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.
Also recorded as Jesse Margera
Jess Margera
Boganman1 · Public domain
- Born
- 1978
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- musician · drummer
- Fields
- heavy metal music · hard rock · alternative rock · stoner rock
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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.
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In this article
Early life
Early life
Margera has also appeared in the CKY video series and the Viva La Bam and Jackass television series alongside his brother Bam.
Margera was born on August 28, 1978, and raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania to April and Phil Margera. He is the older brother of professional skateboarder and TV personality Bam Margera, alongside whom he is a founding member of the CKY crew, which worked on the video series of the same name. 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.
1993–2002: Foreign Objects, CKY and Gnarkill
1993–2002: Foreign Objects, CKY and Gnarkill
Margera first played in a band in 1991 or 1992. One of his first bands was Soalroach, which featured brother Bam and friend Ryan Dunn. 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. Along with bassist Ryan Bruni, the duo later performed under the name Oil, before meeting guitarist Chad I Ginsburg (who was then working as an audio engineer) and changing the name of the band to CKY. Speaking about the formation of the band, Margera recalled in a 2003 interview that the main reason he joined CKY was Miller's guitar playing ability, particularly his ability to write "complicated [guitar] riffs that are catchy". As a member of CKY, Margera performed drums on all five of the band's studio albums, and was credited for contributing to songwriting on Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild. 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
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. The CKY collaboration was extended further, as Joe Frantz and Margera's brother Bam directed the music video for the song "Hair of the Dog". 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
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[s]". Margera, along with Ginsburg and bassist Matt "Matty J" Janaitis, later returned as CKY in 2012 with Year Long Disaster frontman Daniel Davies in place of Miller. 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. Margera also performs drums in brother Bam's group Fuckface Unstoppable, and has contributed to both studio albums: Stórfréttir Í Reykjavík and Fuckface Unstoppable. 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.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Jess Margera”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
institutional register
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q609196: Jess Margera
Unverified · Wikimedia Foundation
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Raising a Jackass - Philadelphia Magazine. Phillymag. May 15, 2006.
- 2.Margera, Jess. Thanks a billion for the awesome birthday present @bam__margera and #jimmypop I'm not much of a synth player but here is my motivation to learn. Please help me @avamargera1 and @scarlettmargera 😩 🎹. Instagram. August 28, 2022.
- 3.JESS MARGERA EP. 10. Put Up Your Dukes Podcast. 2022-02-11.
- 4.MTV. CKY: The Greatest Hits. November 2, 2014.
- 5.Zulaica, Don. Weird Gigs: Jess Margera Risks Death. DRUM! Magazine. June 27, 2011.
- 6.Prindle, Mark. Jess Margera Interview. Mark's Record Reviews.
- 7.Sternberg, Craig. Jess Margera of CKY Interview Continued. Sick Drummer Magazine. September 1, 2009.
- 8.Hartmann, Graham. The Company Band Talk New EP + Jess Margera Recalls Rocking With Brother Bam & Ryan Dunn. Loudwire. August 9, 2012.
- 9.Prato, Greg. CKY Biography. AllMusic.
- 10.Distant Recordings/Teil Martin International. Volume 1. 1999.
- 11.The Island Def Jam Music Group. Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild. 2002.
- 12.The Island Def Jam Music Group. An Answer Can Be Found. 2005.
- 13.Roadrunner Records. Carver City. 2009.
- 14.Gnarkill. 2002.
- 15.10/90. GnarKill vs. Unkle Matt and the ShitBirdz. 2006.
- 16.Blabbermouth.net. Viking Skull Announces New Lineup, Begins Work On New Album. November 18, 2006.
- 17.Bowar, Chad. Viking Skull Interview: A Conversation With Drummer Jess Margera. About.com.
- 18.Blabbermouth.net. Viking Skull: New Album Title Announced. May 22, 2008.
- 19.Blabbermouth.net. Viking Skull: 'Hair Of The Dog' Video To Be Co-Directed By Bam Margera. December 9, 2008.
- 20.Blabbermouth.net. CKY, Fireball Ministry, Clutch Members Launch Side Project. March 9, 2007.
- 21.Firecloud, Johnny. Flexing Corporate Muscle With Jess Margera Of Company Band. Antiquiet. November 5, 2009.
- 22.Blabbermouth.net. The Company Band Putting Finishing Touches On 'Sign Here, Here And Here' EP. October 15, 2007.
- 23.Blabbermouth.net. The Company Band's Full-Length Debut Due In November. September 17, 2009.
- 24.Blabbermouth.net. The Company Band To Release 'Pros & Cons' EP In July. June 7, 2012.
- 25.Shaw, Zach. Shall We Wish CKY R.I.P. Now Or Later?. Metal Insider. August 2, 2011.
- 26.Shaw, Zach. CKY Replaces Deron Miller With Year Long Disaster's Daniel Davies. Metal Insider. March 19, 2012.
- 27.wookubus. CKY Confirm The Return Of Daniel Davies For 'Amnesia Rockfest'. Theprp.com. April 17, 2015.
- 28.Stórfréttir Í Reykjavík. 2013.
- 29.Fuckface Unstoppable. 2014.
- 30.Ginsburg, Chad I. Happy Birthday to my CKY brother and friend for decades! 🎂 The one and only @jessmargera ! Psyched to be working on our Greatest album with you right now 🙌👊. Instagram. August 28, 2022.
- 31.Marshall, John. CKY on Rock 106.1 Full interview. YouTube. April 30, 2024.
- 32.Bathroom Break Podcast #19 - Jess Margera: Drummer - CKY. YouTube. 24 December 2018.
- 33.Bam Margera & Family - Stop And Chat The Nine Club - Episode 90. The Nine Club. 30 January 2023.
- 34.Jess Margera Breaks His Silence - Wild Ride #276. YouTube. 8 January 2026.
- 35.Chris Raab. Bathroom Break Podcast Episode 61 with Jess Margera - Musician. YouTube. 20 July 2026.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Partially resolvedinstitutional register
Wikidata, structured authority record Q609196: Jess MargeraWikimedia Foundation
Unverified
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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