Greg Chaisson (born August 9, 1958 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

) is a bass guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer who has played in various bands, most notably

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...

, which featured former

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

guitarist

Jake E. Lee Jake E. Lee (born Jakey Lou Williams, February 15, 1957) is an American musician best known as lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne between 1982 and 1987 and later as a member of the band Badlands with Ray Gillen. He formed the band Red Dragon Car ...

, vocalist

Ray Gillen Raymond Arthur Gillen (May 12, 1959 – December 1, 1993) was an American rock singer. He is best known for his work with Badlands, in addition to his stint with Black Sabbath in the mid-1980s and recording most of the vocals on Phenomena's '' ...

, and drummers

Eric Singer Eric Singer (born Eric Doyle Mensinger; May 12, 1958) is an American drummer. Associated with the hard rock band Kiss since 1991, he has also performed with artists such as Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford, Badlands, Brian May and Gary ...

and Jeff Martin, respectively.

Biography

Chaisson got his start in a popular local

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

band called Ghost Rose but his first recordings of note came with Surgical Steel and St. Michael, two early 1980s Phoenix bands that both featured his future Badlands bandmate, Jeff Martin. St. Michael would contribute the song "The Beauty, The Power" to the '' U.S. Metal Vol. IV'' compilation while Surgical Steel appeared on ''

Metal Massacre II ''Metal Massacre'' is a series of compilation albums released through Metal Blade Records. It is famous for "shedding light" on bands such as The Obsessed, Trouble, Overkill, Metal Church, Metallica, Slayer, Virgin Steele, Hellhammer, Voivod, ...

'' with "Rivet Head". Chaisson then made the move to

Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where he joined one of the last incarnations of Steeler where he was replaced by his younger brother, Kenny, when the band morphed into

Keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

. Chaisson would join a succession of L.A. bands, including

Legs Diamond Jack "Legs" Diamond (possibly born John Thomas Diamond, though disputed; July 10, 1897 – December 18, 1931), also known as Gentleman Jack, was an Irish American gangster in Philadelphia and New York City during the Prohibition era. A bootle ...

, Hellion, and Terriff (with future Ozzy guitarist

Joe Holmes Joe Holmes (born June 11, 1963) is an American heavy metal guitarist best known for his stint with Ozzy Osbourne between 1995 and 2001. He has also played with Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and the L.A. band Lizzy Borden in addition to lea ...

). In 1986, he unsuccessfully auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne's band where he met Jake E. Lee who invited him to try out for Badlands a couple of years later. After the demise of Badlands, he joined Sircle of Silence, featuring one-time

Accept Accept may refer to: * Acceptance, a person's assent to the reality of a situation etc. * Accept (band), a German heavy metal band ** ''Accept'' (Accept album), their debut album from 1979 * ''Accept'' (Chicken Shack album), 1970 * ACCEPT (or ...

vocalist

David Reece David L. Reece is an American singer who has been active in the heavy metal rock scene professionally since the late 1980s, recording with several bands in diverse genres including Bonfire from January 2015 to July 2016. He is best known for hi ...

, but left before the first album was recorded. In the ensuing years, Chaisson kept busy recording with the Blindside Blues Band,

Die Happy Die Happy is a German alternative rock band from Ulm. The group was founded in 1993 by Czech singer Marta Jandová and Thorsten Mewes. Even though the band is based in Germany, their songs are written and performed almost exclusively in English. ...

, Red Sea,

Pat Travers Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career in the mid-1970s. Early life Travers was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Soon after picking up the guitar at ag ...

, and

Darrell Mansfield Darrell Mansfield is an American vocalist, harmonica player, songwriter, recording artist, and performer of various genres including gospel, contemporary Christian music, blues, blues rock, rock, country rock, and soul/R&B. He is considered a p ...

, among others. In 1994, he released a solo album, ''It's About Time'', which featured former Badlands bandmate

on drums, ex-St. Michael guitarist Jim McMellen, and Riverdogs alumni, Rob Lamothe and

Marc Danzeisen Marc Stewart Danzeisen (born in Riverside, CA, January 17, 1961) is an American drummer and musician. He is best known for his work with Riverdogs, Gilby Clarke, Little Caesar, his contributions to Def Leppard, and his appearance in the 1995 f ...

. Chaisson briefly united with former Badlands bandmate Jake E. Lee when he joined his new band Red Dragon Cartel in 2014 but was forced to bow out less than a year later after being diagnosed with cancer. Chaisson resides in Phoenix, AZ with his wife and children where he coaches and teaches baseball and manages Bizarre Guitar & Drum. Additionally, he plays in an original band named Kings of Dust which features vocalist Michael Beck who briefly fronted Red Dragon Cartel, guitarist Ryan McKay, and drummer Jimi Taft. In 2021, Beck was replaced by Ken Ronk on vocals and the band's name was changed to Atomic Kings.

Discography

Greg Chaisson * ''It's About Time'' (1994) Badlands * ''

''(1989)'' * ''

Voodoo Highway ''Voodoo Highway'' is the second studio album by the American hard rock band Badlands. After their first album, drummer Eric Singer left the band to join KISS, and was replaced by drummer Jeff Martin, who had previously sung lead vocals in th ...

'' (1991) * ''

Dusk Dusk occurs at the darkest stage of twilight, or at the very end of astronomical twilight after sunset and just before nightfall.''The Random House College Dictionary'', "dusk". At predusk, during early to intermediate stages of twilight, enou ...

''(1998)'' Die Happy *''Volume 2'' (1993) *''Intense Live Series Vol. 4'' (1993) Blindside Blues Band * ''Blindside Blues Band'' (1993) * ''Blindsided'' (1994) * ''Messenger Of The Blues'' (1995) Pat Travers * ''Just A Touch'' (1993) Red Sea * ''Blood'' (1994) Craig Erickson * ''Two Sides Of The Blues'' (1994) Darrell Mansfield * ''Mansfield & Co.'' (1995) Stephen Christian * ''Stephen Christian'' (1998) Steeler * '' Metal Generation: The Steeler Anthology'' (2005) * ''American Metal: The Steeler Anthology'' (2006) Chris Catena's Rock City Tribe * '' Truth in Unity (features in the song "The Trickster")'' (2020) Kings of Dust * ''Kings of Dust'' (2020)

Compilations

Surgical Steel * ''Metal Massacre II'' (1982) St. Michael * ''U.S. Metal Vol. IV'' (1984)

References

External links

Greg Chaisson Facebook page

Kings of Dust Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaisson, Greg 20th-century Canadian bass guitarists Badlands (American band) members Living people Musicians from Toronto Steeler (American band) members Die Happy (band) members 1958 births