Brooks Wakerman joined the band after Bobby had to quit playing the drums forever due to an chronic, progressive shoulder injury, in 2001. When the band found out, they had booked a few weeks of rehearsal studio time and so they were all in LA, without a drummer. Thefore, instead of using that studio time for rehearsals, it became an audition session. The fifth person to try-out for Bobby's position was Brooks, who had been playing with Suicidal Tendencies, and the Vandals for a few years. His family is well-known in the percussion world, his brother Chad is one of only a few drummers to play with Frank Zappa's band. Greg says that Brooks was so good, they only had to hear him play one or two songs before they knew that he was "the best drummer we had ever heard". Greg asked him innocently: "do you WANT to be in Bad Religion, because we need a drummer for touring and recording and to be a part of this band, not just a temporary stand-in for Bobby?" Of course he replied with a big YES.

Technical stuff that drummers may want to know, from the man himself: "as far as my set goes with BR, i probably won't be using the ocpd (at least not the one with the vents in the shell); the sound is too thin, so i need something fatter. But i have another one thats a solid shell that i may use,but it'll probably be a d.w.snare. The rest will be the same a four piece with maybe an additional 16 inch floor,and it breaks my heart my to say but i'll be leaving the other half of my double pedle home,unless we break out reign in blood by slayer."

Brooks previous bands: 1992 - Bad 4 Good - Refugee - Drums 1994 - Infectious Grooves - Groove Familly Cyco - Drums 1995 - The Vandals - Live Fast Diarehea - Backing Vocals 1996 - The Vandals - Christmas With The Vandals - Drums 1997 - Glenn Tipton - Baptizm Of Fire - Drums 1997 - Kenneth Keith Kallenbach - Yeah! - Drums 1998 - Suicidal Tendencies - Six The Hard Way - Drums 1999 - Suicidal Tendencies - Free Dumb - Drums 2000 - Suicidal Tendencies - Free Your Soul And Save My Mind - Drums 2000 - The Vandals - Look What I Almost Stepped In - Drums 2000 - Infectious Grooves - Mas Borracho - Drums 2001 - Suicidal Tendencies - Friends & Familly, Vol 2 - Drums 2001 - Mass Mental - Live In Tokyo - Drums 2001 - Pressure 4-5 - Burning The Process - Drums 2002 - Bad Religion - The Process Of Belief - Drums 2003 - Hot Potty - One Step Closer To Broadway - Drums