Darius Antonio Wiley is another up and coming professional drummer. Darius was born March 9, 1984, in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Mother, Mia Wiley- Snear. Father, Richard “Wayne†Davis. Step-Father, Johnny “Jay†Snear. Step- Mother, Charlene Davis. On Darius’s mothers side, he has one brother, one sister, and two step- sister, and on his fathers side, he has five sisters. All together Darius is the oldest of nine siblings.
Like most professional drummers, Darius Wiley started playing drums at a very young age, and like most professional drummers, Darius started off playing drums at churches. Growing up in the south side of Chicago, music has always been a big part of Darius’s life. In 1987, at the age of three, Darius’s father “Wayne†bought him his first drum set for his birthday in March. Music is in Darius’s blood, and runs in his whole family. Back in the old days, Darius’s grandfather Essie Henry Wiley a.k.a. “Wiley Coyote,†was one of the greatest bass guitar players to ever come out of Crystal Springs, Mississippi. In 1958, Darius’s grandfather Essie left Mississippi, and united with Ward Chapel A.M.E. church with his family in Memphis, Tennessee. During this time, he singed, and played the bass guitar with a gospel group called “The Trumpets of Zion†with his brothers and nephews. When Darius’s grandfather Essie retired from music, he passed the torch on down to his children, and they passed it on down to their children. In the year 1989, Darius’s uncle Antonio “Big Tony†Wiley Sr., was a drummer for a church called “True Holyness†in Chicago Height, Illinois.
One Sunday after church, “Big Tony†called his five year old nephew Darius Wiley up to the drums, and let him play for an hour and a half. From that day on, Darius started playing drums at churches. When “Big Tony†stopped playing drums, he passed the torch on down to his nephew Darius, and encourage him to keep going. In 1993, Darius played drums for his families
local gospel group called “The Wiley Spiritual airesâ€. In 1996, Darius’s family moved to the state of Georgia, and in years following Darius’s drumming ability began to soar to even higher heights. In December of 2001, at the age of seventeen, Darius played drums for a church on the north side of Atlanta, Georgia called “Kingdom Builders Christian Community Center†under his music mentor Karl “Mystrio†Antoine, who was the minister of music. Karl Antoine also played the keyboards for the R&B group “TLC†when Lisa “Left Eye†Lopez was alive, and he also played the keyboards for a band called “ Mahogany Suiteâ€. In February of 2003, Karl and Darius resigned from Kingdom Builders, and began playing for a new church called “Inspirit Christian Community Churchâ€. In 2004, the year Darius Wiley turned twenty, Karl Antoine invited Darius out to an open mic, and jam session, at the
“Apache Café†and “Café 290“, so that others could witness the remarkable talent of this young man. One night at a open mic, and jam session, while Darius was playing the drums, he broke a pair of drumsticks with ease, and was known from that day forward as “De-Trainâ€. In 2005, at the age of twenty-one, “De-train†began playing gigs, concerts, and out of state tours. Now he refers to himself as the one and only “De-Train†Darius Wiley. In the same year, “De-Train†resigned from inspirit, and began gigging, and touring full-time. He performs in places and venues in the ATL such as; Hard Rock Café, Apache Café, The Underground, Foot Prints, Club Vibes, The Atrium, Club 426, The Party Room, The Crows Nest, Centennial Olympic Park and Café 290. Now “De-Train†prepares himself for bigger and better things to come.
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