Jess Margera

Jesse Margera (born August 28, 1978) is an American musician and television personality. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Prior to CKY, Margera performed in the band Foreign Objects with former CKY vocalist and guitarist Deron Miller, and he has since worked with Gnarkill, Viking Skull, The Company Band, Fuckface Unstoppable, and Sovereign Eagle. Margera has also appeared in the CKY video series and the Viva La Bam and Jackass television series alongside his brother Bam.

Early life Margera was born on August 28, 1978, and raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania to April and Phil Margera. He chose to play the drums as he had two uncles who played the instrument, one of whom later worked as a drum technician on a CKY tour. His "biggest influence" was Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, but as a young musician he also took an interest in jazz drummers such as Elvin Jones. He later formed Foreign Objects with future CKY vocalist and guitarist Deron Miller, whom he originally met at high school. The band released its debut extended play (EP) The Undiscovered Numbers & Colors in 1995.

Margera was also member of the CKY-related comedy band Gnarkill, formed in 2002, alongside Brandon DiCamillo on vocals, guitarist Rich Vose and brother Bam on keyboards; he performed on both studio albums: 2002's Gnarkill and 2006's GnarKill vs. Unkle Matt and the ShitBirdz.

2002–2011: Viking Skull and The Company Band

In November 2006, it was announced that Margera had joined English band Viking Skull, replacing founding member Gordon Morrison. Speaking about his replacement of Morrison, Margera revealed that he unwittingly contributed to the temporary breakup of the band in 2006, after drinking heavily with the band on tour. The new lineup released the album Chapter Two in September 2007, which was mixed by CKY guitarist Chad I Ginsburg. Viking Skull and Ginsburg (this time as producer) worked together again for the follow-up album Doom, Gloom, Heartache & Whiskey, recorded and released in 2008 in the US.

In addition to his work with CKY and Viking Skull, in 2007 Margera formed The Company Band, a supergroup featuring Clutch frontman Neil Fallon and Fireball Ministry frontman James Rota. Each of the bands had toured with one another between 2005 and 2006, after which the group began jamming together and eventually formed into an official band. With the addition of guitarist Dave Bone and bassist Jason Diamond, the band recorded its debut EP Sign Here, Here and Here with producer Andrew Alekel and released it later in the year. The band recorded its full-length debut in 2009, and released it in November that year as The Company Band. Another EP, Pros & Cons, was released in 2012.

2011–present: Fuckface Unstoppable and future The fate of CKY was cast into doubt in 2011, when the band released a video in which each member spoke about their desires for the future of the band; all members but Ginsburg wanted to record solo albums, while the guitarist favored releasing another CKY album. Miller later claimed that Ginsburg had left the band, while Margera tried to calm the situation by suggesting that Miller had problems with alcohol abuse, and that he needed "support ... not insult". This lineup (with Matt Deis in place of Janaitis) later reunited in 2015, following another split with Miller. Margera has claimed that Davies offered to join the band during a phone call with the drummer, after he had performed on the singer's solo album.

On June 16, 2017, the fifth CKY album titled The Phoenix was released. The band released an EP titled Too Precious to Kill on November 22, 2018.

Jess and Ginsburg are currently working on a new CKY album, titled New Reason to Dream.

Discography

with Foreign Objects The Undiscovered Numbers & Colors (1995) Universal Culture Shock (2004) with CKY Volume 1 (1999) Volume 2 (1999) Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild (2002) An Answer Can Be Found (2005) Carver City (2009) The Phoenix (2017) Too Precious to Kill (2018) New Reason to Dream (TBA) Himself Podcast1 episode 2023 The Nine Club Himself Podcast1 episode 2026 Steve-O's Wild Ride! Himself Podcast1 episode 2026 Bathroom Break Podcast Himself Podcast1 episode