Fred Coury | |
|---|---|
 Coury performing in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | October 20, 1967 Johnson City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Drummer |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Website | doublefortemusic cinderella |
Fred Coury (born October 20, 1967) is an American musician best known as the drummer for the glam metal band Cinderella. Coury lists Neil Peart, Peter Criss, Bobby Blotzer, John Bonham, Eric Carr, Tommy Lee and Tommy Aldridge as his drumming inspirations.[1]
Coury was born in Johnson City, New York, to a Lebanese family.[2] At age 5, Coury started taking violin lessons. At age 6 he participated in his first public performance. Between the ages of 7 and 9 he studied at the Beirut Conservatory of Music in Beirut, Lebanon. At age 10, he added the trumpet to his repertoire. Finally, at age 12 he started to play the drums. By the age of 13, he was playing local bars with the band Sunjammer. As a teen, Coury was accepted to Berklee School of Music in Boston, for violin.
Coury has played in other bands including London and Chastain and was playing with Ozzy Osbourne in 1985 filling-in for Randy Castillo who had a leg injury, before he joined Cinderella. Coury got into Cinderella when Eric Singer told him about the gig and encouraged him to audition. Coury sent in a cassette and because as far as everyone knew, according to Circus magazine, he was the drummer for Osbourne, that may have helped him score an audition.[3]
Coury left Cinderella in 1991 and joined Stephen Pearcy of Ratt to form the band Arcade. He also briefly substituted for Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler in December 1987 when health issues forced Adler off the road.[4] Coury re-joined Cinderella after Arcade folded. In the summer of 2006, Coury and Cinderella joined Poison on a joint 20th anniversary tour. Coury also filled in for Rikki Rockett during Poison's slot at the Comstock Rock Festival on July 15, 2009, due to the fact that Rockett having had baby the day before, and in 2017 he filled for Night Ranger when his friend Kelly Keagy took a brief leave from tour.
Coury spends most of his time in his Los Angeles recording studio Double Forte Music composing for television and sports. A multi-award-winning composer, Coury has scored all four seasons of NBC's hit series The Night Shift, WGN America's original series Almost Paradise, and also scored the opening theme for the NBC series The Wall. Coury composed and created the original musical score for the 2019 feature film Full Count. An avid hockey fan, Coury combined his love of the sport with his musical skills to create the "Goal Song" and sonic identity for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team. In 2017, The L.A. Kings series Black & White, which Coury scores, was nominated and won an Emmy Award. He also provides the sonic identity for the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team, with whom he won a second Emmy award.
In his spare time Coury enjoys storm chasing. He is also a part-time actor and has appeared in several films such as The Human Race or The Junkyard Willie Movie: Lost in Transit. Coury performs mixes for his dance/electronica group called Effcee. Coury is an avid NASCAR fan and can often be seen on "pit road" alongside the crews.
Coury is also passionate about rescuing animals.
