Samuel Robert Rivers (born September 2, 1977) is an American musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist of the rock band

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American nu metal band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto (drummer), John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers (bassist), Sam ...

and one of its founding members.

Early life

Rivers' musical career started fairly early on, with him playing the

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

in a band in Arlington Middle School. He got into music initially because of John Otto, who played

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

-style drums. Many have said that Otto is a cousin of Rivers, but during a documentary that was recorded of the band recording their second album, Rivers admits that they initially thought they were cousins but realized neither parents were related. He attended Bishop Kenny High School. He played guitar before he played bass, but switched at the suggestion of his music teacher.

Career

Limp Bizkit

Rivers first met

Fred Durst William Frederick Durst (born Frederick Allen Mayne III; August 20, 1970) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and director. He is the frontman and lyricist of the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, formed in 1994, with whom he has release ...

while working at a

Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A, Inc. ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in Chicken burger, chicken sandwiches. Headquarter ...

in a mall in Jacksonville. The two started talking, and found they shared several interests, including skateboarding and music. They decided to get together for a jam session. Rivers was becoming an accomplished bass guitarist, and Durst was to be a vocalist. Together with several other people they formed a short-lived band called Malachi Sage. (Rivers' talents on guitar would later come into play in Limp Bizkit's

Results May Vary ''Results May Vary'' is the fourth studio album by American nu metal band Limp Bizkit, released on September 23, 2003, through Flip and Interscope Records. It is the band's only release under the sole-leadership of vocalist Fred Durst after the ...

album, the only album not featuring longtime guitarist

Wes Borland Wesley Louden Borland (born February 7, 1975) is an American rock musician. He is the guitarist and backing vocalist of the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative and industrial rock band Black Light Burn ...

, with Rivers playing both guitar and bass on select songs such as "Creamer" and "Lonely World".) When the band did not work out, the two decided to try again, and this time Otto came into the picture to be the drummer at the suggestion of Rivers. In 1994, the three formed Limp Bizkit. Later on guitarist

came into the fold, as well as

DJ Lethal Leor Dimant (, , ; born December 18, 1972), better known as DJ Lethal, is a Latvian-American turntablist and producer and is best known as a member of the groups House of Pain and Limp Bizkit. Early life Leor Dimant was born to a Latvian- ...

, in 1996. Rivers was the youngest member of the band. When their first album '' Three Dollar Bill, Yall'' was released, he was 19 years old. In 2015, Rivers reportedly left Limp Bizkit following a diagnosis of degenerative disc disease. However, Rivers revealed in 2020 his departure from Limp Bizkit was due to liver disease caused by excessive drinking. Rivers subsequently received a

liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a Liver disease, diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for Cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and ...

. In absentia, live bass duties were covered by Samuel Gerhard Mpungu and Tsuzumi Okai. He was voted Best Bass Player at the 2000 Gibson Awards.

Recent work

After Limp Bizkit went on hiatus, Rivers became a producer for local bands in Jacksonville. He produced the debut albums by

Burn Season Burn Season was an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by Damien Starkey and Bobby Amaru in 1998 under the name Smakt Down. The name changed to Burn Season upon signing their record deal with Elektra Records shortly after high ...

and The Embraced. Most recently, Rivers has been producing for the Orlando-based band Indorphine. Aside from producing their new studio material, Rivers got them booked as the opening act for a

Mushroomhead Mushroomhead is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1993 in the Cleveland Warehouse District, the band is known for their avant-garde sound and horror film-inspired imagery which features masks and costumes as well as ...

SOiL Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

concert. He was invited to

Christian Olde Wolbers Christian Francis Olde Wolbers (born 5 August 1972) is a Belgian musician, record producer, and songwriter. He is the current bassist and backing vocalist of the rap metal/nu metal band Powerflo. He is also a former bassist of the thrash metal ...

Arkaea Arkaea was a metal band formed in 2008 featuring members from Fear Factory and Threat Signal. History The band was formed by drummer Raymond Herrera and guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers, who had just left Fear Factory. They recorded a demo, ...

project, but dropped out due to scheduling. In early 2009, Rivers reunited with Limp Bizkit for tours and their sixth studio album, '' Gold Cobra'', released in 2011. Rivers is now pursuing another project with Burn Season vocalist Damien Starkey in a band called Sleepkillers, along with

Adam Latiff Adam Latiff (born March 24, 1979) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist for a number of bands, most notable for Puddle of Mudd. He started his career in bands such as Devereux and was a touring guitar player for Eve to Adam until Dece ...

and

Saliva Saliva (commonly referred as spit or drool) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which ...

vocalist Bobby Amaru, who was also a founding member and drummer for Burn Season. They released their self titled debut album in March 2019.

Personal life

His influences include bands such as

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

and

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

. Rivers cites

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, ...

from

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

as a big influence on his playing.

Equipment

Rivers was originally endorsed by

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki was one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United Stat ...

, and one of his basses was a customized BTB 5-string, but he then used custom made

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

basses, with

LEDs A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (correspo ...

in the

fretboard The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments) is an important component of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The stri ...

. Since 2019, Sam Rivers is using 5-string Fender Jazz Basses live with Limp Bizkit. Rivers has also been seen using Wal Basses since 2005, mainly in the studio and uses

Ampeg Ampeg ("amplified peg") is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers. Originally established in 1946 in Linden, New Jersey by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels as "Michael-Hull Electronic Labs," today Ampeg is part of the Yamaha Guit ...

and Warwick amps.

Collaborations

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

ft. Sam Rivers – "Redeemer" ( Queen of the Damned (soundtrack)) *

David Draiman David Michael Draiman (; born March 13, 1973) is an American heavy metal singer. Noted for his distorted baritone voice and percussive singing style, he has been the lead vocalist of Disturbed since 1996. He has written some of the band's most ...

ft. Sam Rivers – "Forsaken" ( Queen of the Damned (soundtrack)) *

Black Light Burns Black Light Burns was an American industrial rock band fronted by Wes Borland. Founded in 2005 after Borland departed Limp Bizkit, the band's lineup also includes Nick Annis, Dennis Sanders and Dylan Taylor. Their debut album, ''Cruel Melody' ...

ft. Sam Rivers – "I Have a Need" (

Cruel Melody ''Cruel Melody'' is the debut album of American rock band Black Light Burns, released on June 5, 2007, through Ross Robinson's label I AM: WOLFPACK. The album is an outcome of frontman Wes Borland's efforts aft ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivers, Sam 1977 births Living people American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Limp Bizkit members Liver transplant recipients Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida Guitarists from Florida Bishop Kenny High School alumni 21st-century American bass guitarists