On Wednesday, February 11, Jay Weinberg ‘14, an alumnus of Stevens, came to speak on his experiences while he was a student, as well as his growth into a successful drummer, having toured with multiple bands during his time here and afterwards. He grew up in a musical family, with his father having played the drums for Bruce Springsteen in the E-Street Band, inspiring him to take up the drums himself at around 14 years old.
Weinberg then talked about his experiences with bands in college, having started in 2008, by looking at MySpace and messaging any band in the New York area that needed a drummer at the time until he got a response. He started touring his freshman year with the E-Street Band, filling in for his father, who had schedule conflicts that night, which catapulted him into the summer before he started at Stevens. He then talked about how he would do work for his classes on the bus, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, writing essays about the topics taught to show that he understood the material required. He also talked about having to take a break from academics to continue touring, then going back to finish his bachelor’s in business two years later, finally graduating in 2014.
While touring with the band Against Me!, he had realized that committing to both academics and the band would be detrimental to one or the other, so he took a break from academics to focus on music. He spoke to the Dean, saying that he wouldn’t be able to finish the semester, but that he would be back to finish his education at some point. After eventually finishing his academics and graduating, he got a message from the band Slipknot, asking if he could join them. He was in the band Slipknot for the longest, from 2014 to 2023.
Weinberg spoke on how Stevens influenced his music career, and how his major contributed to the work he does. He majored in Business and Technology, and it taught him how to conduct himself within the business side, and how to get his message and music out there in the world to other people. He liked Business and Technology because it gave him an education on business practices integrated with modern technology. Stevens helped him chase his dreams and pushed him to do more, not just academically, but musically as well.
