Birth name Rayna Foss
Born August 26, 1970 or 1974
Instrument(s) bass
Associated acts Coal Chamber, Sevendust

Biography

Rayna Foss was born in August 26, 1970 in Atlanta, Georgia. She first started playing bass at a friend's party. His roommate had recently moved out and left the instrument behind. Rayna found it and her friend simply gave it to her.

Shortly thereafter Dez (whom she met through an ex) asked Rayna to audition for a new band. Less than 8 days later she was playing live with what was to become Coal Chamber.

Rayna played with the band on their first two albums and supporting tours. Shortly after their first album was released the band toured with Sevendust where she met drummer Morgan Rose. The two got along surprisingly well and a romantic relationship ensued. Within a year they were married. During the recording of the band's second album Chamber Music Rayna became pregnant with their first child. This led to Nadja Peulen filling in on bass when Rayna was not able to play shows. Shortly after their daughter Kayla Moray Rose was born October 5, 1999 Rayna announced she was leaving Coal Chamber for good as she and her husband had found God.

Rayna's departure was received bitterly by the band's singer Dez who went out of his way to verbally abuse Rayna and her husband.[citation needed] This was reciprocated by Morgan who described Dez as "a piece of shit who is not important to society". Morgan's distaste for Fafara is documented in 'Enemy', the lead-single from Sevendust's 2003 album Seasons.

Two years later, Rayna and Morgan divorced.

Birth name Mike Cox (Bug) (ancien batteur)
Born : 31 August 1977, Los Angeles

Mikey "Bug" Cox was the drummer of Coal Chamber. The youngest also from the original line-up.

Biography

He was born in August 31st, 1977 in Detroit, Michigan. Cox joined Coal Chamber after auditioning in answer to a newspaper advertisement, and beat out his older brother Travis for the position. He recorded three albums with the band while signed on Roadrunner Records, achieving minor commercial and mainstream success with fellow nu metal bands such as Korn. Cox also toured with Coal Chamber on several headlining and festival shows, including Ozzfest. Since parting ways with Coal Chamber in October 2002, Mikey has worked with Paige Haley of Orgy to produce the first demo album of Colorado band, ION,and was in a band with Haley as well. This came to an abrupt end when Cox got into a near fatal car accident where doctors state " If he wasn't unconscious at the time of impact he would have been killed or at least would have broken every bone in his face " The injuries stemming from the accident forced Cox to take a three year absence from playing drums. In that time , expanded his education in Pro tools and audio Production.

In 2006 , fully recovered from the injuries began playing again which led to the joining of "Machine Gun Orchestra". A band who was formed by long time friend Jay Gordon. Gordon was the vocalist and creature of the multi platinum band Orgy who has producer credit on Linkin Park as well as on Coal Chamber's debut album , which is certified Gold in The united States. Cox and Gordon plan on the debut record for Machine Gun Orchestra to be finished in 2008.

Miscellaneous

Cox and Coal Chamber bassist, Rayna Foss-Rose, became close friends and eventually shared an apartment. He received the nickname "Bug" from Foss-Rose because he says she would sleep late and when he was bored he would go into her room to bug her and wake her up.

Contrary to popular belief, Cox did graduate from high school. He calls himself a kid with no friends that hated high school so much he got good grades so he could actually graduate early. He joined the band shortly after the completion of high school.

Birth name Nadja Peulen
Born October 1, 1979 (1979-10-01) (age 28), Germany
Genre(s) Nu metal
Occupation(s) Bassist
Instrument(s) Bass
Associated acts Coal Chamber, Roadrunner United

Nadja Peulen (Born October 1st, 1979) is a recording artist from Germany who replaced Coal Chamber's Rayna Foss-Rose for live performances. She did not record in the studio with Coal Chamber, simply replaced Rayna on tour due to Rayna's marriage to, and child with, Sevendust's drummer Morgan Rose.

Peulen replaced Rayna Foss Rose in 1999 during her pregnancy for almost 12 months on tour in support of Coal Chamber's second album "Chamber Music". Rayna came back to the band after her pregnancy leave and recorded their third album "Dark Days". Shortly after recording Dark Days, Rayna quit the band and Nadja was called to join the band and engage in touring in support of Dark Days. The band broke up during the Dark Days tour in 2002 and Nadja continued to play music and has been seen playing in Cypress Hill videos "Rocksuperstar" & "What's your number".

