P.O.D. Payable On Death

Paul Joshua "Sonny" Sandoval (born May 16, 1974) is an American singer and rapper. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band P.O.D.

Biography

Sandoval was born in San Diego, California to a Guamanian-Hawaiian mother and a Mexican-Italian father. He identifies himself as Pacific Islander and Italian/Mexican-American, he is usually seen as being a Chicano by most. He grew up in a Chicano barrio of San Diego, and joined a gang at age thirteen. He drank and used marijuana frequently during his teenage years. However, in 1992, when he was eighteen, Sandoval's mother died of leukemia at the age of 37. Sonny was greatly influenced by the death of his mother, who was a devout Christian. Turning his life around, he pursued a career as an emcee. He later joined the band Enoch, a group started by Wuv Bernardo, Gabe Portillo and Marcos Curiel, which, with the addition of Sandoval, later became P.O.D. (acronym for "Payable On Death"). Sandoval states his musical roots as reggae, rock, and rap, all of which are apparent in P.O.D.

He and his wife Shannon married in 1996, and have two daughters, Nevaeh and Marley, and a son, Justice. Sandoval is widely credited with the sudden popularity of the name Nevaeh, which, as he revealed on MTV Cribs, is Heaven spelled backwards.

For most of P.O.D.'s career, Sandoval was well known for his dreadlocks, but since the release of P.O.D.'s seventh studio album, When Angels & Serpents Dance, he has cut them off.

He has been named number 63 in Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time in 2006. Many Christian Emcees note Sonny Sandoval as being one of their influences.

Noah "Wuv" Bernardo Jr. (born February 24, 1974) is the drummer and a founding member of the multi-platinum selling, San Diego based band P.O.D.. He is also a cousin of the band's frontman Sonny Sandoval. Wuv has been playing drums most of his life. He is also co-owner of the Chula Vista Skate Shop, "The Orphinage". During acoustic sets, he normally plays the rhythm guitar.

Discography

With P.O.D.

* "Snuff the Punk" (1994)
* "Brown" (1996)
* "LIVE at Tomfest" (1997)
* "The Warriors EP" (1998)
* "The Fundamental Elements of Southtown" (1999)
* "Satellite" (2001)
* "Payable on Death" (2003)
* "The Warriors EP, Volume 2" 2005
* "Testify" (2006)
* "Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years" (2006)
* "When Angels & Serpents Dance" (2008)

Wuv's Equipment

The following are some of the Drumkits that have been used by Wuv during his career with P.O.D.:

* 2003-2005 Tour Kit:
* Pearl Masters Masters MMX Drums and Zildjian Cymbals:
* Pearl Drums - Antique Gold with Custom Art or Red Onyx
* 8x8" Tom
* 8x10" Tom
* 16x16" Floor Tom
* 5x12" Pearl Snare
* 5x12" Custom Snare
* 16x20" Bass Drum

* 2006 Tour Kit:
* Pearl Masterworks Series Drum Kit and Zildjian Cymbals:
* Pearl Drums - Southtown Sparkle
* 8x7" Tom
* 8x10" Tom
* 16x16" Floor Tom
* 5x12" Pearl Snare (MMX Red Onyx)
* 5x12" Custom Snare
* 22x20" Bass Drum
* 14" K Mastersound Hi-Hats
* 8" K Splash
* 10" K Splash
* 17" K Medium Thin Crash
* 18" K Medium Thin Crash
* 19" K Medium Thin Crash
* 20" K Heavy Ride
* 16" A China
* 18" A China
* 21" A Sweet Ride
* (Same as above, but with a 22x20" Bass Drum and 8x7" Tom)
* Wuv also uses Remo drum skins, Audix Microphones and Vic Firth Signature sticks.

Marcos Curiel (born September 9, 1974) is the guitarist of rock band P.O.D. and The Accident Experiment, which is currently inactive.

Curiel was born in San Diego California in 1974 where he graduated from Bonita Vista High School in 1992 and started P.O.D. the same year, along with friend Wuv Bernardo. The band started building a strong local fanbase, releasing several albums independently. In 1998 they were signed to a record deal and released their hit albums The Fundamental Elements of Southtown (1999) and Satellite (2001). Curiel was fired after the supporting tour in the midst of a bitter controversy with his longtime friends.

In 2003 Curiel started another band called The Accident Experiment with Pete Stewart (Grammatrain, Tait). The Accident Experiment was signed to Rock Ridge Music and is preparing to tour behind their first full length L.P. United We Fear.

Ejection from and returning to P.O.D.

In an e-mail sent to fans, P.O.D. singer Sonny Sandoval said Curiel left "to pursue his own vision apart from P.O.D." However, Curiel insisted in a phone call from his San Diego home that he was kicked out.

"Because of your loyalty and respect, it saddens me to say that Marcos is no longer with P.O.D.," Sandoval wrote. "Never have we imagined P.O.D. without him, but we now know this vision is bigger than the four of us."

Curiel, who was always an outspoken member of P.O.D., was particularly upset because apparently management, not his fellow bandmates, called to fire him. He said the group met a few weeks before his removal and everyone acted enthusiastic about his projects. This is supported because now that P.O.D. have left Atlantic Records, Marcos was welcomed back into P.O.D. with open arms. He has been quoted as saying;

"As soon as I was out, they started talking stuff behind my back," he said. "It's very, very shady. I have friends defending me on the Web site, and every time they put something up in defense of me, it gets deleted. I'm like, 'What? This is not fair, dude.' ... Then I found out they had another guitar player already. I was like, 'Whoa, they've been plotting this for a long time.'"

On December 20, 2006, Marcos rejoined P.O.D. They signed a new record deal. The fact that he joined P.O.D. immediately after they left Atlantic Records supports his claims that it was management, and not the band themselves, that kicked him out the first time. The band announced via an email to their fans through their mailing list and via their MySpace page, that Curiel had re-joined. Curiel played with P.O.D. for the first time since his departure on December 31 during the Jimmy Kimmel Live show.

Trivia

He was featured in the Nappy Roots "Awnaw" remix.

Mark "Traa" Daniels (born December 30, 1970) is the bass guitarist of southern California rock band P.O.D.

Traa (pronounced Trey) plays five-string Warwick (Dolphin and Thumb model) basses live, and has been known to use the occasional acoustic Carvin bass in the studio. (An AC50 can be heard on the cut "Sleeping Awake," written for the soundtrack of The Matrix Reloaded, in between the albums Satellite and Payable on Death)

Daniels has been a part of P.O.D. since 1994, and has since released nine albums - Snuff the Punk, Brown, Payable on Death Live, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, Satellite, Payable on Death, Testify, Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years and When Angels & Serpents Dance.

Traa is married and has two children, listens to plenty of reggae, and as a bassist, has a jazz background.

In 2005, Daniels signed an endorsment deal with Warrior, he is currently working on his signature bass, to be made by Warrior Bass.