Sam Rivers (bassist)
Encyclopedia
Sam Rivers 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
.
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. He actually played guitar before he played bass, but switched at the suggestion of his music teacher.
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 short-lived band called Malachi Sage. Rivers' talents on guitar would later come into play in Limp Bizkits Results May Vary
album, the only album not featuring longtime guitarist Wes Borland
, with Rivers playing both guitar and bass on select songs such as Creamer and Lonely World.
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. Rivers was the youngest member of the band. When their first album Three Dollar Bill, Yall$
was released, he was only 19 years old.
He was voted Best Bass Player at the 2000 Gibson Awards.
for local bands in Jacksonville. He produced the debut albums by Burn Season
and The Embraced. Most recently, Rivers has been producing for the Orlando based band Indorphine
. Aside from producing their new studio material, Rivers got them booked as the opening act for a Mushroomhead
/Soil concert.
In early 2009, Rivers reunited with Limp Bizkit for tours and their sixth studio album, Gold Cobra
released in 2011.
and Megadeth
.
In 2001, he married his girlfriend Kinter Atkins.
, 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. Rivers has also been seen using Wal Basses
since 2005, mainly in the studio.
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and one of the founding members of the band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 1995, the group's lineup consists of Fred Durst , Wes Borland , Sam Rivers , John Otto and DJ Lethal . The band achieved mainstream success with their second studio album Significant Other, released in 1999...
. He is the cousin
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
of the band's drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, John Otto
John Otto (drummer)
John Everett Otto is the drummer and co-founder of the band Limp Bizkit.-Limp Bizkit:Otto, along with his cousin Sam Rivers, and Fred Durst, founded Limp Bizkit in 1994, while attending Douglas Anderson School of the Arts...
.
Early life
Rivers musical career started fairly early on, with him playing the tubaTuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
in a band in Arlington Middle School. He got into music initially because of his cousin John Otto, who played jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
-style drums.
He attended Bishop Kenny High School. He actually played guitar before he played bass, but switched at the suggestion of his music teacher.
Limp Bizkit
Rivers first met Fred DurstFred Durst
William Frederick "Fred" Durst is an American musician, director, producer and actor, well known as the frontman of the band Limp Bizkit.-Early life:...
while working at a Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A |"fillet"]]) is a quick service restaurant chain headquartered in College Park, Georgia, United States, specializing in chicken entrées and is known for promoting the company founder's claims of Christian values. Long associated with the southern United States, where it has been a...
in a mall in Jacksonville. The two started talking, and found they shared several interests, including skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. 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 short-lived band called Malachi Sage. Rivers' talents on guitar would later come into play in Limp Bizkits Results May Vary
Results May Vary
Results May Vary is the fourth studio album by Limp Bizkit, released on September 23, 2003 through Interscope Records. The album debuted at #3 in the US with over 320,000 copies sold on the first week, breaking the group's #1 spree on the Billboard 200 and was eventually certified Platinum on June...
album, the only album not featuring longtime guitarist Wes Borland
Wes Borland
Wesley Louden Borland is an American musician and artist, best known as the guitarist for the band Limp Bizkit. He has been in several other bands as well including: Black Light Burns, The Damning Well, Goatslayer, Big Dumb Face, and Combichrist...
, with Rivers playing both guitar and bass on select songs such as Creamer and Lonely World.
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
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Wes Borland
Wes Borland
Wesley Louden Borland is an American musician and artist, best known as the guitarist for the band Limp Bizkit. He has been in several other bands as well including: Black Light Burns, The Damning Well, Goatslayer, Big Dumb Face, and Combichrist...
came into the fold, as well as DJ Lethal
DJ Lethal
Leor Dimant , better known as DJ Lethal, is a turntablist and producer and member of the bands Limp Bizkit, House of Pain and La Coka Nostra.-Early life:Leor Dimant was born in Riga, Latvia, when this country was still part of the Soviet Union...
in 1996. Rivers was the youngest member of the band. When their first album Three Dollar Bill, Yall$
Three Dollar Bill, Yall$
Three Dollar Bill, Yall$ is the debut album by American nu metal band Limp Bizkit, released July 1, 1997 through Flip/Interscope. It was produced by Ross Robinson and was certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA in July 2001 in the US...
was released, he was only 19 years old.
