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Gregg Bissonette

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Gregg Bissonette

Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959[citation needed]) is an American rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. Bissonette is known for playing and recording many different styles of music. That experience led to him winning the 2023 Modern Drummer readers poll for best "All Around" drummer and also winning their 2015 category of best "Studio" drummer. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including David Lee Roth's first three solo albums and has toured as part of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band since 2008.

One of Bissonette's first recordings was on jazz trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson's Live from San Francisco in 1983. Brother Matt was also in the band and on the recording. He later appeared on Brandon Fields' The Other Side of the Story in 1985. It featured David Garfield on keyboards. A few years later Bissonette would start playing shows with Fields, Garfield and Steve Lukather on guitar and with John Peña on bass as Los Lobotomys. These shows took place at the Baked Potato, a jazz club and restaurant in Los Angeles, California, playing rock, Latin, and jazz.

Bissonette got his big break joining former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth. The band included guitarist Steve Vai and future Mr. Big bassist Billy Sheehan. During 1985–1992 Gregg appeared on all three US Billboard 200 hit albums Eat 'Em and Smile (no.4) Skyscraper (no.6) and A Little Ain't Enough (no.18) and the subsequent world tours.

In 1990 and 1993, Bissonette released drum videos Private Lesson and Playing, Reading & Soloing with a Band, respectively. Private Lesson covers a variety of topics including double bass drumming, rudiments (with a backsticking technique from the snare drum solo Tornado by Mitch Markovich), playing with a metronome and brushes.

From 1994 to 2004, he played on the musical interludes for every episode for the TV show Friends.

In late 1995, Toto was beginning their Tambu tour when Simon Phillips developed back problems. Phillips asked Bissonette to fill in for him during the tour's first leg.

He played drums on one track on Santana's album Supernatural (1999). In 2007, he recorded on the album La La Land by Daniel Glen Timms.

In 2001 he was set to play on the Electric Light Orchestra's Zoom Tour Live with his brother Matt on Bass. The tour was cancelled after two televised performances: one at the CBS Television City on PBS and one on VH1 Storytellers.

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