James the rev sullivan biography sample
The secret history of Avenged Sevenfold
You’re awake. It’s the dead of night. You’re stood, butt-naked on your lawn, surrounded by smashed glass and pieces of roof, shaking your fist at the sky and screaming at the heavens as the shape of a bicycle disappears into the night, two shrieks of adolescent laughter drawing a rage from your belly fierce enough to level a skyscraper. Not this. Not again.
“Those god damn kids!” you bellow into the darkness as the throes of slumber slowly dissipate from around you. “Fucking hooligans! Irresponsible brats! Future architects of the biggest metal band of the 21st century!” Wait, what?!
“What can I say? We got ourselves in a lot of trouble!” laughs Matthew Sanders, better known as M Shadows, frontman of globe-conquering metal mega-weights, Avenged Sevenfold. The Avenged Sevenfold that used to get up to the kinds of shenanigans you’d expect to see in The Beano when they were growing up together in Huntington Beach, California in the late 90s.
“I hope it gets printed that I don’t condone any of this,” stresses Shadows with a chuckle, “but when Christmas would come around, and everybody would put up lights on their houses, we would go around and try to rip off every light from every house. We’d grab one light and say, ‘Go!’, and we’d ride our bikes off and rip the whole thing off the whole house. Eventually, the cops would come, and we’d have to take off. We had escape routes to get away from the cops: A, B and C. We’d just call it out and get away on our bikes.”
“We were the kids who were sneaking into stores, stealing booze, getting into fights,” smirks guitarist Zacky Vengeance (Zachary Baker to his mum). “There were a handful of pretty good dust-ups. Matt was a trouble-maker and had a reputation around the entire city of being trouble.”
“Ha!” comes the
There are two artists that go by the alias of "The Rev". They are chronologically listed below:
1.) The Rev was an 80's UK spoken-word group known currently for their only two releases "Tiny, Tinny Radio" and "A Thin Grey Space". These tunes appeared on the 1987 compilation "Paper Boats In Puddles" which was distributed by Whizz Records. Members of The Rev later moved on to become part of the popular group Frazier Chorus.
2.) The Rev (born James “Jimmy” Owen Sullivan on February 9 1981- December 28 2009), short for The Reverend Tholomew Plague was the drummer of Avenged Sevenfold, a heavy metal band.
At the age of 3 The Rev got his own drum set. The Rev attended a Catholic school with A7X lead singer M. Shadows, but was expelled in the 3rd grade. The Rev spent a lot of time as a teen living in a laundromat and was in and out of homes. His first record was released at the age of 18. He maintains a presence in the side project Pinkly Smooth with fellow Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates, as well as parts of surf-punk band Ballistico. He has also played piano for the band on “Warmness On The Soul”.
He was also formerly the drummer for third-wave ska band Suburban Legends, along with former Avenged Sevenfold bassist Justin Meacham (not associated with Anti-Flag).
On the new A7X DVD while discussing how each member got their stage names, it was stated that Sullivan attained his name via a shortened version of The Reverend Tholomew Plague. The decision was seemingly random, as there were no specific reasons stated as to the inspiration for the name. He had a tendency to wear eccentric outfits such as outrageously colored kimonos.
Some of his favorite bands are Rancid, The Transplants and Slayer. Sullivan cites his influences as being Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Dave Lombardo and Paul Bostaph of Slayer, and Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater.
Sullivan uses and is sponsored by DW Drums, although he appears in advertiseme Tuesday, December 29, 2009 The drummer of metalcore rock band Avenged Sevenfold, James Owen Sullivan, has been found dead at his California home located in the United States. Sullivan, better known as "The Rev," was found dead on Monday at his home in Huntington Beach at around 1:00 p.m. (PST). It is believed that the 28-year-old died of natural causes. Sullivan was one of the founding members of Avenged Sevenfold when the group debuted in 1999. The group achieved notable success when they won the MTV Best New Artist award in 2006. The group was reportedly working on a fifth album at the time of Sullivan’s death. Avenged Sevenfold released a statement via their website saying "It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. Jimmy was not only one of the world's best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy's family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time." They added, "Jimmy you are forever in our hearts. We love you." An investigation into the cause of Sullivan's death is ongoing. This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable. Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication. Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators. Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections. Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age. The Reverend Tholomew Plague, AKA The Rev, was the drummer for Avenged Sevenfold. His real name is James Owen Sullivan. He was born on February 9, 1981 in Huntington Beach, California. He died on December 28, 2009 at the age of 28 due to a mix of drugs and alcohol. An enlarged heart played a large part in his death, as well. Jimmy was known for his unique drumming style and lyrical genius. He played a large role in writing songs for Avenged Sevenfold. Prior to Avenged Sevenfold, he was in a band called Pinkly Smooth with Synyster Gates. Along with Matt and Zack, James was one of the original members of Avenged Sevenfold. He was a significant part of the band, too, because he had a very unique and odd mind that created lots of masterpieces that Avenged Sevenfold would use in their music. He created his nickname himself but shortened it to "The Rev" later. He was known for his creative usage of the double bass and being the "flame" of the band. He always made his friends laugh and have a good time, no matter the situation. He's also crazy (in a good way). He would chase ducks, hit doves, scream out of car windows, terrorize friends, get drunk, sing about random stuff, and perform karate. He looked up to Mike Portnoy as inspiration when he was younger, and, oddly enough, when Jimmy passed away, Portnoy played in place of The Rev for a few months and on an album until Arin Ilejay (and later, Brooks Wackerman) took his place. Matt (M. Shadows) thought it was unfair to move on after his death because Jimmy had started the band and they are going on without him. Matt Sanders said on the night after the death of The Rev that there was a blue moon, which is quite rare to see. It was coincidental because James also happened to have blue eyes. Avenged Sevenfold dedicated their song, So Far Away, to The Rev, even though it was originally dedicated to Synyster Gates' grandfather. In their 2013 album, Hail to the King, the song St. James was also dedicated to Jimmy. Th Avenged Sevenfold drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan found dead at age 28
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