Daryl Mark Stuermer (born November 27, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, singer, and record producer best known for playing the guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most solo tours and albums. He has also released nine solo albums, and tours with his Daryl Stuermer Band.
Early life
Stuermer was born on November 27, 1952, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He cites Duane, his elder brother of two years, also a musician, who introduced him to music by Elvis Presley and Ray Charles. As a youngster he became a fan of the instrumental rock band The Ventures, which "really got me going". He began to play the guitar at age eleven, and moved into jazz guitar four years later. In 1970, Stuermer graduated from St. Francis High School in St. Francis, Wisconsin.
Career
Early bands
In the early 1970s, Stuermer formed his Milwaukee-based jazz rock band Sweetbottom, playing local gigs five nights a week.
Genesis
thumb|240px|right|Stuermer in 1980 performing with Genesis
In late 1977, Stuermer, at the insistence of his friend Alphonso Johnson, was recommended as a replacement for Steve Hackett to support Genesis for live performances. Johnson's audition was unsuccessful, and he put Stuermer's name forward. Stuermer's only exposure to the band was when Ponty played him A Trick of the Tail, and a television clip showing Peter Gabriel singing in costume.
Stuermer went on to record Live and Learn, Another Side of Genesis, Waiting in the Wings, Retrofit, The Nylon String Sampler, Rewired: the Electric Collection and Go!. Released in 2002 was a Sweetbottom live reunion album, recorded at Shank Hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Stuermer's album Go! was released in early 2007. It contains many older tracks from Stuermer's Sweetbottom days, and includes appearances from Alphonso Johnson, Kostia, John Calarco, and Eric Hervey. Stuermer released the album on Inside Out Records as they offered him greater freedom to explore a musical direction that he wished to pursue. His current project is called Daryl Stuermer − Symphony Concert, which involves band members Kostia, Alan Arber and Eric Hervey and singer Forrest "Woody" Mankowski, recreating classic Genesis material mixed with instrumentals from his solo career.
Equipment
Stuermer has been a Fender Stratocaster user for most of his career with Phil Collins. His primary guitars have been a Torino Red Eric Clapton Stratocaster and a 3-Tone Sunburst American Standard Stratocaster, though he also played banjo on the Collins song "The Roof Is Leaking". In addition to the Fender Stratocaster in his tenure with Collins and Genesis, he played Gibson RD Artist bass guitars and Ibanez electric guitars in 1978. He then switched to a SUNTECH Model SA-MFSC "Stratocaster Style" guitar from 1978 to 1984 and used a Shergold Bass Guitar (1980), a Fender Precision Bass guitar in 1981/1982, a Strata (Status Graphite) bass guitar and a Roland guitar (1983–84), a Steinberger bass guitar and guitar (1986/1987), a Yamaha bass guitar in 1992 and a Lakland custom bass guitar in 2007. Stuermer used a Gibson ES-346 in 2004/2005,