She also started her own T-shirt company called "CruelTees and her apparel can be purchased in Hot Topic stores and on the net.

In 2005, Nadja recorded bass on "The End", Dino Cazares' (ex-Fear Factory/Divine Heresy) song on the Roadrunner United: The All Star Sessions album released in October 2005. This song became the album's first single and the video featured Matt Heafy (Trivium), Dino Cazares, Logan Mader (Machine Head/Soulfly), Roy Mayorga (Stone Sour) and Nadja.

She also appeared on Joey Jordison's "Tired 'N Lonely" live TV performance for Fuse's "Metal Asylum" show. This song was also on the Roadrunner United: The All Star Sessions album . The live band for this performance was; Joey Jordison (Slipknot), Keith Caputo (Life of Agony), Matt Baumbach (VOD), and Acey Slade (Dope/Murderdolls).

Miguel Rascón (born August 20, 1972 in Mexico) better known by the stage name Meegs, is a rock guitarist of Chinese and Mexican descent. He has resided in Los Angeles, California since his teenage years.

Biography

Rascón is most famous for his role as guitarist in nu metal band Coal Chamber, during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Though he had previously played with vocalist Dez Fafara in a band known as "She's In Pain" which the two formed in 1992, it would be another two years before he and Fafara formed Coal Chamber in 1994.

With the group Meegs recorded three albums that were released on Roadrunner Records, which garnered commercial success. They were also apart of the first three Ozzfest tours. Rascón and the band went their separate ways, after they subsequently broke-up in 2003.

Since the break-up of Coal Chamber, Meegs formed a new band; Piñata, with a more melodic hard rock sound than music he had previously made, in 2006 the group changed their name to Glass Piñata.

Trivia

* The nickname "Meegs" was given to him by friend; Elijah Blue Allman of Deadsy.
* Jay Gordon of Orgy and Rascón lived together in an apartment for some time.
* In 2001 Meegs collaborated with Jessicka from the band Jack Off Jill on the song "Iieee", for a Tori Amos tribute album.
* For Darkwave band Switchblade Symphony's remix album "Sinister Nostalgia", he mixed the track "Cocoon".
* He is 5'7" tall.
* When he was younger he practiced guitar for as long as 7 hours per day.

Birth name: Bradley Dez Fafara
Born:May 12, 1966 (1966-05-12) (age 42)
Origin: Santa Barbara, California, United States
Genre(s): Melodic death metal, Groove metal, Nu metal, alternative metal
Occupation(s): Vocalist
Years active: 1994–Present
Label(s): Roadrunner Records
Associated acts: DevilDriver, Coal Chamber

Personal life

Dez is of Italian descent. His father, Tiger Fafara, was a child actor on the Leave It to Beaver sitcom, playing the character "Tooey Brown."

Dez's wife is named Anahstasia, and she appears on the cover of the second Coal Chamber album Chamber Music. Dez has 3 sons: Tyler, Simon and Kaleb. "Tyler's Song", from the album Chamber Music, was written for Tyler. Simon, age 9, recently added backing growls on DevilDriver's third album, The Last Kind Words (2007), on the song Tirades Of Truth, during the last two lines of the chorus.

Dez has a great fondness for wine, particularly chianti.

Dez has an on going rivalry with Sevendust in particular Morgan Rose.

Coal Chamber

Dez released a total of 5 albums with Coal Chamber. Three of the albums, Coal Chamber (1997), which went gold, Chamber Music (1999), and Dark Days (2002), consisted of new material. An album of remixes, rarities, and b-sides, titled Giving the Devil His Due (2003) and a "Best Of" (2004) were also released. Coal Chamber disbanded in 2003, shortly after Dez formed his current band DevilDriver. Recently, Meegs said in an interview on VM Underground that he and Dez were in their 20s when Coal Chamber were signed.

Dez refuses to talk about his earlier years with Coal Chamber but the subject of their break up was that according to Meegs Rascon in a recent interview that their relationship was tearing down but he has mentioned that he will miss singing Coal Chamber Songs.

