Joe Plummer grew up in Northern California where he began playing the drum kit in seventh grade band class. He credits this early introduction to the drum kit and the instructor’s nontraditional approach using top forty rock hits for keeping his musical interests alive. At a young age, Joe enjoyed listening to a wide variety of rock music, supplied by his older brother’s record collection, including Led Zeppelin, The B-52’s, Kansas and Devo. Joe started playing in bands as young as fourteen, typically headlining in his garage, and was heavily influenced by east bay punk and metal bands of the mid-eighties. As “punk music” expanded into more experimental and diverse territories, so did Joe’s interests in drumming. After studying ethnomusicology and psychology at the University of Washington, Joe began to tour seriously with Seattle bands Bare Minimum, Caustic Resin and the experimental Olympia band, The Replikants. In 1999, Joe joined The Black Heart Procession and toured extensively in the United States, Canada and Europe. During this time, Joe regularly recorded with many different indie rock bands in Seattle and Los Angeles. In 2004, Joe joined Modest Mouse as second drummer/percussionist alongside old friend Jeremiah Green. Joe appears on one record and an e.p. with Modest Mouse and has toured with the band extensively over the last five years. In his spare time, Joe has also recorded with bands including All Smiles, The Sads, and has sat in with The Castinets and Steve Malkmus and The Jicks. In early 2009, Joe toured with The Shins and hopes to record with the band in the near future. Joe continues to tour and record with Modest Mouse. Joe feels fortunate to have played with musicians he admires and plans to keep drumming until his arms fall off.