BIOGRAPHY

Bun E Carlos

Bun E. Carlos, born Brad M. Carlson on June 12, 1951 in Rockford, Illinois, is an American musician, best known as the drummer and founding member of American rock band, Cheap Trick.

Although he is left-handed, Carlos has alternated between left and right-handed playing throughout his drumming career.

Carlos has several writing credits, the most notable of which is the drum solo track "Who D'King", from the 1980 Cheap Trick album, All Shook Up, and Bun E. in a Box (2004), a drum sample CD.

In the late '90s, Carlos introduced his own line of coffee which included, at one point, a Special Limited Edition hand-signed numbered bag of coffee.

In 2009, Carlos, along Hanson singer, Taylor Hanson, former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist, James Iha, and Fountains of Wayne bassist, Adam Schlesinger, formed a new band called Tinted Windows — running alongside each of the artists' main bands. The group's first publicized performance was on March 20, 2009 at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Their self-titled album, Tinted Windows, was released on April 21, 2009 and was followed by a number of late-night network TV show appearances.

On March 19, 2010, Cheap Trick issued a statement that Carlos will no longer a touring member for Cheap Trick, although he still remains as a band member. Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen's son Daxx was named in the statement as the touring drummer. Carlos had previously suffered from back problems, the recovery and treatment of which had caused him to miss portions of some Cheap Trick tours.

In 2013, Carlos filed a lawsuit against his former Cheap Trick bandmates, claiming that although he is still considered a band member, Carlos is not being allowed to participate in band-related activities, including recording a new album. The remaining three members of Cheap Trick filed a countersuit, seeking an official affirmation of their removal of Carlos. Their lawsuit was thrown out by a Delaware judge in late 2013.

On February 26, 2015, Cheap Trick's Robin Zander announced that the lawsuit was over and that they had settled their differences with Carlos. "Bun E. is a member of the band, but he's not touring and he's not recording." Zander continued, "These decisions that Cheap Trick makes, Bun E. is part of."

Bun E. Carlos