Dale Crover

Dale Crover(born October 23, 1967) is an Americanrockmusician. Crover is best known as the drummer forMelvinsand has also been the drummer forMen of Porn,Shrinebuilder,Crystal Fairyand, for a brief time,Nirvana.He is also guitarist and vocalist forAltamont.He has toured withFantômas(filling in forDave Lombardo),Off!,andRedd Kross.In 2016,Rolling Stonelisted him as the 69th greatest drummer of all time.

Dale Crover
Crover performing withMelvinsatToad's Placein 2006
Background information
Born	(1967-10-23)October 23, 1967
Origin	Aberdeen, Washington,U.S.
Genres	Sludge metal grunge hardcore punk experimental rock alternative metal doom metal stoner metal
Occupation	Musician
Instruments	Drums percussion vocals guitar bass
Labels	Amphetamine Reptile Joyful Noise Recordings
Member of	Melvins Altamont Men of Porn Redd Kross
Formerly of	Acid King Honky Fecal Matter Hank Williams III Nirvana Shrinebuilder Crystal Fairy

Biography

Melvinsrecruited Crover on drums in 1984 from anIron Maidencover band, following original drummerMike Dillard's departure.Crover has been one of the two constant members of the Melvins, along with frontmanBuzz Osborne,and is the only band member besides Osborne to appear on all their studio albums. In late 1985, Crover played bass inFecal Matter,a band he formed withKurt Cobainand Greg Hokanson. After Hokanson left the band, Cobain and Crover recordedIlliteracy Will Prevailon a 4-track on Easter 1986 at Cobain's aunt's home inBurien, Washington.Crover played bass and drums on the demo. "Spank Thru" from this demo appears on theNirvanaalbumSliver: The Best of the Box.Fecal Matter disbanded in 1986.

Crover drummed on Nirvana's ten-song demo recorded January 23, 1988, at Reciprocal Recording Studios in Seattle. Nine of these songs have been officially released:

• "Floyd the Barber", "Paper Cuts", and "Downer" –Bleach
• "Beeswax", "Downer", "Hairspray Queen", "Mexican Seafood", and "Aero Zeppelin" –Incesticide
• "If You Must" and "Pen Cap Chew" –With the Lights Out

The original incarnation of Nirvana including Crover on drums played a 14-song show inTacoma,Washington, on the night of the same day that they did the demo session. Three cuts from the show – "Downer", "Floyd the Barber", and "Raunchola" / "Moby Dick"– appear onWith the Lights Out.Later in 1988, Crover and Melvins' bandmateBuzz Osbornerelocated to San Francisco, California. Not wanting to break the Melvins up, Cobain asked Buzz for recommendations on who he should recruit as his drummer and it was Osborne who referred Cobain to Dave Grohl, drummer of the hardcore band Scream at that time, commenting of Grohl that, "He's almost as good as Dale Crover." Crover briefly rejoined Nirvana during a short west-coast tour withSonic Youthin August 1990.In April 1991, Crover played drums on a demo version of "Drain You"with Cobain on guitar and vocals andDave Grohlon bass guitar. The track appears onWith the Lights Out.

In the years 1993 and 1994 the Melvins played a tour visiting every state in the contiguous United States, and released their first record on a major label (Atlantic) which had been nominally produced by Kurt Cobain, toured with Nirvana on the first leg of their world tour for In Utero, and then played a later leg of the tour that ended up including the last shows that Nirvana ever played. The Melvins opened for Nirvana at what turned out to be their final show in Munich after Cobain's overdose in Rome and shortly before his death. Prior to Cobain's departure for what wound up to be a short stint in rehab, the Melvins had several other shows scheduled to open for Nirvana in Europe. When these shows were canceled, the Melvins 'took their Nirvana money' to book studio time in London. They recorded two of their best-remembered albums in one week:Stoner Witch,andPrick.The album released asPrickwas originally intended to appear under the titleKurdt Cobain,but this idea was shelved after Cobain's suicide. During the same year, Crover founded the bandAltamontwithJoey Osbourneand Dan Southwick ofAcid King.He produced and performed additional vocals on Acid King's début release that year. During this time he was also married to Acid King's frontwoman Lori S., but they divorced. WhenNirvanawas inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Famein April 2014, although not officially inducted with the band, Crover was singled out for his work with them during Crover's successorDave Grohl's acceptance speech. A high proportion of the most substantive and historically infromative entries in Kurt Cobain's published journals consist of unfinished letters that he started writing to Dale Crover.

