Greg Saunier (born 18 May 1969) is a musician, producer, and composer best known as the drummer and founding member of

Deerhoof Deerhoof are an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They currently consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noi ...

. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' included Saunier alongside

Brian Chippendale Brian Chippendale (born July 22, 1973) is an American musician and artist, known as the drummer and vocalist for the experimental noise rock band Lightning Bolt and for his graphic art. Chippendale is based in Providence, Rhode Island. Brian ...

(of Lightning Bolt) and

Zach Hill Zachary Charles Hill (born December 28, 1979) is an American multi-instrumentalist and visual artist. He is best known as the drummer and co-producer of the groups Death Grips and the I.L.Y's, and as the drummer of math rock band Hella. Art In ...

(of

Hella ''Hella'' is an American slang term that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is used as an intensifying adverb such as in "hella bad" or "hella good" and was eventually added to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' in 2002. It is possibl ...

, later

Death Grips Death Grips is an American experimental hip hop group formed in 2010 in Sacramento, California. The group consists of Stefan Burnett, also known as MC Ride (vocals, lyrics), Zach Hill (drums, production, lyrics), and Andy Morin (keyboards, pr ...

and

the I.L.Y's The I.L.Y's are an American experimental rock duo from Sacramento, California. They were formed in 2015 as a side project by Death Grips members Zach Hill (vocals, drums, guitar, and keyboard) and Andy Morin (guitar and bass). They have release ...

) as together composing "a generation of trailblazing 21st-century

avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

percussionists".

Career

Saunier graduated from the

Oberlin Conservatory of Music The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of ...

in 1991. The next year, he joined a four-piece band, Nitre Pit, in San Francisco as its drummer. When the band's two guitarists left, Saunier and Nitre Pit's bassist, Rob Fisk, reformed as an "elastic, hyper-expressive" band to fulfill Nitre Pit's extant scheduled shows, which later became Deerhoof when

Slim Moon Matthew "Slim" Moon (born October 15, 1967) is an American musician and the founder of the American independent music label Kill Rock Stars (KRS). He also started its sister label, 5 Rue Christine. Slim ran KRS from 1991 to 2006, during which t ...

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally know ...

signed the group in 1995. Saunier moved to New York with two suitcases and has said that he does not own many possessions. As a drummer, he says, things he touches tend to break. Outside of Deerhoof, Saunier's bands include Mystical Weapons (a duo with

Sean Lennon is an American–British musician, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The ...

) and a collaboration with Brian Chippendale, about which a documentary, ''Checking in at 20'', was produced. He also formed Nervous Cop with drummer Zach Hill and harpist Joanna Newsom, and bands with members of

Erase Errata Erase Errata was a band from San Francisco, California. The group favored improvisation as a compositional tool and each of their performances were a unique manifestation of established songs. History Erase Errata formed in Oakland, California ...

and

Rainer Maria Rainer Maria is an American emo band from Madison, Wisconsin, later residing in Brooklyn, New York. The band was originally active from 1995 to 2006 and reunited in 2014. History Caithlin De Marrais, Kaia Fischer and William Kuehn formed the b ...

, soundtracked a film by

Martha Colburn Martha Colburn is a filmmaker and artist. She is best known for her animation films, which are created through puppetry, collage, and paint on glass techniques. She also makes installations and performs her films with live musical performance. Yet ...

, and collaborated with

Yonatan Gat Yonatan Gat is an Israeli music producer, producer, guitarist, and composer based in New York City. His cross-genre work has been called "a vital new music form" by a "legendary live performer" by ''Magnet (magazine), Magnet'' magazine, "melding ...

on a reinterpretation of

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

's American Quartet. Saunier is a member of the indie rock supergroup

Big Walnuts Yonder Big Walnuts Yonder is an American indie rock supergroup formed in 2008. The band consists of bassist/vocalist Mike Watt from Minutemen, guitarist Nels Cline from Wilco, drummer Greg Saunier from Deerhoof, and guitarist/vocalist Nick Reinhart fro ...

alongside bassist

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...

(

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

, fIREHOSE), guitarist

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...

(

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

) and guitarist/vocalist Nick Reinhart (

Tera Melos Tera Melos is an American math rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 2004. They incorporate many styles of rock, ambient electronics and unconventional song structures. They are currently a three-piece, consisting of guitarist/keyboard ...

). He has produced albums including

Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name co ...

's '' The Air Force'' and ''

Always Always may refer to: Film and television * ''Always'', a 1985 film directed by Henry Jaglom * ''Always'' (1989 film), a 1989 romantic comedy-drama directed by Steven Spielberg * ''Always'' (2011 film), a 2011 South Korean film, also known as '' ...

'', Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog's ''

Your Turn ''Your Turn'' is a studio album by American guitarist Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog which was released in April 2013 on Northern Spy Records. Reception Metacritic assigned album an aggregate score of 88 out of 100 based on 5 critical reviews. The All ...

'',

Sholi Sholi is an American indie/alternative/experimental group that originated in Davis, California, and now has members dispersed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The members include primary songwriter Payam Bavafa, drummer Jonathon Bafus, and ...

's self-titled album and

People Get Ready "People Get Ready" is a 1965 single by the Impressions, and the title track from the '' People Get Ready'' album. The single is the group's best-known hit, reaching number-three on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 14 on the ''Billboard'' ...

's ''Physiques'', remixed tracks for Shy Hunters and WOOM, and appeared on albums including Zach Hill's ''

Face Tat ''Face Tat'' (stylized in all caps) is the second full-length studio album by American recording artist Zach Hill. It was released on October 19, 2010. Reception ''Face Tat'' received positive reviews from critics upon release. On Metacritic ...

''. In 2016, Saunier collaborated with American Brazilian composer

Marcos Balter Marcos Balter (born April 1, 1974) is a Brazilian contemporary classical music composer and the Fritz Reiner Professor of Musical Composition at Columbia University. Life and professional career Balter began his music studies at age five at th ...

, in which they wrote songs for Deerhoof and

Ensemble Dal Niente Ensemble Dal Niente is a contemporary classical music ensemble based in Chicago, Illinois, USA that performs acoustic and electroacoustic chamber music. History Ensemble Dal Niente was founded in 2005 by a group of graduate student composers a ...

Kit and technique

Saunier uses a minimal drum kit, consisting of a

kick drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

snare SNARE proteins – " SNAP REceptor" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells, and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate vesicle fu ...

and a cymbal, a set-up inspired in part by the kit and playing style of Questlove (

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

). In 2008, Saunier said that he rarely practices, mainly for lack of time. When he writes songs, he usually considers the drum part last and is more concerned about the other components of the song including its technical elements. His interest and judgement in the latter came from his experience starting Deerhoof without producers, a record label, or much outside help.

Personal life

Saunier has

Tourette syndrome Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) ...

References

External links

Checking in at 20 (Documentary)
Pitchfork {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunier, Greg Living people Oberlin Conservatory of Music alumni 21st-century American drummers American rock drummers American record producers American indie rock musicians American experimental musicians Big Walnuts Yonder members 1969 births People with Tourette syndrome