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Ilan Rubin
American musician (born 1988) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ilan Rubin (born July 7, 1988) is an American musician, producer, songwriter, composer, and artist. He is known primarily for playing drums with bands such as Nine Inch Nails,[1] Paramore,[2] Lostprophets,[3] Angels & Airwaves[4] Danny Elfman,[5] and Foo Fighters.[6] In 2008, he formed The New Regime, where he sings and plays all instruments in the studio and plays guitar with a band for live performances. In 2021, Ilan released music for the first time under his name. His debut single "Talk Talk Talk" was remixed by Phantogram.[7]
As a member of Nine Inch Nails, in 2020, Rubin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the youngest living inductee in its history.[8] He is also the first Rock Hall inductee to be born in the 1980s, and the first to be born after the establishment of the Hall itself.
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Early life
Rubin was raised in San Diego, California.[9][10] He began playing drums at eight when he discovered his father's 1968 Silver Sparkle Ludwig drum kit in the garage. After three months of "toying" with the kit, he had taught himself to play and was jamming with his older brothers.[11] By age nine, he was ready to play for F.o.N., a band that eventually would do three stints on the Vans Warped Tour, where Rubin would also fill in on drums for bands such as NOFX. In 1999, F.o.N. opened Woodstock '99 on the Emerging Artist Stage; as a result, 11-year-old Rubin gained entry into the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest musician to ever play on a Woodstock stage.[12]
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Career
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Lostprophets (2006–2008)
Rubin was the drummer for the Welsh band Lostprophets. He replaced Mike Chiplin, founding member and original drummer, who left the band in 2005. Before finding Rubin, Lostprophets hired session drummer Josh Freese to record the tracks on Liberation Transmission. After Rubin joined, he played the remaining two tracks on Liberation Transmission: "For All These Times Son, For All These Times" and "Everybody's Screaming!!!", as well as the entirety of The Betrayed. [13] [14]
While touring with Lostprophets, Rubin played his first shows in the United Kingdom and toured large arenas for the first time. Rubin would describe the transition from his previous smaller bands to arena shows as a "big step up", but stated that Lostprophets had become "stagnant" prior to his departure for Nine Inch Nails in 2008. [13]
The New Regime (2007–2020)
Rubin's first solo album, under the pseudonym 'The New Regime', called Coup, was recorded throughout 2007 and 2008 and released in November 2008. While touring with Nine Inch Nails and following the conclusion of the Wave Goodbye Tour, Rubin worked on his second album, Speak Through The White Noise, which was released in April 2011.[15] Before this, Ilan released a free single titled 'Remission Of Guilt' through his website. It has been confirmed that this track will not be on the new album. In 2011, he went on Tour with Taking Back Sunday as an opening act. In 2013 and 2015, he released the two halves of his next project, Exhibit A and Exhibit B. On March 6, 2020, The New Regime released its fifth studio album, Heart Mind Body & Soul, featuring the singles "Turning a Blind Eye" and "Heart Mind Body & Soul." Over five months before its release, Rubin released three EPs (Heart, Mind, and Body), each with four songs from the upcoming album that fit the themes of the titles. The New Regime was on tour with Silversun Pickups in March 2020 to support the new album, which abruptly halted courtesy of the COVID pandemic and resulting shutdown. Just before that tour, "Heart Mind Body & Soul" was released, which included all of the material on the previously released EPs, a final EP called "Soul," plus some bonus material. The album was receiving critical praise just before the shutdown.[16]
The New Regime Live Lineup: Ilan Rubin: vocals, piano, guitar, Kemble Walters: bass, vocals, Rob Ketchum: drums, vocals
Nine Inch Nails (2009–2025)
On November 15, 2008, Trent Reznor announced via the Nine Inch Nails website that Rubin would be joining industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails as their drummer after the departure of Josh Freese in late 2008. Rubin's role in the live iteration of Nine Inch Nails has grown to include playing piano, synths, bass, guitar, and even cello.[17] As NIN's live drummer, Rubin is now the drummer that has played the longest amount of time with the band.[17] In July 2025, it was announced that Rubin would be leaving the band after his decision to join the Foo Fighters, replacing Freese. In July 2025, Freese rejoined Nine Inch Nails.[18][19]
Angels & Airwaves (2011–present)
In 2011, Rubin joined Angels & Airwaves, replacing drummer Atom Willard.[20] From 2014 to the present, Rubin has been the only other songwriter for the band besides frontman Tom DeLonge. During that time, he recorded the band's 2014 album, The Dream Walker, and the EPs ...Of Nightmares in 2015 and Chasing Shadows in 2016, respectively. Beyond drumming, Rubin has taken on playing multiple instruments for the band while recording and continued to do so on the band's 2021 album, Lifeforms. During this time, DeLonge would go on to credit Rubin as a major contributor to the band's songwriting process.[21]
Paramore (2012–2013)
On June 28, 2012, Paramore confirmed Rubin would drum on their fourth album,[2] though he didn't join as an official member of the band. Rubin recorded all the drums on their self-titled album and joined them for its subsequent tour. "Paramore," the album, ended up going platinum and featured Grammy-winning "Ain't It Fun," a song on which Rubin's drumming was lauded by industry and fans alike.[22]
Danny Elfman (2023–present)
On May 8, 2023, Danny Elfman announced that he would be doing two shows, one in Chula Vista, CA., and the other in Irvine, CA., entitled “From Boingo to Batman to Big Mess and Beyond!” In making that announcement, Elfman confirmed that Ilan Rubin would replace Josh Freese on drums.[23]
Foo Fighters (2025–present)
On July 30, 2025, it was announced that Rubin would be joining the Foo Fighters after drummer Josh Freese was fired the same year.[24].
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New projects and challenges (2019-present)
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During the pandemic shutdown, Rubin took on the task of learning the intricacies of film scoring.[25] Two of the feature-length films he scored, "Bobcat Moretti"[26] and "Monsters of California," a film directed by bandmate Tom DeLonge[27] were released on August 4 and October 6, 2023, respectively. His work on the Bobcat Moretti film earned him a nomination as best original score at the Beaufort International Film Festival.[28]
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Discography
Ilan Rubin
- Talk Talk Talk - Single (2021)
- Talk Talk Talk (Phantogram Remix) - Single (2021)
- Chaos in Motion - Single (2021)
- Good Morning Good Morning (The Beatles cover) - Single (2022)
- 24HR Fix - Single (2022)
- Living in the Underworld - Single (2022)
- Don't Panic - Single (2023)
- Room for Two - Single (2023)
- No Place Left To Go - Single (2023)
- Get Out While You Can - Single (2023)
- Looming - Single (2024)
Angels & Airwaves
- The Dream Walker (2014)
- ... Of Nightmares - EP (2015)
- Chasing Shadows - EP (2016)
- Lifeforms (2021)
The New Regime
- "Eleanor Rigby" (The Beatles cover) (2007)
- Coup (2008)
- Remission of Guilt (2010)
- Speak Through The White Noise (2011)
- Exhibit A (2013)
- Exhibit B (2015)
- Heart Mind Body & Soul (2020)
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References
External links
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