Ilan Rubin

Ilan Rubin
Ilan Rubin
Background information
Born	July 7, 1988 (age 36); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Origin	San Diego, California, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock; industrial rock; pop rock; hard rock; alternative metal; pop; electronic;
Occupations	Producer; songwriter; composer; musician; artist;
Instruments	Drums; percussion; vocals; guitar; bass guitar; keyboards; cello;
Years active	1997–present
Member of	Nine Inch Nails; Angels & Airwaves;
Formerly of	Paramore; The Jaded Hearts Club; Fenix TX; Denver Harbor;
Website	ilanrubinmusic.com thenewregimemusic.com

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] and Danny Elfman^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7] 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.

Early life

Rubin was raised in San Diego, California. 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

Career

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.^[10] 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.^[11]

The New Regime Live Lineup: Ilan Rubin: vocals, piano, guitar, Kemble Walters: bass, vocals, Rob Ketchum: drums, vocals

Nine Inch Nails (2009–present)

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.^[12] As NIN's live drummer, Rubin is now the drummer that has played the longest amount of time with the band.^[12]

Angels & Airwaves (2011–present)

In 2011, Rubin joined Angels & Airwaves, replacing drummer Atom Willard.^[13] 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.^[14]

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.^[15]

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.^[16]

New projects and challenges (2019-present)

During the pandemic shutdown, Rubin took on the task of learning the intricacies of film scoring.^[17] Two of the feature-length films he scored, "Bobcat Moretti"^[18] and "Monsters of California," a film directed by bandmate Tom DeLonge^[19] 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.^[20]

Selected songwriting and production credits
Year	Artist	Album	Song	Role
2013	Angels & Airwaves	Stomping The Phantom Break Pedal		Producer, Songwriter
2014	Angels & Airwaves	The Dream Walker		Producer, Songwriter
2020	The New Regime	Heart Mind Body and Soul		Artist, Producer, Songwriter
2020	Angels & Airwaves	All That's Left is Love – Single	"All That's Left is Love"	Producer, Songwriter
2021	Angels & Airwaves	Lifeforms		Producer, Songwriter
2022	Oliver Tree	Cowboys Tears	"Cowboy's Don't Cry" "The Villain"	Producer, Songwriter
2023	Jawny	It’s Never Fair, Always True	"Adios"	Producer, Songwriter
2023	44phantom	Cherry Cigarettes – Single	Cherry Cigarettes	Producer, Songwriter
2023	BBGirls	One More Time - Single	"One More Time"	Producer, Songwriter
2024	Jazmin Bean	Traumatic Livelihood	"Black Dress"	Producer, Songwriter
2024	Friday Pilots Club	Nowhere	"Nosedive"	Songwriter
2024	Tatiana Hazel	Can Anybody Hear Me	"Better Off" "All Along"	Producer, Songwriter
2024	Bleu Grave	Bleu Grave, Vol 2, - EP	"In Exile" "Television Tell Me What To Do" "Her Projection" "Hollow"	Producer, Songwriter
2024	Atarashii Gakko!	AG Calling	"Superhuman"	Producer, Songwriter
2024	Sueco	Out of My Head - Single	"Out of My Head"	Producer, Songwriter

Selected Session & Instrumental Credits
Year	Artist	Album	Song	Role
2013	Paramore	Paramore		Drums
2013	M83	Oblivion [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]	"Oblivion"	Drums
2013	Nine Inch Nails	Hesitation Marks		Drums & Percussion
2015	M83, Haim	Insurgent [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]	“Holes In The Sky”	Drums
2016	Simple Plan	Taking One For The Team		Drums
2017	Beck	Colors		Drums
2020	Phantogram	Ceremony		Drums
2022	Frank Turner	FTHC	Tracks 1, 3-7, 9-12, 14	Drums
2023	Melanie Martinez	Portals	"Evil"	Drums
2024	Christophe Beck	Road House [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]		Drums & Guitar

Original Film Score
Year	Film	Director	Principal Cast	Role
2022	Bobcat Moretti	Rob Margolies	Tim Realbuto, Vivica A. Fox, Taryn Manning, Coolio	Composer
2023	Monsters of California	Tom DeLonge	Jack Samson, Jack Lancaster, Jared Scott	Composer
2023	In Fidelity	Rob Margolies	Chris Parnell, Cara Buono, Dennis Haysbert	Composer
2024	Road House	Doug Liman	Jake Gyllenhaal, Connor McGregor