Steve Wacholz

Steve Wacholz (born November 5, 1962) is an American heavy metal drummer. He is best known as the drummer of Savatage from 1979–1994. Wacholz handled the drums on the first seven Savatage albums and was also a member of the pre-Savatage band Avatar and played on their EP. After Savatage, Wacholz joined Crimson Glory and he is pictured in the album [m126417] and credited as the drummer, but he did not record or tour with the band. Steve "Doc" Wacholz met Criss Oliva when he was 14 years old in Tampa Bay Florida. In 1979, Steve Wacholz joined the Oliva brothers band Avatar and jammed in a shack behind the Oliva home that was dubbed "The Pit" by the band. Wacholz originally had tried out to be part of Criss' older brother Jon Oliva's band, Alien, but when the first Savatage line-up was taking shape in 1977, Jon, who was originally on drum duties, was relieved of them by Wacholz. They also gave Steve a nickname that would follow him throughout his career: "Doctor Hardware Killdrums", often shortened to just "Doc" or "Doc Killdrums", which referred to Steve's hard playing style.