Peter Griesar

Peter Griesar (born 1969) played in the Dave Matthews Band from August 1990 to March 1993, playing keyboards, harmonica and providing backup vocals. He grew up in Westchester County, New York and moved to Charlottesville, Virginia to attend the University of Virginia. He met Dave Matthews, later joining his band. After leaving the band in 1993, he continued playing, releasing several solo albums.

Dave Matthews Band

While living in Charlottesville, he got a job at a bar called Miller's. Starting out as a waiter he became friends with another waiter, Dave Matthews.

Griesar was recruited to join the band The Basics, by bassist Houston Ross. Leroi Moore and Tim Reynolds were also in the group. As a result, he began recording his own music with Matthews. When Matthews quit bartending, they started playing shows at another bar, Eastern Standard.

In August 1990, Miller's hosted practice sessions for Matthews, Moore, Carter Beauford, and Stefan Lessard, while they were closed for late summer cleaning. Before long, he was practicing with them.

By 1991, the band (entertaining using the name Dumela) became the Dave Matthews Band, and added violinist Boyd Tinsley, playing at frat houses and other bars. During the fall of 1992, as attendance was skyrocketing, the band began planning to cut an album.

However, after the band's March 23, 1993 performance, Griesar quit the band.

Leaving Dave Matthews Band

Citing that his mother was sick and he wasn't enjoying touring, he left the band, preferring the small stage, as opposed to big venues that the band later went to play at. He felt that his place in the band was no longer necessary, unlike Matthews, Tinsley, and Beauford, who had grown into their roles.

Two years later, in 1995, he returned to music, working with artist Lauren Hoffman. In 1996, he joined The Ninth, which included Lessard. The band didn't take off, so Griesar decided to record his own album for his friends and family.

upertanker

In 1998, he assembled Supertanker, and released a solo album, Disposable Love Songs. Two years later, he left the original Supertanker, and released an EP, From the Supertanker Dude with the Zero Obsession. In August 2000, he assembled the second incarnation of Supertanker, which toured briefly.

References

* [http://nancies.org/news/2000/09/griesar-interview/ Peter Griesar interview with Nancies.org]