He was b… Read Full Bio ↴David Pirner is the lead vocalist for the band Soul Asylum.
He was born on April 16, 1964 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. By the time he was 17, he was living and working in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dave taught himself how to play the drums. By age 20, Dave started his career drumming with a punk band called Loud Fast Rules as part of the Minneapolis scene, together with Karl Mueller (bass) and Dan Murphy (guitar). When Pirner switched to singing and playing rhythm guitar, Pat Morley joined on drums. Pat was later replaced by Grant Young, and the band changed their name to Soul Asylum. At first, critics said the band was sloppy and erratic but at the same time captivating. The band achieved big-time success with the single "Runaway Train" off the 1992 album Grave Dancers Union. The video for the song featured stills of missing children against the backdrop of a baby being kidnapped from a young mother. Their other big hit from the album was "Black Gold", and because of those two songs, the album went on to sell more than two million copies.
As Soul Asylum became more popular, Pirner decided to spread his talent around and started to do guest appearances on different albums of artists he greatly admired, such as Paul Westerberg, Mike Watt and The Autumn Defense.
By 1999, Soul Asylum went into hiatus, after making 1998's Candy from a Stranger, which sold the least amount of copies of the big three (1992's Grave Dancer's Union, 1995's Let Your Dim Light Shine, which yielded the big hits "Misery" and "Just Like Anyone") But after four years, Soul Asylum got back together and started writing songs in the studio, dying bassist Karl Mueller's idea. Karl passed away after suffering a long battle with throat cancer on June 17th, 2005. He was 42. About a year after his death, Soul Asylum released their most recent album The Silver Lining on Legacy Recordings, which was dedicated to the life and memory of Karl. About half the songs on the album were recorded with the late bassist, such as "Lately", "Slowly Rising" and "Standing Water". The first hit from this album was "Stand Up And Be Strong". Since last year, Dave Pirner has been cutting back on smoking and drinking. Soul Asylum is currently on tour with their new lineup, which consists of Dave Pirner on guitar and vocals, Dan Murphy on lead guitar, Michael Bland on drums and Tommy Stinson on bass (as well as John Fields standing in on bass and piano for Tommy).
Dave became famous for his personal life just as much for his music. Pirner dated movie star Winona Ryder and subsequently made a cameo appearance in her 1994 film Reality Bites. Pirner was also a part of the all-star band assembled for the soundtrack of the 1994 film Backbeat. A misunderstanding of the lyrical content in Primus's hit single "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" led to a short rivalry with Les Claypool (which Claypool apparently wasn't even aware of until the topic was brought up in an interview). He also contributed to the soundtrack of Kevin Smith's 1997 film Chasing Amy.The song "Cant Even Tell" is featured in Clerks, then they used the song "Misery" in Kevin Smith's most recent flick, Clerks II.
In 2002 Dave released his first solo album entitled Faces & Names on Ultimatum Music. He also contributed guest vocals on the song "Chillout Tent" in The Hold Steady's 2006 release, Boys and Girls in America.
Radio host Eddie Trunk said in an episode of Vh1 Classic turntables that Dave was a songwriter he marveled.
C
Dave Pirner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And let's get together tonight
I got some money in my jeans
And I'm really gonna spend it right
Been a-doin' my homework all week long
now the house is empty the folks are gone
C'mon everybody
Well my baby's number one
And the house'll be shakin'
From my bare feet slapping the floor
When you hear that music you can't sit still
If your brother won't rock then your sister will
C'mon everybody
Well we'll really have a party but we gotta put a guard outside
If the folks come home I'm afraid they gonna have my hide
There'll be no more movies for a week or two
No more runnin' 'round with the usual crew
Who cares C'mon everybody
The lyrics to Dave Pirner's song C in 2-3 long paragraphs explain an invitation to a party. The singer is inviting everybody to come and join him in a night of spending money, dancing, and having fun. He has been doing his homework all week long, and now that the house is empty because his parents are gone, he is ready to party. He plans to dance with three or four girls, which he knows will make his girlfriend jealous, but he does not care. The party will be so wild that the house will be shaking from his bare feet slapping on the floor. He knows that when the music starts playing, nobody can sit still, and even if his brother does not want to dance, his sister will.
The singer of the song is emphasizing that the party will be so loud and wild that the neighbors might call the cops, and his parents might catch him. He is ready to have a good time, no matter what the consequences are. He is even willing to put a guard outside the door in case his parents come home, which shows how serious he is about having a good time. Overall, the lyrics are about living in the moment and enjoying life, no matter what the negative outcomes might be.
Line by Line Meaning
Well c'mon everybody
Let's gather together
And let's get together tonight
We should hang out tonight
I got some money in my jeans
I have some cash on me
And I'm really gonna spend it right
I plan to use it wisely
Been a-doin' my homework all week long
I've been studying hard all week
now the house is empty the folks are gone
Now that the house is empty and my parents are not home
C'mon everybody
Let's hang out
Well my baby's number one
My significant other is my top priority
But I'm gonna dance with three or four
I plan to dance with a few different people
And the house'll be shakin'
The house will be bouncing with energy
From my bare feet slapping the floor
Because I'll be dancing so hard
When you hear that music you can't sit still
The music will make you move
If your brother won't rock then your sister will
Someone will dance, even if your sibling won't
C'mon everybody
Let's dance and have fun
Well we'll really have a party but we gotta put a guard outside
We'll have a great time, but we need someone on the lookout for our parents
If the folks come home I'm afraid they gonna have my hide
If our parents catch us, they will be very angry with me
There'll be no more movies for a week or two
We'll be grounded for a while
No more runnin' 'round with the usual crew
We won't be able to hang out with our normal group of friends
Who cares C'mon everybody
Let's have fun regardless of the consequences
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JERRY CAPEHART, EDDIE COCHRAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Daffney Dalilah
I feel blessed for getting to be a teen in the 90’s. We had the best music and people actually hung out together just to have fun. Now kids are social media addicts and miss out on experiencing life
L.GH. Djoetma
@wynnssecret 8 You're mentioning some great acts. But there is no contest, since the later you talk about, the more music there is available. The problem is that people only remember the greats of the era and forget about all the crap that shape the rest of music that just murmur.
Dr, NoVaccine
Absolutely 😍
jeff morkert
I agree it was a great time.
Expose TheNWO
I like a huge variety of music from 60's-90's.
sera jane
@Private Private agreed, you have one very original example from the 70s the Ramones, and everyone they influenced into the 70s and 80s. Just take two examples The Wipers, from Portland who influenced Kurt Kobain, and Husker Du from such a great music scene the Minneapolis of the 80s. Wow the music scenes everywhere around the western world in the 70s and 80s, no one will ever top that.
Mandy Thaw
I absolutely Love his voice and the feeling that is felt by hearing it.
The passion and the depth can't be found anywhere anymore. 😥💔
Diwakar Chettri
The faces of those lost kids impact me even now. I'd sung this song in a college program. Lost kids need to be found. Love from Nepal.
Beyond The Grey Sky
That's me at 6:09 getting Dave's autograph. My rock n roll hero. He's the real deal, love that guy. This interview was perfect.
Van Widick
You deserve meeting him and having that moment, why because of your dedication to being a fan. I'm a fan but nothing like you are. I'm just now discovering and learning Dave's behind the scenes and his life.