Greg Saunier is the drummer and founding member of San Francisco-based band Deerhoof, which is known for its prodigious musical output and ever-shifting, off-kilter sound. While Deerhoof's sound has changed dramatically since their beginnings in 1994, the band has become influential and is widely respected in independent and...More
Greg Saunier is the drummer and founding member of San Francisco-based band Deerhoof, which is known for its prodigious musical output and ever-shifting, off-kilter sound. While Deerhoof's sound has changed dramatically since their beginnings in 1994, the band has become influential and is widely respected in independent and underground rock circles.
Greg Saunier moved to San Francisco after graduating from a music conservatory in 1991. After arriving in the city, he joined a short-lived four piece goth/metal group called Nitre Pit as their drummer. When that band suddenly broke up, Saunier and then-bassist Rob Fisk formed an ad-hoc duo, named Deerhoof by Fisk. Their style was improvisatory, loud, aggressive and stark.
In 1995, the duo played at the Yo Yo A Go Go Festival in Olympia, Washington, an annual festival showcasing independent bands. The band caught the attention of Kill Rock Stars label founder, Slim Moon, who signed them to release a 7” single. The debut 7” would mark the beginning of the band's long-standing relationship with Kill Rock Stars, with the group eventually becoming the best-selling and longest-running band on the label's roster.
In 1996, through mutual friends, the pair met Japanese film student Satomi Matsuzaki, who had just moved to the Bay Area from Tokyo. Though she had no previous musical experience, the members of Deerhoof hit it off with her right away and liked the calm, untrained singing style she possessed. The group created a unique sound, featuring Saunier and Fisk's noisy improvisatory playing, mixed with a simple melodic sense and Matsuzaki's vocals over the top. The trio released their self-recorded debut album The Man, The King, The Girl on Kill Rock Stars in 1997.
By 1998, the trio expanded to a quartet by adding keyboardist Kelly Goode to the band. In late 1999, Fisk and Goode left the band and the remaining duo of Matsuzaki and Saunier quickly found a new member in self-taught guitarist John Dieterich, and spent the next couple of years crafting a new approach to writing and recording their music. During 2002 the members of Deerhoof had forged a close relationship with Chris Cohen and his band, The Curtains. Cohen was asked to join Deerhoof, primarily as a second guitarist, and Saunier joined The Curtains for several years. In 1006, Cohen decided he wanted to devote more time to The Curtains, and left Deerhoof amicably.
Deerhoof released Friend Opportunity (Kill Rock Stars) in early 2007. The album was recorded between two legs of a tour when the band was opening for Radiohead, and much of the material on the album was mixed while they were on the road. The result was an album that may seem more pop-oriented than some of their previous material, but that has just as many, if not more, stylistic shifts within and between songs and features a clearer yet even more dense sound. The album sounds like an excellent mix of all of the band's sounds and incarnations brought together in a shinier package. So far the album has proved to be the band's most commercially successful release.
In early 2008, it was announced that guitarist Ed Rodriguez was joining Deerhoof as full-time member. Deerhoof released their tenth album, Offend Maggie in October of 2008 (Kill Rock Stars).
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