Sam Rivers (bassist)

"See Sam Rivers for the jazz saxophonist."

Sam Rivers (born Samuel Robert Rivers, September 21, 1977, Jacksonville, Florida) is the bassist and one of the founding members of the band, Limp Bizkit.

He is the cousin of the band's drummer, John Otto. Rivers originally was endorsed by Ibanez, and one of his basses was a customized BTB 5-string, but currently uses custom made Warwick basses, with light-emitting diodes in the fretboard.

Biography

Early Years

Rivers musical career started fairly early on, with him playing the tuba in a band in Arlington Middle School. He got into music initially because of his cousin John Otto, who played jazz-style drums. He attended Bishop Kenny High School, and later The Douglas Anderson School Of The Arts. He actually played guitar before he played bass, but switched at the suggestion of his music teacher.

Limp Bizkit

Rivers first met Fred Durst while working at a Chick-fil-A in a mall in Jacksonville. The two started talking, and found they shared several interests, including skateboarding, and music. They decided to get together for a jam session. Rivers was becoming an accomplished bass guitarist, and Durst was to be a vocalist. Together with several other people they formed a shortlived band called Malachi Sage. When the band did not work out, the two decided to try again, and this time John Otto came into the picture to be the drummer at the suggestion of Sam. In 1994 the three formed Limp Bizkit. Later on guitarist Wes Borland came into the fold, as well as DJ Lethal in 1996.

Today

After Limp Bizkit went on hiatus, Rivers became a producer for local bands in Jacksonville. He produced the first album of the band 'Burn Season' [http://www.burnseason.com/] [http://www.myspace.com/burnseason] as well as the first album of 'The Embraced' [http://www.myspace.com/theembraced] . Rivers will join Limp Bizkit for their next album "The Unquestionable Truth (Part 2)".

Most recently, Rivers has been producing for the ORLANDO-based band 'Indorphine' [http://ultimate-guitar.com/news/press_releases/indorphine_working_with_sam_rivers_of_limp_bizkit.html] [http://www.myspace.com/indorphine] . Aside from producing their new studio material, Rivers managed to book them as the opening act for a Mushroomhead/SOiL concert.

Trivia

*Rivers was the youngest member of the band. In fact, when their first album, "Three Dollar Bill, Yall$", was released, he was only 19 years old.
*His influences include bands such as Black Sabbath and Megadeth.
*He was voted Best Bass Player in the 2000 Gibson Awards. [http://www.gibson.com/Whatsnew/pressrelease/2000/mar10b.html]
* In 2001, he married his girlfriend Kinter Atkins.

Collaborations

* Marilyn Manson ft. Sam Rivers - "Redeemer" (Queen of the Damned soundtrack)
* David Draiman ft. Sam Rivers - "Forsaken" (Queen of the Damned soundtrack)
* Black Light Burns ft. Sam Rivers - "I Have a Need" (Cruel Melody)