It may be significant to point out that after Cobain's death and the waning of grunge rock's centrality in the popular culture of the 1990's, Crover's career with Buzz Osborne in the Melvins, though they started playing together a decade earlier in 1984, had still scarcely begun in 1994. The volume and influence of the music that they produced thereafter has only grown over time. Since 1994, the Melvins have released nearly thirty studio albums and twenty EPs while continuing to tour relentlessly since that time. They played withNine Inch Nailson theDownward Spiraltour in 1995, and on a later tour withToolthey both opened and played as additional personnel with the headlining band after opening for them. They toured withFaith No Moreand with the legendary, seminal punk musicianJello Biafraof theDead Kennedyswhile also putting out a collaborative album with him, and playing guitars and drums during theDead Kennedyssets during the tour. Their collaboration with Lustmord on the Pigs of the Roman Empire is perhaps lesser known, but much cherished by fans. Crover is credited as the drummer on most of the tracks onMike Patton'sPeeping Tomproject from 2006. The Melvins also play with Patton on theFantomasrecords and have contributed to various other Patton projects. Crover is credited on nearly 400 releases according toDiscogs.

He has released three LPs as a solo artist includingThe Fickle Finger of FateandRat-a-Tat-Tat.In the summer of 2024, he releasedGlossolaliaonJoyful Noise Recordingswith musical guests includingTom Waits,Ty Segall,Kim ThayilandRob Crow.Crover has also released a number of other one-off projects at Joyful Noise including the percussion project Hew Time, which enlisted the drummers Coady Willis (ofBig Business) and Joe Plummer (ofModest Mouse).

Appearances

Dale Crover made an appearance inNeil Young's video "Harvest Moon"playing Neil Young. This was largely due to his physical resemblance to the younger Young.

Cartoon versions of Crover and bandmate Osborne appear in an episode ofUncle Grandpaas well.

