Greg Saenz (a.k.a. Gregory Pecker) (born April 27, 1967) is an American drummer from Highland Park, California, currently based in

Coachella Valley The Coachella Valley ( ) is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in Riverside County. The valley has been referred to as Greater Palm Springs and occasionally the Palm Springs Area due to the historic promine ...

. He started playing for groups around North East Los Angeles in 1985, mainly influenced by drummers such as

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, John Bonh ...

Cozy Powell Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Graham Bonnet, B ...

and Phil Taylor. He later joined Excel where he stayed for several years. Saenz is a former member of

My Head My Head was an American grunge/alternative rock power trio from Los Angeles, California, United States, formed in 1993 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Adam Siegel and drummer Greg Saenz. Due to its member's past on Excel, My Head's sound wa ...

and the Dwarves. He occasionally serves as a touring drummer for

Yawning Man Yawning Man is an American experimental rock band from La Quinta, California. The band originally formed in 1986, although they released no studio recordings until 2005. They have been noted to be one of the first influential bands in the deser ...

, and is currently a touring drummer for John Garcia and the Band of Gold.

Biography

Saenz was born in East Los Angeles, raised in Highland Park. He took interest in music at a young age influenced by 1960s and 1970s

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

and

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

musicians such as

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

. In 1985 he joined his first band, Wreched Horde. They were inspired by

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis coined the term for an arti ...

, but Saenz modified their style to some extent- (Greg said: "We sounded like UFO,

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

and

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

, but I was already playing their songs a bit faster as I had gotten into tape trading in '83 and had been turned on to hardcore punk and thrash....bands like

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice, California, by vocalist Mike Muir. The band has undergone various lineup changes, with Muir as the only remaining original member. Their current lineup includes ...

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

, and

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...

".) Wreched Horde was offered a demo deal with Chrysalis Records after playing a house party in Highland Park, but the band dissolved before it could gain momentum. In summer of 1986, Greg read an advertisement in ''Recycler Magazine'' that said: " Excel looking for a dedicated, talented, punk metal influence. No egos". Saenz called

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

Dan Clements and after an audition with

Adam Siegel Adam Siegel (born March 9, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and graphic designer (he has provided artwork and design for several releases by L.A. groups) from Venice, California, United States. KISS, Bla ...

Greg was asked to join as Excel's drummer. Between the rest of 1986 and 1989 they recorded three demo their first studio album (''

Split Image Split Image may refer to: * Split-image focusing screen * ''Split Image'' (album), a 1987 album by Excel * ''Split Image'' (film), a 1982 film starring James Woods * ''Split Image'' (novel), a 2010 crime novel by Robert B. Parker * ''Split Image ...

'') in 1987 (the recording was paid by

Mike Muir Michael Allen Muir (born March 14, 1963) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of Los Angeles-based bands Suicidal Tendencies, Los Cycos, and Infectious Grooves. He has also released several solo albums un ...

and distribution was conducted by

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label that was founded in 1973. Founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976 and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. The label rel ...

), the second one (''

The Joke's on You ''The Joke's on You'' is the second album by Excel, released in 1989. This album saw the band mix their crossover trash sound with influences coming from different genres, including punk, hip-hop, funk, doom metal and traditional thrash met ...

'') in 1989, and a tour in

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

the same year with that line-up. In January and February 1989 he recorded together with Dan Clements the

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

for the fourth studio album by the

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current line-up consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen Reil, Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli- ...

, titled ''

Extreme Aggression ''Extreme Aggression'' is the fourth studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator released in 1989. While the band had already gained a sizeable following in the US due to their 1988 tour with the crossover thrash band D.R.I., this album int ...

''. In 1992, Excel recorded a fifth and last demo: '' Third album demos''. The next year guitarist

left the band definitely to form the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

power trio A power trio is a rock band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, leaving out a dedicated vocalist or an additional rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

, with Saenz on drums and the former Bad Radio member Dave Silva on bass. However, this project was interrupted on several occasions for Siegel's participation in

Infectious Grooves Infectious Grooves is an American funk metal supergroup led by vocalist Mike Muir and initially a side project from his group Suicidal Tendencies. The current lineup also includes guitarists Dean Pleasants and Dave Kushner, bassist Robert Tru ...

. In early 1996, Saenz became the drummer of the first solo release by

(

vocalist), together

, who recorded various tracks on the album. Then

signed a record contract with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

and released their debut album '' Endless Bummer'', the song "Humbucker" became their only single and music video. The band broke up in the fall of 1997 and Saenz moved to Marin County. A My Head recording "The Beard" later ended up on an EP called ''

Pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

'' August 29, 2000. Also the

appeared in the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

titled '' Friends & Family, Vol. 2''. In the summer of 1999 Saenz re-locates to Coachella Valley and ends up joining

The Dwarves The Dwarves are an American punk rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois and based in San Francisco, California as of 2009.Gentile, John (2009)Interview: Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves", ''The A.V. Club'', April 13, 2009, retrieved February 7, 2010 ...

for the Epitaph Records "Punk-O-Rama 2000 Tour" to promote their new album ''Come Clean'', and played drums for the tenth studio album by

, titled ''How To Win Friends And Influence People''. Exiting The Dwarves in 2001, Saenz took a two-year hiatus, re-surfacing in 2003 to play in various desert bands such as Eagles of Death Metal, Vega, Forever Changing Concept, and You Know Who. In 2007, he returned to The Dwarves and made several tours around the United States, and Oceania between 2007 and 2012. In early 2010, he drummed on The Dwarves fourteenth studio release ''The Dwarves Are Born Again'', and is on the 2016 release "Radio Free Europe" Live at BBC 2011. In summer of 2013, Saenz re-united with his old bandmates in Excel after 20 years. In 2014 Greg became drummer for John Garcia of

Kyuss Kyuss ( ) was an American stoner rock band formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987, and considered one of the pioneers of the genre. After disbanding in 1995, a number of band members have gone on to form or play in several notable bands in ...

fame.

Discography

''See also'':

List of Excel demos Excel is a crossover thrash band from Venice, California, founded by singer Dan Clements and guitarist Adam Siegel in 1983. They were influenced by early punk rock bands like the Germs and Black Flag, as well as heavy metal bands like Black S ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saenz, Greg Excel (band) members 1967 births American rock drummers Drummers from Los Angeles Living people 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Dwarves (band) members