Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...

's first three solo albums.

Career

One of Bissonette's first recordings was on jazz trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson's ''Live from San Francisco'' in 1983. Brother Matt was also in the band and on the recording. He later appeared on Brandon Fields' ''The Other Side of the Story'' in 1985. It featured

David Garfield David Garfield (September 27, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He has recorded with Smokey Robinson, Cher, Larry Carlton, Steve Lukather, Spinal Tap, George Benson, The Manhattan Transfe ...

on keyboards. A few years later Bissonette would start playing shows with Fields, Garfield and

Steve Lukather Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...

on guitar and with John Peña on bass as Los Lobotomys. These shows took place at the Baked Potato, a jazz club and restaurant in Los Angeles, California, playing rock, Latin, and jazz. Bissonnette got his big break joining former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth. The band included guitarist Steve Vai and future

Mr. Big Mr. Big may refer to: Entertainment In film and literature * Mister Big (James Bond), a villain in the novel and film ''Live and Let Die'' * ''Mister Big'' (1943 film), a 1943 musical * ''Mr. Big'' (2007 film), a 2007 documentary In televisi ...

bassist Billy Sheehan. During 1985-1992 Gregg appeared on all three US Billboard 200 hit albums '' Eat 'Em and Smile'' (no.4) ''

Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

'' (no.6) and '' A Little Ain't Enough'' (no.18) and the subsequent world tours. In 1990 and 1993, Bissonette released drum videos ''Private Lesson'' and ''Playing, Reading & Soloing with a Band'', respectively. ''Private Lesson'' covers a variety of topics including double bass drumming, rudiments (with a backsticking technique from the

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

solo ''Tornado'' by Mitch Markovich), playing with a metronome and brushes. From 1994 to 2004, he played on the musical interludes for every episode for the TV show ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

''. In late 1995,

Toto Toto may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Pets * Toto (Oz), Toto (''Oz''), a dog in the novel and film ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' * Toto, in Japanese ''The Cat Returns#Plot, The Cat Returns'' Characters of agency * a ...

was beginning their '' Tambu'' tour when Simon Phillips developed back problems. Phillips asked Bissonette to fill in for him during the tour's first leg. He played drums on one track on Santana's album ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'' (1999). In 2007, he recorded on the album ''La La Land'' by Daniel Glen Timms. In 2001 he was set to play on the

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...

's Zoom Tour Live with his brother Matt on Bass. The tour was cancelled after one televised performance at the

CBS Television City Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and Ch ...

on PBS. Bissonette started playing double drums with Ringo Starr in 2003 in his band Ringo and The Roundheads. This band also included his brother Matt Bissonette on bass. Gregg has been a member of Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band since. (2008-present) In 2013 Bissonette released his 3rd solo album where he plays drums and sings called ''Warning Will Robinson''. This album also features his brother Matt on bass and backing vocals. Bissonette played on Steve Lukather's 2021 album, ''I Found the Sun Again''. With 8 songs on the album, he played 7 songs while Ringo Starr played 1. 2021 was the release of The Reddcoats debut album. The album features Gregg and Matt Bissonette on drums and bass with Andy Timmons on guitar, Wally Minko on keyboards and Mike Medina on percussion. Also in 2021 was the release of the debut album of

The Red Locusts The Red Locusts is an American supergroup consisting of Rick Springfield, Matt Bissonette, Greg Bissonette and two others. The band released an eponymous album, ''The Red Locusts'', in March 2021.The album is a tribute to The Beatles and power p ...

, again with Gregg on drums and his brother Matt on bass with Rick Springfield on guitar and vocals. Bissonette can be heard on a number of rock instrumental and progressive rock albums, including ''The Extremist'' by Joe Satriani, ''Temporal'' by Shadrane, ''Deep Forest'' by Deep Forest, ''Bass Invader'' by Martin Motnik, ''Inner Galactic Fusion Experience'' by Richie Kotzen, ''Shadow King'' by Steve Fister, ''Revolution Road'' by Rocket Scientists, ''In the Eye of Time'' by Vox Tempus, ''Bug Alley'' and the soundtrack to the movie ''The Endless Summer II'' by

Gary Hoey Gary Hoey (born August 23, 1960) is an American hard rock and latterly blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has recorded over 20 albums and had five Top 20 ''Billboard'' hits. Early life and early career Hoey was born in Lowell, Mas ...

. In 2012, Bissonette played drums on several tracks featured on Docker's Guild's album ''The Mystic Technocracy: Season 1: The Age of Ignorance'', the progressive rock space opera masterminded by the French-American musician, teacher, and ethno-musicologist

Douglas R. Docker Douglas R. Docker (born 16 June 1967) is an American-French musician, singer, songwriter and producer known for his work with Docker's Guild, a progressive-metal space opera, and as a member of Cheap Prick, an Italian Cheap Trick tribute act. ...

Discography

Television soundtracks

* '' Mad About You'' * '' King of the Hill'' * '' Just Shoot Me!'' * ''

'' * '' Jeopardy!'' * '' Wheel of Fortune''

Movie soundtracks

Gregg Bissonette's movie soundtrack credits include the following: * '' The Devil Wears Prada'' * ''

Bourne Supremacy ''The Bourne Supremacy'' is the second Jason Bourne (character), Jason Bourne novel written by Robert Ludlum, first published in 1986. It is the sequel to Ludlum's bestseller ''The Bourne Identity (novel), The Bourne Identity'' (1980) and prece ...

'' * '' Sex and the City'' * ''

Superbad ''Superbad'' is a 2007 American coming-of-age teen buddy comedy film directed by Greg Mottola and produced by Judd Apatow. The film stars Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as Seth and Evan, two teenagers about to graduate from high school. Before grad ...

'' * '' Encino Man'' * '' Payback'' (1999) * '' The Endless Summer II'' * ''

Waiting for Guffman ''Waiting for Guffman'' is a 1996 American mockumentary comedy film written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, and directed by Guest. The film's ensemble cast includes Guest, Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, and Parker Posey. The film's t ...

'' * '' For Your Consideration'' * ''

Best in Show ''Best in Show'' is a 2000 American mockumentary comedy film co-written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy and directed by Guest. The film follows five entrants in a prestigious dog show as they travel to the show and compete once there. Much of ...

'' * '' Hope Floats'' * '' The Craft'' * '' A Mighty Wind'' * ''

2 Days in the Valley ''2 Days in the Valley'' is a 1996 American neo noir crime comedy film written and directed by John Herzfeld. The film stars Danny Aiello, Greg Cruttwell, Jeff Daniels, Teri Hatcher, Glenne Headly, Peter Horton, Marsha Mason, Paul Mazursky, Jam ...

'' * '' The Bucket List'' * '' Forgetting Sarah Marshall'' * ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton with co-direction by Lee Unkrich, the screenplay was writ ...

'' * '' American Pie'' * '' American Pie 2''

References

External links