Chad Wright is currently one-half of the drumming force behind Disney's High School Musical the Concert tour (the other half being Fausto Cuevas III on percussion). In this concert, Chad displays his impeccable pocket, wide range of versatility – from R&B to funk to Latin to rock – and a varied display of chops and flashes, including the infamous stick toss. All of these things, and a great personality and love for what he does, make up for 90 minutes of one of the best displays of showmanship around today.
Chad was born in Atlanta on Feb, 17, 1971. He displayed a keen interest in drums early on, which consisted of banging on pots and pans in his parents kitchen. At age 4, he got his first drum set and began listening to every single music influence around him at the time. His father was an audiophile and record collector (primarily jazz) during most of his formative years. By age 7, Chad decided to get serious and started taking formal lessons. By age 11, he was gigging around town with his twin brother Chay, playing everything from talent shows and parties to night clubs and his grandfather's church.
In 1989, Chad decided to study music performance at Valdosta State University and perform with their incredible big band, marching band, percussion ensemble and symphonic band. But, in 1991, Chad made a move that would change his life and career. He and is brother enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass. While at Berklee, Chad not only studied with some of the best professors and instructors there (Ed Kaspic, Jon Hazilla, Dennis Montgomery III and Richard Evans), but he also played and recorded in some of the most recognized ensembles such as Jazz/Rock Ensemble, Reverence Gospel Ensemble and Singers Showcase. He also had the chance to play with some very notable names in music like Oleta Adams, Yolanda Adams and then GRP Records A&R Vice President Carl Griffin.
In Chad's final year at Berklee, he started to go on the road with the disco legends Tavares and New England rockers Mark Morris & Catunes. It was during this time that Chad began to mold his voice as a drummer, becoming truly versatile in every sense of the word. Six years of playing with these two acts allowed him to prepare for the biggest move of his career: L.A.
In 2000, Chad made the move to Los Angeles and took his career to the next level. He gave himself three years to land a big gig. Little did he know that between becoming a driving force in the L.A. blues scene and playing with former Temptations lead singer Ali Ollie Woodson (that ultimately lead him to his beautiful wife, Noriko), he would have a gig opportunity with Melvin Lee Davis (made possible by his then girlfriend Noriko) and land the Chaka Khan gig. So in the fall of 2001, Chad toured with Chaka for a year while recording Melvin's album alongside drum legends Will Kennedy and Simon Phillips. He ended the tour subbing for John J.R. Robinson as drummer for the legendary Rufus featuring Chaka Khan. After the Chaka tour ended, Melvin recommended Chad to legendary guitarist Lee Ritenour for his fall 2002 tour along with Gerald Albright. From there, the hits just kept on coming, from Monica, Tyrese and Eric Marienthal to Teena Marie, Rick James and Kieko Matsui.
In 2006, Chad started the year off with more amazing opportunities, maintaining drum/musical director/Pro Tools duties with R&B legend Teena Marie and drum duties with jazz pianist Keiko Matsui, playing for R&B icon Eric Benet, smooth jazz sax master Michael Lington (subbing for regular drummer Ricky Lawson), Motown legend Richard Street (former lead singer of the Temptations), American Idol finalist Mario Vasquez and the legendary Gladys Knight. After all of that, 2007 still provided to be an even bigger year with the opportunity to tour with Disney's High School Musical. Disney's High School Musical was the biggest selling CD of 2006 (selling 3.8 million copies), the biggest selling DVD of 2006 and the most watched television movie of 2006. As a result, Disney decided to take the cast of the movie out on a 41-city, 43-date arena tour across North America and a seven-city, 10-date stadium tour of Latin America.