Compilations/Collaborations

Dez has appeared on more than 12 soundtrack records, including Scream 3, which also went gold. He also collaborated with Ozzy Osbourne for a remake of "Shock the Monkey", a song originally by Peter Gabriel, that was released on the album Chamber Music. This song propelled this record to debut 22 on the billboard charts upon release.

Fafara recently recorded a song for the compilation Roadrunner United, an album created by Roadrunner Records for their 25th year anniversary. The song, titled "Baptized In The Redemption", featured Dez on vocals with Dino Cazares (ex-Fear Factory), Andreas Kisser (Sepultura), Paul Gray (Slipknot) and Roy Mayorga (Stone Sour, ex-Soulfly). Dez worked with Nikki Sixx (Mötley Crüe) on a song called "Where is God Tonight?". Dez has also worked with Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down, Superjoint Ritual) on an early side project Viking Crown

Tattoos

Dez has a large assortment of tattoos, including a tribal tattoo on his chin, a Nightmare Before Christmas tattoo on his chest, the DevilDriver logo on his upper arm, the words "My God Has Horns" and 66 on his neck, and the Coal Chamber logo on his forearm.

Coal Chamber was an American alternative metal/nu metal band from Los Angeles, California. The band formed in 1994 and disbanded in 2003.

Origin Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre(s) Alternative metal,Nu metal
Years active 1994–2003
Label(s) Roadrunner
Associated acts Devildriver, Glass Piñata, Butterfly Knife, Machine Gun Orchestra, She's in Pain

Coal Chamber broke out of the Los Angeles alternative metal scene in 1997 with a sound often compared to Korn, although both bands formed around the same time and are quality representations of the scene's overall sound -- the heavy, detuned guitars of the murkiest Black Sabbath, grungy, noisy textures reminiscent of White Zombie or Tool, the white-knuckle intensity of Pantera and hardcore punk, and perhaps a few hip-hop-influenced beats á la Biohazard. Coal Chamber was formed in 1994 by vocalist/lyricist B. Dez Fafara and guitarist Miguel "Meegs" Rascon, who met through a classified ad; the two added drummer Mike "Mikee" Cox and bassist Rayna Foss, the latter of whom heard about auditions through her roommate, Fafara's future wife. A huge local buzz following gigs at the Roxy and the Whisky A-Go-Go, along with a demo tape championed by Fear Factory's Dino Cazares, got the band an opportunity to sign with Roadrunner Records late in 1994, but Fafara suddenly quit due to disagreements with his wife over the band. By the spring of 1995, Fafara changed his mind and returned, a decision that ultimately cost him his marriage, but a renewed sense of energy helped Coal Chamber regain their Roadrunner deal by the end of the year. Their self-titled debut was released in 1997; Chamber Music followed two years later. The album was a minor success but its mixture of goth rock imagery and nu metal thuggery made for an uneven album. They toured heavily behind it but by the time it came time to record the next album, bassist Rayna Foss-Rose was gone to raise her daughter, leaving the band with Nadja Peulen. Nadja took Foss-Rose's place during her pregnancy between the first two albums, but she accepted the invitation to come back as a full time member during the recording of the next record. The resulting album, Dark Days, was released in the spring of 2002. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Wikipedia: Coal Chamber

Originally formed in 1994 when vocalist/lyricist Dez Fafara and guitarist Miguel Rascón met through a classified ad and combined their preferred band names (Meegs like "Coal" and Dez preferred "Chamber"). Drummer Mike Cox and bassist Rayna Foss completed the Coal Chamber lineup.

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory championing a demo tape and Coal Chamber causing a huge local stir with gigs at The Roxy Theatre and the Whisky A Go Go eventually lead Roadrunner Records to offer to sign Coal Chamber in late 1994.

Fafara dropped out of the band quite suddenly due to disagreements about the band with his wife. In the spring of 1995 Dez reunited with Coal Chamber, ending his marriage but revitalizing the band. With a renewed sense of energy Coal Chamber was able to regain their deal with Roadrunner by the end of 1995.

In 1997 their debut self-titled album Coal Chamber was released. Though they toured very heavily supporting this album its mix of nu metal and goth rock imagery was not very successful.

