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 Minneapolis, Minnesota, 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. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was a member of the supergroup Golden Smog.
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 Carrollton, 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 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
Bibliography
External links
- Dave Pirner at MinneWiki
- The Soul Asylum Band Files are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society.