Greg David Upchurch was born December 1 1971 in Houma, Louisiana and raised in Kingston, Oklahoma. He attended his entire school days there, being an active and successful member of the marching and jazz bands. Greg is a 1990 graduate of Kingston High School, and alumni member. Greg played in the Kingston High School marching band as well as with the high school rock band, Stixen Stonz.
Two days after he graduated high school, he moved to Oklahoma City to pursue his music career further. He attended college for a short time, and wound up making more money playing in cover bands and local groups. After several years of playing live every weekend, Greg got the chance to move to Los Angeles and live with a former bandmate. He took the offer, as he knew he'd never achieve stardom in Oklahoma.
After living in L.A. for a while, he met Alain and Natasha of the art-rock band Eleven. He auditioned, and with the praise of the great Matt Cameron, was chosen to play with Eleven, replacing their initial drummer Jack Irons (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam). Greg toured the world and supported two albums, opening for Soundgarden among others. Greg played both conventional kit and electronic drum loops for Eleven on their "Avantgardedog" album which was released in April 2000.
When Chris Cornell decided to do a solo album, he recruited his pals Alain and Natasha to write and record with. Greg got to play on one of the tracks from Cornell's solo CD and then was selected to be the touring drummer for the band.
Once that tour ended, Greg was told about an open audition for an up and coming band. He took the chance, hearing it was a great opportunity. He fit into the music quickly, and won the spot in the band. He was a natural for the style of music they played. The band was Puddle of Mudd. After releasing and touring to support a super successful album, he is the active drummer for Puddle of Mudd and loving it all the way. He's accomplished all the things that a small town boy isn't supposed to. The best is yet to come!
Every band he's played in has benefitted from his presence both live and soundwise. People always leave the shows talking about the drummer playing hard and well. That's what makes him my favorite drummer, just as John Bonham was the last generation's drum god.
Matt Cameron
