Derrick William Plourde was born and raised in Goleta/Santa Barbara California. Derrick was an ingenious musician, an innovative drummer, a gifted carpenter and a skilled painter. He coined phrases and nicknames shared among his wide circle of friends, and was appreciated for his offbeat sense of humor. Derrick will be remembered as a son, an uncle, a friend, and most famously as a drummer.



Derrick Plourde as musician

Derrick Plourde was the original drummer of Californian pop-punk group The Ataris. He stayed until 1997 and was followed up by Chris "Kid" Knapp.



Derrick Plourde also manned the drums for melodic pop-punk quintet Lagwagon's first three releases, "Duh", "Trashed" and "Hoss". He was also a member of ska-punk group the Mad Caddies, and provided the kit work for that band's 2001 album "Rock the Plank".



Derrick also drummed with Jaws, Rich Kids on LSD, and others.



Derrick Plourde's most recent work was with crunchy indie rockers Bad Astronaut, a group featuring Lagwagon vocalist and guitarist Joey Cope and former Nerf Herder and Swingin' Utters bassist Marko 72. Honest Don's released Bad Astronaut's two discs, 2001's "Acrophobe" and 2002's album "Houston: We Have a Drinking Problem".



In memory: Derrick Plourde

Derrick Plourde died Wednesday March 31, 2005. Plourde was 33 years old. The drummer took his own life: he was the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.