Quick Facts
Biography
Eric Kretz (born June 7, 1966) is an American musician and producer, best known as the drummer for the rock band Stone Temple Pilots. He was of German descent. He has also played for Talk Show and Spiralarms. Eric, who was born in San Jose, California, attended and graduated from Willow Glen High School in San Jose in 1984. He currently owns and operates Bomb Shelter Studios in Los Angeles. While in STP, Kretz has kept somewhat of a low profile but still contributed to the band's songwriting, most notably writing the music to the band's 1996 hit "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart." Along with lead vocalist Scott Weiland, Kretz also wrote the lyrics to the Grammy Award-winning hit "Plush" off STP's 1992 debut Core. Kretz has worked with several notable artists, particularly engineering and mixing the live recordings for The Henry Rollins Show of songs by artists such as Thom Yorke, Ben Harper, Damian Marley, Slayer, Jurassic 5, Death Cab for Cutie, and more.
Equipment
In the Core era, Kretz used a Yamaha Rock Tour Custom drumset before switching to GMS Drums in late 1992/early 1993. He also used Paiste cymbals but switched to Zildjian in 2008.
Cymbals Include: 20" K Crash Ride, 20" Oriental Crash of Doom, 10" A Custom Splash, 18" Constantinople Crash, 18" A Armand Thin Crash, 14" A MasterSound Hats, 16" A Custom EFX, and a 20" A Rock Ride.
Drums Include: Grand Master Green Sparkle Lacquer 24x14 Kick Drum, 14x6.5 Brass Snare, 12x8 tom, 13x9 tom, 16x16 floor tom, and an 18x16 floor tom.