Pennie began playing drums at the age of 13, and at age 16 decided to pursue music seriously. He grew up in Randolph, New Jersey and graduated from Randolph High School, and spent two years at Berklee College of Music where he received a diploma in Music Synthesis, which focuses on electronic music composition and manipulation.[2]
Influences and legacy
Pennie has cited drummers Lars Ulrich and Stewart Copeland as his main early influences. In regard to his current playing, Sean Reinert is one of his biggest inspirations. He has also emphasized on several occasions that listening to and playing a diverse assortment of music has been an integral part in developing his style, noting such eclectic influences as 1970s jazz-rock fusion group Mahavishnu Orchestra, technical metal bands Meshuggah, Cynic, and electronic-influenced groups such as Nine Inch Nails and DJ Shadow.
While in high school he was playing in the local New Jersey–based band, Prozak. The other 3 members of Prozak were 8–10 years Pennie's senior, and in order for Prozak to play the local bars and clubs, Pennie's father would accompany him to the various gigs. Chris played with Prozak from 1993 until he began attending Berklee School of Music in 1995. He recorded ten songs with Prozak during his time with the band but they were never commercially released.
Pennie also spent time with the pop-punk group Boxer. Formed in 1995 with another Berklee graduate, Jeremy McDowell, they became the first band to be signed to the now famous Vagrant Records. They released one album, The Hurt Process, in 1998, and broke up in late 1999. Pennie also recorded drums for his former tourmates in experimental metalcore group All Else Failed on their 2004 album This Never Happened. Pennie describes his band, The Dillinger Escape Plan, as being 'mathcore' where they start each song with no structure and an open palette.
He and guitarist Ben Weinman, along with now-departed singer Dimitri Minakakis and bass guitarist Adam Doll, formed Dillinger Escape Plan in March 1997. He and Ben Weinman wrote the majority of Dillinger's material and Pennie called Weinman his "musical soulmate". Pennie also took care of a lot of the electronic influence in the band's material in the studio as well as onstage, triggering effects and loops with footswitch pedals.
On November 2, 2011, Coheed and Cambria announced on their Facebook page that Pennie had left the band.[25] Chris also announced he had parted ways with Coheed and Cambria, in order to focus on other projects such as Return to Earth and Fight Mannequins.[26]
Other projects
Pennie lent his talent to the predominantly electronic band Idiot Pilot on their 2007 album Wolves. MTV reported: "the Dillinger Escape Plan's Chris Pennie appears on the album, augmenting several of Wolves' tracks with his drumming prowess. Anderson said the one-two punches of Hoppus, Robinson, Barker, and Pennie are bringing something new to Idiot Pilot's established sound."[27]
Equipment
Drums (Mapex Saturn Series in Black Cherry Sparkle finish):
^"Mapex Drums". Usa.mapexdrums.com. May 31, 1977. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
^Staff. "Chris Pennie"Archived January 13, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Sick Drummer Magazine, August 30, 2006. Accessed September 21, 2015. "After graduating from Randolph High School in 1995, Chris attended Berklee College of music in Boston Massachusetts, where he majored in music synthesis."
