Draft:Pete Griffin (musician): Difference between revisions

 

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===Giraffe Tongue Orchestra and supergroups===

===Giraffe Tongue Orchestra and supergroups===

Griffin joined [[Giraffe Tongue Orchestra]]—a supergroup featuring [[Brent Hinds]] ([[Mastodon (band)|Mastodon]]), [[Ben Weinman]] ([[The Dillinger Escape Plan|Dillinger Escape Plan]]) and [[William DuVall]] ([[Alice in Chains]])—in 2016.<ref>{{cite web | title=Bassist Pete Griffin talks Giraffe Tongue Orchestra and their “The Walking Dead” connection | date=17 November 2016 | url=https://mediamikes.com/2016/11/bassist-pete-griffin-talks-giraffe-tongue-orchestra-and-their-the-walking-dead-connection }}</ref>

Griffin joined [[Giraffe Tongue Orchestra]]—a supergroup featuring [[Brent Hinds]] ([[Mastodon (band)|Mastodon]]), [[Ben Weinman]] ([[The Dillinger Escape Plan|Dillinger Escape Plan]]) and [[William DuVall]] ([[Alice in Chains]])—in 2016.<ref>{{cite web | title=Bassist Pete Griffin talks Giraffe Tongue Orchestra and their “The Walking Dead” connection | date=17 November 2016 | url=https://mediamikes.com/2016/11/bassist-pete-griffin-talks-giraffe-tongue-orchestra-and-their-the-walking-dead-connection }}</ref>

. Giraffe Tongue Orchestra released its debut album ”[[Broken Lines]]” in September 2016 and embarked on a supporting tour.

Griffin has also performed with the supergroup ”Legend of the Seagullmen”—featuring [[Tool (band)|Tool]] drummer [[Danny Carey]] and Mastodon guitarist [[Brent Hinds|Brent Hinds]]—and collaborated with guitarist [[Mike Keneally]] (known for his work with [[Frank Zappa]] and composer [[Bear McCreary]]) in the Bird Brain project.

Griffin has also performed with the supergroup ”Legend of the Seagullmen”—featuring [[Tool (band)|Tool]] drummer [[Danny Carey]] and Mastodon guitarist [[Brent Hinds|Brent Hinds]]—and collaborated with guitarist [[Mike Keneally]] (known for his work with [[Frank Zappa]] and composer [[Bear McCreary]]) in the Bird Brain project.

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American bass guitarist

Pete Griffin
Origin	New York City area, U.S.
Genres	Rock, progressive rock, metal, jam, funk
Occupation(s)	Bassist, composer, producer
Instrument	Bass guitar
Years active	1990s–present
Website	petegriffinbass.com

Musical artist

Pete Griffin is an American bass guitarist, composer and producer. A graduate of Northwestern University’s music program, he first gained attention in the Los Angeles music scene in the early 2000s. Griffin’s résumé includes tours and recordings with artists ranging from the pop–rock band Hanson to the Frank Zappa tribute act Zappa Plays Zappa, the Adult Swim death‑metal band Dethklok and the guitar supergroup Generation Axe. In 2009 he shared a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance with Zappa Plays Zappa for their rendition of “Peaches en Regalia”^[1]. He has also been a member of Gryphon Labs, Giraffe Tongue Orchestra^[2] and Legend of the Seagullmen and released his own music under the name Pete Griffin and His Lab Rats.

Griffin grew up a few miles from New York City and received his first bass guitar at age 13. His early idol and mentor was local bassist Dan Binggelli; when Binggelli died of bacterial meningitis at 19, Griffin resolved to pursue music professionally^[1]. He attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in music, studying jazz and classical performance while performing rock and pop gigs around Chicago. During his time at Northwestern he also studied privately with master bassist Steve Rodby^[1]. Shortly after graduating he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a teaching assistant at the Musicians Institute while establishing himself on the local scene.

In 2003 Griffin joined the pop‑rock band Hanson as its touring bassist. He spent the next year touring the United States and Asia and appeared with the group on television shows such as The Tonight Show, The Today Show and Good Morning America^[1]. Around the same period he played live dates with classic‑rock singer and multi‑instrumentalist Edgar Winter.

