Chuck Treece
Chuck Treece (born May 30, 1964) is a session musician and professional skateboarder from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1984, he became famous for being the first African-American skateboarder to be featured on the cover of "Thrasher" magazine. His musical credits include starting the 1980s skate punk band McRad, remixing songs for Amy Grant and Sting, playing the bass line on "The River of Dreams" by Billy Joel, filling in on drums at a Pearl Jam concert, and touring with Urge Overkill and Bad Brains. In 2010, he was awarded a Pew Fellowships in the Arts. Chuck currently plays  bass in a thrash metal band called ACTiVATE. Treece drummed on the album, "Mass" by Canadian ska band, Bedouin Soundclash. Life. Treece grew up in Newark, Delaware, where he attended John Dickinson High School, but moved to Philadelphia in 1982 because, according to Treece, "I was sick of high-school and I knew I wasn't going to college. I knew I wanted to do music and skate." Between 1982 and 1990, he was a professional skater with endorsements by several , including Santa Cruz Skateboards, Powell-Peralta, and Airwalk sneakers. Treece released two albums with his band McRad, "Absence of  Sanity" in the 1980s (rereleased 2001) and "FDR" in 2007. He also played guitar with New York hardcore band Underdog and recorded on their 1989 LP "Vanishing Point". In 1991, he also released a solo album on Caroline Records titled "Dream'n". Most recently, Treece joined producer Chris DiBeneditto at Philadelphonic Studios to record the drum tracks for The Movement's 2008 rock/reggae album "Set Sail". After recording the album, fellow McRad bandmember Gary Jackson took on the role as drummer for The Movement. Treece continues to skate at FDR Skatepark in Philadelphia and works closely with legendary producer Joe  The Butcher Nicolo. In 2010 Treece joined Philly/NYC punk band Plastic Eaters as their resident drummer. In 2014 Treece continued his Long time musical connection with legendary singer [HR] of the Bad Brains writing and recording new tracks in the studio and performing live shows on Drums with HR and Philly Dub/ Reggae outfit I Yahn I Arkestra notably featuring Treece's childhood Musical mentor, the original Dub Warrior Timi Tanzania. In January 2016 Treece played second guitar in the DC hardcore group Scream at the Black Cat in Washington DC for a benefit show for area musician Doc  Night.