Biography

History

Formed in the summer of 1981 by high school friends Dan Murphy, Karl Mueller, and Dave Pirner, Soul Asylum (named Loud Fast Rules up until 1983) quickly became frontrunners of American college rock, following in the tradition of fellow Minnesota bands Hüsker Dü and The Replacements.

Landing their first record deal with Twin/Tone in 1984, Soul Asylum recorded a total of four albums for the local label: Say What You Will… Everything Can Happen in 1984 (later re-released as Say What You Will, Clarence… Karl Sold the Truck), Made To Be Broken, and While You Were Out in 1986, and the EP Clam Dip & Other Delights in 1988. The band then switched to A&M, releasing Hang Time in 1988 and And the Horse They Rode In On in 1990 under that label. Although they enjoyed some success as a live band, Soul Asylum suffered from low album sales and considered disbanding.

In 1992, they signed with Columbia Records to produce Grave Dancers Union, a record that would come to transform them from underground college rockers to international superstars. The first two singles off the album, Somebody to Shove and Black Gold, both came in at high positions at the Modern Rock and Album Rock charts, but it was the album's third track that led them to their major breakthrough. Runaway Train peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, raised album sales to double-platinum level, and won Soul Asylum the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 1994.

In 1995, Soul Asylum followed up the success of Grave Dancers Union with Let Your Dim Light Shine, which climbed to #6 on the Billboard 200 and featured the #1 Modern Rock track Misery. After releasing Candy from a Stranger in 1998, the band members took a break from recording and didn't release a new studio album for the better part of seven years.

They reunited in 2004 to record their ninth full-length album. Shortly thereafter, Karl was diagnosed with throat cancer. Up until this point, Soul Asylum had always included Dan, Karl, and Dave, despite several line-up changes. This changed on June 17th, 2005, when Karl passed away after finishing his work on the new album. The Silver Lining was released in 2006 and dedicated to Karl Mueller's life and memory, with Dan expressing that, "For me, this record is Karl."

In 2012, the band released their tenth studio album, Delayed Reaction. Winston Roye had replaced Tommy Stinson on bass. Soon after the release, lead guitarist Dan Murphy had decided to leave the band on good terms. His cousin, Justin Sharbono had picked up where he left off. The band was in full form recording, touring, and experimenting with new sounds and was destined to release another album.

On March 18th, 2016 they released Change of Fortune. Shortly after, Justin left the lineup and Ryan Smith from Minneapolis band, The Melismatics took his place. Touring had went on steady for the next few years teasing new songs and playing some hidden gems from their archive. On January 2, 2020 it was annoucned that the band would be releasing their 12th full-length studio album: Hurry Up and Wait, which was recorded in the same Minneapolis studio as their early Twin/Tone albums. It was released on April 17, 2020.

Current Members

Dave Pirner

Full Name David Anthony Pirner
Birthdate April 16th, 1964
Birthplace Minneapolis, Minnesota
Position Frontman; lead vocalist, guitarist
Instruments played 1982 Fender Telecaster, acoustic guitar, saxophone, trumpet, harmonica, piano, drums, kazoo
Duration in band 1983–present

Michael Bland

Full Name Michael Anthony Bland
Birthdate March 14th, 1969
Birthplace Minneapolis, Minnesota
Position Drummer, backup vocalist
Instruments played Yamaha drums with Zildjian cymbals
Duration in band 2004–present

Winston Roye

Full Name Winston Roye
Birthdate September 20th, 1964
Birthplace New York City, New York
Position Bassist, backup vocalist
Instruments played Bass guitar
Duration in band March 2012–present

Ryan Smith

Full Name Ryan Smith
Birthdate October 28th, 19__
Birthplace Minneapolis, Minnesota
Position Lead guitar, backup vocalist
Instruments played Lead guitar
Duration in band 2016-Present


Former Members

Justin Sharbono

Full Name Justin Sharbono
Birthdate March 31, 1981
Birthplace Minneapolis, Minnesota
Position Lead guitar, backup vocalist
Instruments played Lead guitar
Duration in band 2012-2016

Dan Murphy

Full Name Daniel David Murphy
Birthdate July 12th, 1962
Birthplace Duluth, Minnesota
Position Guitarist, vocalist (lead on some songs)
Instruments played Gibson Les Paul guitar, acoustic guitar
Duration in band 1983–2012

Tommy Stinson

Full Name Thomas Eugene Stinson
Birthdate October 6th, 1966
Birthplace Minneapolis, Minnesota
Position Bassist, backup vocalist
Instruments played Bass guitar
Duration in band 2005–2012

George Scot McKelvey

Full Name George Scot McKelvey
Birthdate May 18th, 1969
Birthplace Minneapolis, Minnesota
Position Bassist, backup vocalist
Instruments played 1972 Fender Precision Bass
Duration in band 2006–2007

John Fields

Full Name John "Strawberry" Fields
Birthdate September 11th, 1968
Birthplace Boston, Massachusetts
Position Bassist, backup vocalist
Instruments played Bass guitar
Duration in band 2006–2007

Karl Mueller

Full Name Karl Herman Mueller
Birthdate July 27th, 1963–June 17th, 2005 (41 years)
Birthplace Minneapolis, Minnesota
Position Bassist, backup vocalist
Instruments played Bass guitar
Duration in band 1983–2005

Ian Mussington

Full Name Ian Mussington
Birthdate December 4, 1969
Birthplace United States
Position Drummer, backup vocalist
Instruments played Drums
Duration in band 1998–2001

Sterling Campbell

Full Name Sterling Campbell
Birthdate May 3rd, 1964
Birthplace New York City, New York
Position Drummer, backup vocalist
Instruments played Brady (and/or) DW drums with Zildjian cymbals
Duration in band 1995–1998

Grant Young

Full Name Grant D. Young
Birthdate January 5, 1964
Birthplace Iowa City, Iowa
Position Drummer, backup vocalist
Instruments played Yamaha drums with Zildjian cymbals
Duration in band 1985–1994

Pat Morley

Full Name Patrick Morley
Birthdate 1962
Birthplace Saint Louis, Missouri
Position Drummer, backup vocalist
Instruments played Drums
Duration in band 1983–1985