Eric Kretz (born June 7, 1966) is an American musician and producer, best known as the drummer for the rock band
Stone Temple Pilots. He has also played for
Talk Show and Spiralarms. Eric, who was born in
San Jose, California, attended and graduated from
Willow Glen High School in San Jose in 1984. He currently owns and operates Bomb Shelter Studios in Los Angeles. While in STP, Kretz has kept somewhat of a low profile but still contributed to the band's songwriting, most notably writing the music to the band's 1996 hit "
Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart." Along with lead vocalist
Scott Weiland, Kretz also wrote the lyrics to the Grammy Award-winning hit "
Plush" off STP's 1992 debut
Core. Kretz has worked with several notable artists, particularly engineering and mixing the live recordings for
The Henry Rollins Show of songs by artists such as
Thom Yorke,
Ben Harper,
Damian Marley,
Slayer,
Jurassic 5,
Death Cab for Cutie, and more.