Chris Pedersen (born August 16, 1960) is an American-born
musician
A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...
, best known as the
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums.
Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...
of the groups
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California, in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk, folk, alternative, country, and world music, among other ge ...
and
Monks of Doom
The Monks of Doom is an American alternative rock band, formed in California in 1986. The band's music draws from post-punk, progressive rock, indie rock, psychedelic music, psychedelic and folk rock traditions.David Lowery and Chris Molla in the band Box O' Laffs in the early 1980s. When earlier Camper Van Beethoven drummer Anthony Guess (also a former drummer for Box O' Laffs) left Camper Van Beethoven following their debut album tour in fall of 1985, the group was temporarily without a drummer. Lowery and Molla filled in, also remixing Guess's prerecorded percussion work during much of the recording of their second album, 1986's ''
II & III
''II & III'' is a 1986 album by musical group Camper Van Beethoven, released on Pitch-a-Tent and Rough Trade. It was the band's second album.
After releasing their debut album, original drummer Anthony Guess left the band, and guitarist Gre ...
''. Pedersen joined as these recording sessions were finishing, and ended up playing on the track "We're A Bad Trip."
Pedersen also played on the albums ''
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California, in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk, folk, alternative, country, and world music, among other ge ...
Key Lime Pie
Key lime pie is an American dessert pie. It is made of Key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk. It may be served with no topping, with a meringue topping made from egg whites, or with whipped cream. Traditionally, Key lime pie i ...
.'' In 1986, he also started the spin-off band Monks of Doom with Camper Van Beethoven members Molla,
Greg Lisher
Gregory Allen Lisher (born November 29, 1963) is the lead guitar player for Camper Van Beethoven. He is also one of the founding members of the Camper Van Beethoven spin-off Indy prog rock group Monks of Doom.
He has also released four solo rec ...
, and
Victor Krummenacher
Victor Krummenacher (born April 7, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and guitarist. He is a founding member of alternative rock band Camper Van Beethoven.
Career
In addition to co-founding Camper Van Beethoven, Krummenacher is also a co-fou ...
. In 1990, Camper Van Beethoven disbanded, and Pedersen continued playing in the Monks of Doom, now featuring
David Immerglück
David A. Immerglück (born May 3, 1961)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American multi-instrumentalist who is best known as a guitarist in the alternative rock bands Counting Crows, ...
as a replacement for Molla. The Monks of Doom disbanded in 1993 when Immerglück left the band to focus on full-time studio work. Pedersen moved to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
in 1998, and the Monks of Doom reunited to play "final" shows before his move.
Although Pedersen still resides in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, he has spent time in the United States, playing with a reunited Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom. Pedersen played most of the drum parts on the Camper Van Beethoven reunion album ''
New Roman Times
''New Roman Times'' is an album by musical group Camper Van Beethoven, released October 12, 2004, on Pitch-A-Tent Records. It was the band's first studio album of new material since they released ''Key Lime Pie'' in 1989 before dissolving in 199 ...
'' in 2004, as well as on two tracks on their 2013 album ''
La Costa Perdida
''La Costa Perdida'' is the 8th studio release by the American alternative-music band Camper Van Beethoven. It was released on January 22, 2013, and contains 10 tracks. The lead-off single from the album, "Northern California Girls", was releas ...
''. He also played on the cover album ''What's Left For Kicks?'' made by the reunited Monks and occasionally flies to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
for live performances and studio work with both bands. This activity has intensified since late 2014, with Pedersen playing on most live Camper dates, as their regular live drummer
Frank Funaro
Frank Funaro (born June 23, 1958) is an American drummer who has played with Del Lords, The Brandos, Camper Van Beethoven, Joey Ramone, The Dictators, Cracker, Nils Lofgren & Dion DiMucci.
Funaro collaborated with Joey Ramone on his first so ...