Jonathan Patrick Wurster (born October 31, 1966) is an American drummer, percussionist, vocalist and comedy writer. As a musician, he is best known for his work withSuperchunk,the Mountain Goats, andBob Mould.[1] He is also known for appearing onThe Best Show withTom Scharpling.[2]
Wurster grew up in the southeastern Pennsylvania town of Harleysville and began playing drums at the age of ten, taking lessons for a few years before playing in local bands.[5] In 1984 Wurster joined the psychedelic punk band Psychotic Norman. The band shared bills with theMinutemen,Die Kreuzen, andSuicidal Tendencies and recorded a three-song 7" EP before Wurster left in January 1986 to play with[6] rock band the Right Profile.[7]
Dickinson and The Right Profile began sessions for their debut album atArdent Studios[11] in the summer of 1987, but never completed the album. The band continued for four more years, eventually changing their name to the Carneys.[12] A five-day recording session in 1989 produced by drummerSteve Jordan at New York City'sThe Hit Factory has been cited by Wurster as crucial to his development as a drummer. A cross-country tour to Los Angeles to find a record deal proved unsuccessful, and the Carneys broke up in August 1991. Andy York, the guitarist on the final tour, would go on to play withJohn Mellencamp.[13] The Right Profile's 1986-87 lineup reformed for a benefit show in August 2018 at theCat's Cradle inCarrboro, North Carolina.
Wurster replaced drummer Doug Whelchel in theRaleigh-basedroots rock bandThe Accelerators for the recording of their second albumDream Train.[14][15] However, the band's label,Profile Records, stalled the release of the album for several years, resulting in the band going on hiatus.[14] WhenDream Train was finally released in 1991, front man Gerald Duncan and Wurster were the only returning members for show at aThe Brewery in Raleigh on October 4, 1991.[14] Although Wurster had already joinedSuperchunk, he continued playing with the Accelerators for their limited tour in support ofDream Train, but eventually left the band to devote more time to his new band.
Wurster moved to Chapel Hill in March 1991 and joined the bandSuperchunk in October just before the release of its second album,No Pocky for Kitty. Wurster has drummed on every Superchunk album sinceNo Pocky.[16]
After eleven years of recording and touring, Superchunk went on hiatus in 2002. During the hiatus Wurster worked withCaitlin Cary (2002);The Minus 5 (2002);Marah (2003);Chris Stamey (2004), andRobert Pollard ofGuided by Voices (2006).[17][18] In November, 2006 Superchunk played withThe Mountain Goats atThe Daily Show's tenth anniversary party atIrving Plaza in New York City. In addition to performing a comedy sketch withSamantha Bee ofDaily Show, Wurster played three songs with the Mountain Goats. As a result, he was invited to drum on the duo's west coast tour in 2007.[19]
Wurster appeared in a 2002UPS commercial playing drums withKyle Gass andCharlie Daniels on a version of Daniels' song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia".[23]
The Electrifying Conclusion-Guided by Voices drums onI Am a Tree (Plexifilms, 2005)[24]
Wurster was a member of a drum section backingKaty Perry andJoe Perry on Queen's "We Will Rock You" during the opening of the 2009 MTV Video Awards.[25]
Wurster is the drummer on "Love Take Me Down to the Street"", a song featured in the 2010 filmRole Models withPaul Rudd.[26]
OnSee a Little Light: A Celebration of the Music of Bob Mould he plays drums with Bob Mould, Dave Grohl, Britt Daniel, Margeret Cho, Grant Lee Buffalo, and Tad Keubler (Granary, 2012)
Wurster plays drums on the song "Fat Pussy" in Margaret Cho's 2015 Netflix specialPsyCHO.
