Dave Pirner

Dave Pirner
Born	Green Bay
Nationality	United States of America
Genres	rock music · punk rock · grunge · alternative rock
Instruments	drum · voice

Dave Pirner
Dave Pirner in 2010
Background information
Birth name	David Anthony Pirner
Born	(1964-04-16) April 16, 1964 Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, grunge
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, trumpet, drums, percussion, keyboard, harmonica, saxophone
Years active	1981–present
Labels	A&M, Columbia

David Anthony Pirner (born April 16, 1964) is an American songwriter, singer, and producer best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for the alternative rock band Soul Asylum.

Early life and work

Pirner was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin and graduated from Minneapolis West High School in 1982. He taught himself how to play the drums. By age 20, Pirner started his career drumming with a punk band called Loud Fast Rules as part of the Minneapolis scene, together with Karl Mueller (bass) and Dan Murphy (guitar). When Pirner switched to singing and playing rhythm guitar, Pat Morley joined on drums. Morley was later replaced by Grant Young, and the band changed their name to Soul Asylum. After touring the United States for a number of years they gathered a cult following of fans, but did not quite reach commercial visibility. Pirner at the time was the band's songwriter and he produced the album, Coup De Grace, by the Minneapolis metal band the Coup de Grace in 1990.

Commercial success

The band achieved commercial success and visibility on MTV and VH1 with the 1993 single "Runaway Train", followed by another hit song, "Black Gold"; both from their album Grave Dancers Union. As Soul Asylum grew in popularity, Pirner was seen guesting on albums of differing genres, including artists like Paul Westerberg, Jason Karaban, Mike Watt, The Autumn Defense They broke up three years later.

Pirner lived in Bywater, New Orleans, Louisiana for a time and still maintains a residence and recording studio in New Orleans. He also maintains a residence in Minneapolis. He has a son, Eli, with his ex-wife.

Discography

Solo

• 2002: Faces & Names (Ultimatum Music)

Guest appearances

• 2006: The Hold Steady – "Chillout Tent" (Boys and Girls in America)
• 2014: Within Temptation – "Whole World Is Watching" (Hydra)

References

Pirner, Dave (2020). Loud Fast Words: Soul Asylum Collected Lyrics. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 344. ISBN 9781681341729.

External links

• Dave Pirner discography at MusicBrainz
• Dave Pirner at MinneWiki
• The Soul Asylum Band Files are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society.
• Career Retrospective Interview from February 2016 with Pods & Sods