and Luke Morton on November 30, 1997 in Ocala, Florida, subsequently its additional members were from Tampa, Florida...

  • Act of Depression
    Act of Depression
    Act of Depression is the debut album by Underoath. Released July 4, 1999 through Takehold Records, the album is currently out of print and there were only 2,000 copies ever released.-Musical content and style:...

     - 1999
  • Cries of the Past
    Cries of the Past
    Cries of the Past is the second album by Underoath, released on July 4, 2000 through Takehold Records. Only 3,000 copies of the album were pressed, and, like Act of Depression, it is currently out of print...

     - 2000
  • The Changing of Times
    The Changing of Times
    -Personnel:Underoath*Aaron Gillespie – drums, percussion, clean vocals , backing vocals*Dallas Taylor – lead vocals, backing clean vocals*Octavio Fernandez – rhythm guitar*Tim McTague – lead guitar*William Nottke – bass guitar...

     - 2002
  • They're Only Chasing Safety
    They're Only Chasing Safety
    - Personnel :Underoath*Aaron Gillespie – drums, percussion, vocals*Spencer Chamberlain – lead vocals*Timothy McTague - lead guitar*Grant Brandell – bass guitar*James Smith - rhythm guitar*Christopher Dudley – keyboards, synthesizersAdditional musicians...

     - 2004
  • Define the Great Line
    Define the Great Line
    Define the Great Line is the fifth album by American metalcore band Underoath. The album was released in the United States on June 20, 2006 along with a limited edition version containing exclusive artwork and DVD. For the recording of this album Underoath's usual producer, James Paul Wisner, was...

     - 2006
  • Survive, Kaleidoscope
    Survive, Kaleidoscope
    - DVD: "Live from The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA" :Lighting and Set Design: Jeff Verne. Sound recording: Andy Vickery# "Intro "# "Returning Empty Handed"# "In Regards to Myself"# "It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door"...

     - 2008
  • Lost in the Sound of Separation
    Lost in the Sound of Separation
    Lost in the Sound of Separation is the sixth album by American metalcore band Underoath. The album was released on September 2, 2008. The album title is taken from a line of the lyrics of "We Are the Involuntary". In an interview with MTV News about the effort, the band stated it featured 11 songs...

     - 2008
  • Live at Koko - 2010


With The Almost
The Almost
The Almost is an American alternative rock band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 2005, and is most notable for being the side project of former Underoath drummer, Aaron Gillespie.-History:...

  • Southern Weather
    Southern Weather
    Southern Weather is the debut album by former Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie's solo-project, The Almost. It was released on April 3, 2007. The whole album was previewed on The Almost's MySpace page. The full album leaked onto the Internet on March 26....

     - 2007
  • No Gift to Bring - 2008
  • Monster EP - 2009
  • Monster Monster
    Monster Monster
    Monster Monster is the second album by American rock band The Almost, released on November 3, 2009. Like the band's debut Southern Weather, Monster Monster was produced by Aaron Sprinkle. Due to the band's lack of a drummer at the time, lead singer Aaron Gillespie played drums for the record...

     - 2009

Solo
  • Anthem Song - 2011


Appearances in other albums
  • "You're The Wanker, If Anyone Is" from Say Anything
    Say Anything (band)
    Say Anything is an American indie-punk band from Los Angeles, California, fronted by Max Bemis. The band was formed in 2000 with Bemis and four of his friends. Within two years, they self-released two EPs, Junior Varsity and In Your Dreams, and the full-length Baseball: An Album by Sayanything.In...

    's In Defense of the Genre
    In Defense of the Genre
    In Defense of The Genre is the third full-length studio album by American pop-punk band Say Anything, released on October 23, 2007 through J Records as a double disc album. It debuted at number 27 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 25,000 copies in its first week. The first single, "Baby...

     - 2007
  • "My God" from This Beautiful Republic
    This Beautiful Republic
    This Beautiful Republic was an American band signed to ForeFront Records in November 2006. They are best known for their song "Right Now". The group appeared on the Christian television show The Logan Show on December 9, 2006...

    's Perceptions
    Perceptions (This Beautiful Republic album)
    Perceptions is the second full-length studio album by the Christian rock band This Beautiful Republic. The album was released by ForeFront Records on August 19, 2008...

     - 2008
  • "Then They Will Know" from Preson Phillips' The Observant and the Anawim... - 2008
  • "Sahara" from Relient K
    Relient K
    Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Brian Pittman, and Matt Hoopes during the band's junior year in high school and their time at Malone University...

    's Forget And Not Slow Down
    Forget and Not Slow Down
    Forget and Not Slow Down is the sixth full-length studio album by American rock band Relient K, released on October 6, 2009. It is the band's first album since the departure of longtime drummer Dave Douglas at the end of 2007. Ethan Luck was his replacement as the drummer for the band. The album is...

     - 2009
  • "All About Us" from He Is We
    He Is We
    He Is We is an indie pop band from Tacoma, Washington. The band is made up of Trevor Kelly and Rachel Taylor. They met while working at Ted Brown Music Company, a music store in their home town of Tacoma, Washington. They each realized that the other had talent and began to play small gigs...

    's My Forever
    My Forever (album)
    My Forever is the debut album by the indie pop band He Is We.- Track listing :# Forever and Ever# All About Us # Everything You Do# And Run# Happily Ever After# Kiss It Better# Prove You Wrong# Blame It on the Rain# Love Life...

     - 2010
  • "With Everything" by Nine O Five - 2010
  • Upcoming Run Kid Run
    Run Kid Run
    Run Kid Run is a Christian pop/rock band from Carmi, Illinois and Morganfield, Kentucky, formed in 2006. Their debut album This Is Who We Are, was released on May 18, 2006 through Tooth & Nail Records. All of the members, except Paul Stewart, were originally from punk rock band Side Walk Slam on...

     project - 2011


Equipment

  • Truth Custom Drums Orange Glitter, White Pearl Stripe
    • 14x8 Gold brass, die-cast hoops, Trick throw-off Snare
    • 13x9 - Rack Tom
    • 16x16 - Floor Tom
    • 18x16 - Floor Tom
    • 24x18 - Kick Drum
  • Shells: Vintage Mahogany shells w/ reinforcement rings & roundover edges.
  • Truth Custom Drums signature series kit II: Black with Orange stripe
  • DW
    Drum Workshop
    Drum Workshop is a drum and hardware manufacturing company based in Oxnard, California. Their slogan is "The Drummer's Choice".-History:...

     Hardware and Pedals

  • Meinl
    Meinl
    Meinl may refer to:* Companies:** Julius Meinl International, a manufacturer and retailer of coffee, gourmet foods and other grocery products, and operator of supermarkets and cafés, based in Vienna; named after Julius Meinls...

     Cymbals
    • 15" Byzance Dark Hi-hats
    • 21" Byzance Traditional Medium Crash
    • 22" Byzance Traditional Medium Crash
    • 24" Byzance Traditional Medium Ride
  • Endorsed by Evans Drumheads
    • 24" EMAD Bass drum head
    • 13", 16" 18" G2 Coated Tom Heads
  • Pro-Mark
    Pro-Mark
    Pro-Mark is a Houston, Texas-based American drumstick company owned by founder Herb Brochstein. It is a widely known stick company generally played in drum set, drum and bugle corps and concert bands.-History:...

    Drumsticks: 2B American Hickory (Wood Tip)
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