Greg Suran is the lead

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

ist in the B-52s, a role he has performed since 2013. He replaced Keith Strickland on the road after Strickland announced in December 2012 that he would no longer be touring with the B-52s but would continue as a member of the band. Before that, Suran had performed and toured with

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...

, Mylene Farmer, Liz Phair, Jewel, Sunny Day Real Estate, and others. He plays guitar and mandolin, and sings backing vocals.

Education

* Bachelor of Music,

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, Downtown Chicago, ...

, June 19, 1993Annual commencement program, Northwestern University"
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Career

Greg Suran in 06-14-2017 Boston Pops-B-52s Concert a

Greg Suran is a guitarist and composer from

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, now residing in

Los Angeles 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 wor ...

. He majored in classical guitar performance while also studying composition and arranging at

, near his birthplace. Throughout his life, though, Suran had played in well-known rock bands, including

Sunny Day Real Estate Sunny Day Real Estate is an American emo/ indie rock band from Seattle, formed in 1992. The band currently consists of founding members Jeremy Enigk (vocals, guitar), Dan Hoerner (guitar) and William Goldsmith (drums), alongside Greg Sura ...

, The

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk so ...

(2002-2007),

Machines of Loving Grace Machines of Loving Grace was an American industrial rock band from Tucson, Arizona, best known for their song "Butterfly Wings". History Formation Named after the Richard Brautigan poem "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace", Machines ...

Local H Local H is an American rock band originally formed by guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas, bassist Matt Garcia, drummer Joe Daniels, and lead guitarist John Sparkman in Zion, Illinois in 1990. The members all met in high school in 1987 and found ...

, Cupcakes (a band he formed), which released an album on

Dreamworks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, ...

. He has also recorded and/or toured with a diverse range of pop artists such as

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, '' Let Go'' (2002), is the best-selling album of the 21 ...

Liz Phair Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to start a musical career ...

Five For Fighting Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), also known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known for his piano-based soft rock ballads, such as the top 40 hits " Superman (It's No ...

Colbie Caillat Colbie Marie Caillat (; born May 28, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame through social networking website Myspace. At that time, she was the number one unsigned artist of her genre. After signing with Universal Republic ...

, and Jewel. He has recorded guitar on feature film scores/soundtracks such as ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'', ''

Treasure Planet ''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The 43rd Disney animated feature film, it is a science fiction adaptati ...

'', and '' Biker Boyz''. Suran had worked as a musician in theater for many years with the

Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, b ...

and a production of ''

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig and the Angry Inch may refer to: * ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (musical), 1998 ** ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (soundtrack), 1999 * ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (film), 2001 {{disambig ...

''. He toured with

from 2011-2013 on the "Analog Man" tour, then also for two tours with French pop star Mylene Farmer in 2009 and 2013, then also with

Don Felder Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with th ...

, formerly of the Eagles, from 2013–present. He worked as a session player and touring musician in Los Angeles until he joined the B-52s in 2013, after Keith Strickland left, with which group he is currently touring in the USA. He has also been a guitarist in the house band for the television show, American Idol, for four seasons since its reboot on ABC in 2018.

Personal life

For two years, by his own report, he has practiced a vegan diet.

Albums

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

- ''The 3D Concert Movie'' ST(CD), with several other artists, 08/09/2011. * Cupcakes *

- ''Gutterflower'' *

- ''Live in Buffalo'' *

- ''Let Love In'' * Jewel - ''Goodbye Alice In Wonderland'' *

Jeremy Enigk Jeremy Enigk (; born July 16, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, vocalist and guitarist / multi-instrumentalist. He is known as a solo artist, a film score composer, and as the lead vocalist, bassist, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist of the ...

- ''World Waits'' *

- ''Breakthrough'' *

- ''Slice'' *

- ''Best Damn Thing'' *

BackStreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The ...

- ''Never Gone'' * Jen Wood - ''Wilderness''

References

External links

Cinecue profile for Greg Suran
The B-52's members American new wave musicians Living people Bienen School of Music alumni Northwestern University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{The B-52's