Griffin’s profile rose significantly when he was recruited by drummer Joe Travers to audition for guitarist Dweezil Zappa’s tribute project Zappa Plays Zappa.^[3] He joined the band in 2006 and performed complex arrangements of Frank Zappa’s music alongside Dweezil Zappa, Steve Vai and Terry Bozzio^[1]. The group toured worldwide, and a live recording of Peaches en Regalia earned a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 51st Grammy Awards.^[4] Griffin remained with Zappa Plays Zappa through late 2011, when he left to focus on composing and performing his own material.

After leaving Zappa Plays Zappa, Griffin formed the Los‑Angeles‑based band Gryphon Labs, which featured several alumni of the Zappa ensemble. The band released two studio albums, Modern Mythology (2010) and The Red Room (2011). Griffin also became a prolific session player, performing on recordings by guitarists Paul Gilbert, Tony MacAlpine, Vinnie Moore and others.

In late 2012 Griffin joined the touring lineup of Dethklok, the death‑metal band created for the Adult Swim animated series Metalocalypse. He played bass alongside guitarist/creator Brendon Small, drummer Gene Hoglan and guitarist Mike Keneally. A 2019 Blabbermouth report on the band’s first show in five years listed Griffin as part of the live lineup with Small, Hoglan and guitarist Nili Brosh.^[5].

In 2016 Griffin became the sole bassist for Generation Axe, a touring guitar supergroup featuring Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt and Tosin Abasi.^[6][7] An announcement by Ashdown Engineering noted that the Generation Axe band would be “accompanied by bassist and Ashdown Artist Pete Griffin”, describing him as a Grammy‑winning bassist who had toured with numerous well‑known names^[8].

Griffin joined Giraffe Tongue Orchestra—a supergroup featuring Brent Hinds (Mastodon), Ben Weinman (Dillinger Escape Plan) and William DuVall (Alice in Chains)—in 2016.^[9][10] Giraffe Tongue Orchestra released its debut album Broken Lines in September 2016 and embarked on a supporting tour.

Griffin has also performed with the supergroup Legend of the Seagullmen—featuring Tool drummer Danny Carey and Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds—and collaborated with guitarist Mike Keneally (known for his work with Frank Zappa and composer Bear McCreary) in the Bird Brain project.

Composer Bear McCreary enlisted Griffin as part of the rhythm section for a Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 2011. McCreary later wrote that the event introduced him to “Mike Keneally on guitar, Pete Griffin on bass and Joe Travers on drums” and that their ability to tackle the music of Queen made them ideal for his film score to Knights of Badassdom^[11].

Griffin has continued to work with McCreary on stage: he joined the composer’s Themes & Variations tour in 2025, performing as the bassist alongside Brendan McCreary, Omer Ben‑Zvi, Paul Cartwright, Gene Hoglan and Morgan Sorne^[12]. During the set he even provided grunts for the song “The Last Ballad of Damrod”.

In the early 2020s Griffin joined ProgJect, a progressive rock tribute project led by drummer Jonathan Mover that performs music by bands such as Genesis, Yes and King Crimson.

In June 2025 the bass magazine No Treble reported that ProgJect’s summer tour would include Griffin on bass alongside Alessandro Del Vecchio on vocals, guitarist Mike Keneally and keyboardist Ryo Okumoto^[13]

In addition to touring and session work, Griffin composes and records his own music. In 2023 he released Pete Griffin and His Lab Rats, an EP written and produced entirely by himself that features drummer Gergo Borlai, guitarist Dave Davidson and trumpeter Jamie Hovorka.^[14] He continues to perform, record and teach in Los Angeles.

Critics have described Griffin as a versatile bass player capable of adapting to a wide range of genres. A 2017 profile in Bass Musician Magazine observed that “making it in the Los Angeles music scene is not an endeavor for the meek or faint of heart… becoming an in‑demand bassist in the scene is a triumph achieved through years of hard work”, and cited Griffin as an example whose résumé includes Steve Vai, Dr John, Zappa Plays Zappa, Zakk Wylde, Tony MacAlpine, Dethklok, Mike Keneally and Giraffe Tongue Orchestra^[15]

With Gryphon Labs

• Modern Mythology (2010)
• The Red Room (2011)

With Giraffe Tongue Orchestra

With Generation Axe

• The Guitars That Destroyed the World: Live in China (2019)

With Legend of the Seagullmen

• Legend of the Seagullmen (2018)

2009 – Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance (shared with Dweezil Zappa and Zappa Plays Zappa for “Peaches en Regalia”).