He was voted Best Bass Player at the 2000 Gibson Awards.
Recent work
After Limp Bizkit went on hiatus, Rivers became a producerRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
for local bands in Jacksonville. He produced the debut albums by Burn Season
Burn Season
Burn Season is a four-piece hard rock music group from Jacksonville, Florida.Burn Season formed in 2001, and immediately gained the attention of several major record labels. They ultimately decided to sign with Elektra Records to what was rumored as an "obscenely" large deal.The band went to work...
and The Embraced. Most recently, Rivers has been producing for the Orlando based band Indorphine
Indorphine
- History :Like many influential grassroots bands before them, Indorphine began in the garage of lead singer Jimmy Grant as he, and high school friend and drummer Everett Sailor, annoyed their Kissimmee neighbors with their loud and abstract music...
. Aside from producing their new studio material, Rivers got them booked as the opening act for a Mushroomhead
Mushroomhead
Mushroomhead is an American industrial metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1993 in Cleveland Warehouse District, the band's music can be described as a synthesis of alternative music, heavy metal, and electro-industrial...
/Soil concert.
In early 2009, Rivers reunited with Limp Bizkit for tours and their sixth studio album, Gold Cobra
Gold Cobra
Gold Cobra is the sixth studio album by American rock band Limp Bizkit, released on June 24 in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, on June 27 in the United Kingdom and on June 28 in the rest of the world in 2011 by Interscope Records...
released in 2011.
Personal life
His influences include bands such as Black SabbathBlack Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
and Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
.
In 2001, he married his girlfriend Kinter Atkins.
Equipment
Rivers was originally endorsed by IbanezIbanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
, and one of his basses was a customized BTB 5-string, but currently uses custom made Warwick
Warwick (bass guitar)
-Overview:Warwick basses were originally a premium brand offering a small range of models built from high quality and exotic tonewoods with 'Neck-through' design...
basses, with light-emitting diodes in the fretboard. Rivers has also been seen using Wal Basses
Wal (bass)
Wal is a brand of electric bass manufactured by Electric Wood Ltd. in High Wycombe, England. It was started in 1974 by electronics expert Ian Waller and luthier Pete Stevens...
since 2005, mainly in the studio.
Collaborations
- Marilyn MansonMarilyn Manson (band)Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
ft. Sam Rivers - "Redeemer" (Queen of the Damned (soundtrack)Queen of the Damned (soundtrack)The soundtrack to the Queen of the Damned film was Jonathan Davis' first musical output outside of Korn. Originally, he was to perform vocals on the soundtrack, but due to contract limitations with Sony, he could not. So he hired singers from other bands, each good friends of his, to do the vocal...
) - David DraimanDavid DraimanDavid Michael Draiman is an American songwriter and the lead singer for the metal band Disturbed. Draiman is known for his distorted voice and rhythmic singing style...
ft. Sam Rivers - "Forsaken" (Queen of the Damned (soundtrack)Queen of the Damned (soundtrack)The soundtrack to the Queen of the Damned film was Jonathan Davis' first musical output outside of Korn. Originally, he was to perform vocals on the soundtrack, but due to contract limitations with Sony, he could not. So he hired singers from other bands, each good friends of his, to do the vocal...
) - Black Light BurnsBlack Light BurnsBlack Light Burns are a rock band fronted by Wes Borland, of Limp Bizkit. The band's original studio lineup consisted of Borland, Danny Lohner, Josh Eustis and Josh Freese. Their debut album Cruel Melody, was released on June 5, 2007. The band released a covers and b-sides CD/DVD combo package in...
ft. Sam Rivers - "I Have a Need" (Cruel MelodyCruel Melody*Alternative Press - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Cruel Melody is still interesting, ambient and, much like its creators, unforgettable."...
)