Wurster is the drummer in Test Pattern, a band featuring Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph, in the 2016 "Final Transmission" episode of the IFC seriesDocumentary Now![27]
Wurster metNew Jersey nativeTom Scharpling on June 19, 1992 at a My Bloody Valentine/Superchunk/Pavement show in New York City. The two found common comedy and musical ground and became good friends. Over the ensuing years, Wurster and Scharpling kept in touch, coming up with comedy ideas that would eventually find a home on Scharpling'sWFMU radio show.[28]
The duo's first performance on Scharpling's WFMU show occurred on November 19, 1997. It featured Wurster calling in as Ronald Thomas Clontle, the misguided, egotistical author of a music reference book titledRock, Rot & Rule. Listeners believed the call to be a real interview with a real author and called in to argue with Clontle over pronouncements like "Madness invented ska" and "David Bowie rots because he’s made too many changes." The Clontle call was eventually released on CD in 1999 asRock, Rot & Rule via the duo's Stereolaffs label.Rock, Rot & Rule saw its first vinyl release in 2015 on Flannelgraph Records.[29]
Scharpling & Wurster continued their partnership when Scharpling'sThe Best Show on WFMU debuted in 2000. During this period Philly Boy Roy, Hippy Johnny, Bryce Chastain and other belovedBest Show characters (all voiced by Wurster) were introduced.[30] Scharpling and Wurster released four best of CDs (Chain Fights,Beer Busts and Service with a Grin,New Hope for the Ape-Eared,Hippy Justice and The Art of the Slap) between 1999 and 2007.
In 2012 Wurster appeared in the music video forAimee Mann's "Labrador", which was directed by Scharpling. The video was a tongue-in-cheek shot-by-shot remake of the 1985 video forVoices Carry by Mann's band'Til Tuesday, and Wurster stood in for the abusive boyfriend originally played byCully Holland.
The Best Show left WFMU in December, 2013 and relaunched a year later asThe Best Show with Tom Scharpling on thebestshow.net[31]
In May, 2015Numero Group released the 16-CD, 8-hourThe Best of Scharpling & Wurster on the Best Show box set.[32] To promote the compilation, Scharpling & Wurster took their audio act to the stage, starting with four sold-out shows at Brooklyn's Bell House.[33] The duo then embarked on a U.S. tour performing live recreations of theirBest Show calls as well as new material. Special guests during this tour includedKim Gordon,Vanessa Bayer,Britt Daniel,Steve Albini,Stephen Malkmus,Ben Gibbard,Chris Stamey and Wilco's John Stirratt and Pat Sansone.[34]
Scharpling Wurster appeared as couch guests onLate Night with Seth Meyers on May 14, 2015 and recorded theirScharpling & Wurster Live at Third Man Records album two days later inNashville,Tennessee. Wurster is one of only a handful of artists to appear onLate Night as couch guest, musical guest and as a member of the 8G Band.[35] Wurster has appeared as an expert witness in theJudge John Hodgman podcast episode "A Trial of Two Cities".[36]
Wurster has written articles forRolling Stone,[40] McSweeney's,The Onion[41] and Spin[42] and has been a contributing writer forModern Drummer since 2003.[43] He has written articles about touring and recording as well as features on other drummers. Wurster has also contributed chapters to the following books:
The Drummer: 100 Years of Rhythmic Power and Invention (Modern Drummer, 2010)[44]
In 1983 Wurster booked Philadelphia punk band The Dead Milkmen's first ever show (at the Harleysville Senior Adult Activity Center). Wurster was later name checked in "Stuart", a song from the Milkmen's 1988 albumBeelzebubba ("You know that Jonny Wurster kid, the kid that delivers papers In the neighborhood? He's a fine kid. Some of the neighbors say he smokes crack, but I don't believe it").[46]
In the season 3 "Bush is a Pussy" episode ofMr. Show Bob Odenkirk tells his formerSiamese twin (played by David Cross) that he is getting reattached, not to him, but to "Jon Wurster in Marketing."
A reference toRock, Rot & Rule appears on a blackboard in a scene from the Comedy Central showStrangers with Candy.
^ab"Jon Wurster (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedDecember 2, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