Discography

Date of release	Title	Label	Credited for	Catalog number
1994	Acid King:Acid King	Sympathy for the Record Industry	Additional vocals
1996	Dale Crover:Drumb	Man's Ruin Records	Performer
September 7, 1999	Hank Williams III:Risin' Outlaw	Curb Records	drums on "Cocaine Blues"
October 19, 2004	Men of Porn:Wine, Women and Song	Small Stone Records	drums	SS-047
October 2009	Shrinebuilder:Shrinebuilder	Neurot Recordings	drums	NR070
February 2015	Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends:The Enemy of Everyone	Seismic Wave Entertainment	drums	SW013
May 2016	Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends:The Art of Murder		drums	SW014
September 2019	Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends:Protons and Electrons		drums	SW027
December 2020	Plan D	Joyful Noise Recordings	drums	JNR 309
December 2020	Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends:Dark Passengers	Learning Curve Records	drums	LCR077-1
Solo
Date of release	Title	Label	Album/Single	Credited for	Catalog number
August 2016	Skins	Joyful Noise Recordings	Single	Performer
July 2017	The Fickle Finger of Fate		Album	Vocals, Guitar, Drums	JNR235
August 2019	Sell Out	Seismic Wave Entertainment	Single	Vocals, Guitar	SW026
January 2021	Rat-A-Tat-Tat!	Joyful Noise Recordings	Album	Vocals, Guitar, Drums	JNR345
June 2024	Doug Yuletide	Joyful Noise Recordings	Single	Vocals, Guitar, Drums	JNR484
July 2024	Rings	Joyful Noise Recordings	Flexi	Vocals, Guitar, Drums	JNR484
July 2024	Glossolalia	Joyful Noise Recordings	Album	Vocals, Guitar, Drums	JNR484
with Altamont
Date of release	Title	Label	Credited for	Catalog number
May 27, 1997	Wanted Dead or Alive(split album withAcid King)	Man's Ruin Records		MR-072
October 13, 1998	Civil War Fantasy			MR-085
March 26, 1999	In the Groove(Compilation album,Rattlesnake Shake)	The Music Cartel
July 10, 2000	Right in the Nuts(Compilation album,Make It)	Small Stone Records
May 1, 2001	Our Darling	Man's Ruin Records		MR-2020
November 1, 2005	The Monkee's Uncle	AntAcidAudio		AAA-995
with Melvins
Date of release	Title	Label	Credited for	Catalog number
1986	Six Songs	C/Z Records		CZ002
1987	Gluey Porch Treatments	Alchemy Records		VM103
1989	Ozma	Boner Records		BR16-2
August 21, 1991	Kill Rock Stars(Compilation album,Ever Since My Accident)	Kill Rock Stars		KSR 201
1991	Your Choice Live Series Vol. 12	Your Choice Records		YC-LS 012
1991	Bullhead	Boner Records		BR25-2
1991	Eggnog			BR28-2
1992	Salad of a Thousand Delights	Box Dog Video		BDV002
1992	Dale Crover	Boner Records		BR33-2
1992	Lysol (aka Melvins)			BR35-2
September 21, 1993	Houdini	Atlantic Records		82532-2
August 1994	Prick	Amphetamine Reptile Records		AmRep 031
September 1994	Stoner Witch	Atlantic Records		82704-2
July 15, 1996	Stag			82878-2
May 5, 1997	Honky	Amphetamine Reptile Records		AmRep 064-2
August 26, 1997	Singles 1–12			AmRep 063
1998	Alive at the Fucker Club			AmRep 072
May 17, 1999	The Maggot	Ipecac Recordings		IPC-002
August 23, 1999	The Bootlicker			IPC-004
February 7, 2000	The Crybaby			IPC-006
November 27, 2000	Gluey Porch Treatments			IPC-012
February 6, 2001	Electroretard	Man's Ruin Records		MR2002
April 16, 2001	Colossus of Destiny	Ipecac Recordings		IPC-014
April 1, 2002	Millennium Monsterwork 2000withFantômas			IPC-019
April 15, 2002	Hostile Ambient Takeover			IPC-020
March 11, 2003	26 Songs			IPC-038
September 16, 2003	Melvinmania: The Best Of The Atlantic Years 1993–1996	Atlantic Records		5050466574428
March 9, 2004	Neither Here Nor There	Ipecac Recordings		IPC-047
August 23, 2004	Pigs of the Roman EmpirewithLustmord			IPC-054
October 19, 2004	Never Breathe What You Can't SeewithJello Biafra	Alternative Tentacles		Virus300
September 26, 2005	Sieg Howdy!withJello Biafra			Virus350
May 16, 2006	A Live History of Gluttony and Lust Houdini Live 2005	Ipecac Recordings		IPC-076
October 10, 2006	(A) Senile Animal			IPC-082
July 8, 2008	Nude With Boots			IPC-105
June 1, 2010	The Bride Screamed Murder			IPC-112
June 5, 2012	Freak Puke(Melvins Lite)			IPC-136
April 30, 2013	Everybody Loves Sausages			IPC-144
November 5, 2013	Tres Cabrones			IPC-150
October 14, 2014	Hold It In			IPC-164
April 1, 2016	Three Men and a BabywithMike Kunka	Sub Pop		SP 1147
June 3, 2016	Basses Loaded	Ipecac Recordings		IPC-178
July 7, 2017	A Walk with Love & Death			IPC-195
April 20, 2018	Pinkus Abortion Technician			IPC-201
February 26, 2021	Working With God			IPC-234
with Nirvana
Date of release	Title	Label	Credited for	Catalog number
June 15, 1989	Bleach(On the songs "Floyd the Barber", "Paper Cuts" and "Downer" )	Sub Pop		SP-034
November 21, 1989	Teriyaki Asthma,Volume 1(Compilation album,"Mexican Seafood")	C/Z Records		CZ009
August 21, 1991	Kill Rock Stars(Compilation album,"Beeswax")	Kill Rock Stars		KRS-201
November 1991	Teriyaki Asthma Vols. I-V(Compilation album,"Mexican Seafood")	C/Z Records		CZ037
December 14, 1992	Incesticide(On the songs "Beeswax", "Downer", "Mexican Seafood", "Hairspray Queen", and "Aero Zeppelin" )	DGC Records		DGCD-24504
November 23, 2004	With the Lights Out(On the songs "If You Must", "Pen Cap Chew", "Downer", "Floyd the Barber", "Raunchola/Moby Dick", and "Drain You")	Geffen Records		B0003727-00
November 1, 2005	Sliver: The Best of the Box(On the song "Drain You" )

External links

• Dale Croverdiscography atDiscogs