Chamber Music followed two years later. Between the two releases bassist Rayna Foss had gotten married and become pregnant necessitating another bass player on tour; a role happily filled by Nadja Peulen.

Nadja continued playing bass for the recording of Coal Chamer's third album as Rayna chose to leave the band to raise Kayla Moray Rose. Dark Days was released in the spring of 2002.

Formation

The band gained a large following early in their career arguably because they were the first "darker" themed nu metal band with an image that had more in common with the goth subculture than hip hop culture.
The band gained a large following early in their career arguably because they were the first "darker" themed nu metal band with an image that had more in common with the goth subculture than hip hop culture.

Errata

Prior to Coal Chamber Dez Fafara and Meegs Rascón formed the band She's in Pain in 1992.

Chamber Music (1999–2001)

Chamber Music was released in late 1999 and took a step away from the nu metal image egendered in their prior release having instead a more Gothic Metal inspired feel. With the bit of commercial success Coal Chamber received after Chamber Music the band toured on headlining and festival tours. The band managed to catch the attention of Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon Osbourne who became their manager. Coal Chamber later parted ways with Sharon over personal and creative differences, a theme which continued within the band causing them to take a break from touring and resulting in their non-participation in the Tattoo the Earth tour in 2000.

Dark Days/Dispansion (2002–2003)

The band followed up with their third album Dark Days in early 2002 to mixed reviews. Bassist Rayna Foss had left the band to raise her daughter shortly after the album was recorded; she was replaced by Nadja Peulen who had taken Foss-Rose's place during her pregnancy between the first two albums. Rayna had a falling out with frontman Dez Fafara saying that she and her husband had "found Christ" and would be leaving Coal Chamber for good.

In May 2002, it was announced that Coal Chamber had broken up after an on-stage altercation between Dez and Meegs during a show in Lubbock, Texas. They had been fighting verbally before the show and continued to fight on-stage with Meegs hitting Dez in the head with the headstock of his guitar. Dez announced "This is the last Coal Chamber show ever!" and stormed offstage. The band attempted to continue the show with Meegs singing vocals but soon stopped the show altogether. Mikey demolished his drumkit before storming offstage. The band managed to patch things up long enough for an appearance on "Last Call With Carson Daly" and a summer tour with American Head Charge, Lollipop Lust Kill, and Medication. These would be the last shows the band would ever play.

In October 2002, Mikey "Bug" Cox was fired after several personal disputes with both Fafara and guitarist Meegs Rascón. The official release on the Coal Chamber website stated that the band was looking for a new drummer, although all band activities had come to a standstill.

Late summer 2003 saw the release of a compilation album titled Giving the Devil His Due which included several demo tracks submitted by the band prior to their signing with Roadrunner Records in 1997 along with several alternate studio recordings and remixes of various tracks from their previous releases. Coal Chamber officially called it a day in 2003 shortly after lead vocalist Dez Fafara continued with his new band DevilDriver.

In 2004 The Best Of Coal Chamber was released.

In June 2005 Fafara stated that Coal Chamber's hiatus is permanent and will not be reforming at any time in the future. He has also described a Coal Chamber reformation as "like repeating the 4th Grade again".

In September 2007 Rascon stated that "you never know what the future brings".

Members

Main Members

* Dez Fafara - Vocals
* Miguel "Meegs" Rascón - Guitar
* Nadja Peulen - Bass
* Mikey "Bug" Cox - Drums

Former Members

* Rayna Foss - Bass

After Coal Chamber

After the disbandment of Coal Chamber Fafara continued as vocalist of metal band DevilDriver, recording three albums: DevilDriver, The Fury of Our Maker's Hand, and The Last Kind Words.

Guitarist Meegs Rascon went on to form rock band "Glass Piñata", previously known as “Pinata”. The group has so far only released demos via their website.

Bassist Nadja Puelen created t-shirt company Cruel Tees sold online and through stores such as Hot Topic. She is currently selling her bass from the Chamber Music tour.

After taking 2 years off to recover from a car accident drummer Mikey "Bug" Cox joined forces with long time friend, producer of Coal Chamber's self titled début, and ORGY mastermind Jay Gordon. The band is called "Machine Gun Orchestra" and is currently in the studio working on their début album to be released in 2008.