Metal and Hardcore Punk icons Suicidal Tendencies have parted ways with drummer Brandon Pertzborn, and have replaced him with 20-year-old viral sensation Greyson Nekrutman. Pertzborn had replaced Dave Lombardo who had begun touring with Mr. Bungle and Testament in the last few years among his many bands. Brandon announced the move with this note:
“For the past (almost) two years, I’ve been so unbelievably fortunate to play with the almighty Suicidal Tendencies. Musically and personally, it’s been some of the best times of my life. Every single person in the band/crew will be lifelong friends of mine and they have all filled my heart with joy these past couple years.
“I’ve learned so much during my time with ST — as a person, and as a musician. As a person, I can’t say enough good things about everyone in this camp — it’s a true family. As a musician, the amount of growth I’ve experienced is priceless. I mean, come on – you can’t be in a band with Mike Muir and not end up being pushed as a musician and come out better than you were before.
“The thing about life is, there comes a time when you have to make decisions — hard decisions — and they’re never based on one factor alone; they’re based on many factors: where you are in life, where you’ve been, where you want to go, what’s best for you at the time, what you think the future will look like, and so many other personal factors. And with this, I’ve made the difficult decision to leave Suicidal Tendencies.
“Rest assured, the band will still be firing on all cylinders. My boy, Greyson Nekrutman is an absolute monster and is going to KILL it with ST. They all have my full love and support.
“As for me, I’ll have more news soon! I ain’t stepping away from drumming anytime soon. In the meantime, I can’t thank everyone involved enough in Suicidal Tendencies for everything. Man, what an honor it’s been. I’ll always look back on this time and smile.”
In a separate post, Greyson wrote: “It’s an absolute honor to fill such an iconic drum throne. It wouldn’t be possible without my brother Brandon Pertzborn and I can’t thank him enough for passing down the torch. He is an incredible role model and I am so excited for everyone to find out what he has next!”
Suicidal Tendencies frontman Mike Muir also commented on the drummer switch, writing: “Being in SUICIDAL I’ve had the honor of being on stage and recording with some absolutely amazing musicians. Having Brandon Pertzborn on drums the last couple of years has been such a pleasure. ST has had so many incredible drummers and he just STepped up and killed it behind the kit. But away from the drums he was such an absolute joy to work with and be around. Always a smile, no situation every got him done, always up for every challenge. I will definitely miss touring with him, but I’m extremely happy for him as he goes off to a new challenge.
“With that said, I’d like to thank him publicly for being such a great person, besides being a beaST on drums. We’ll definitely cross musical paths in the future, but more importantly I’m happy to have him as a friend.
“So, that leads us to Greyson Nekrutman.
“Awhile back my good friend and killer bass player Josh Paul and I were discussing some young musicians for a project and Greyson was brought up. It was easy to do a little research and be blown away by his drum playing. Massively impressive. But awhile back I had the opportunity to talk to him for awhile on the phone and was even more impressed by him as a person and his takes on music and life. I already knew what an insanely talented drummer he was. But usually behind incredible talent is a hell of a lot of hard work, determination and conviction.
“Suicidal Tendencies is super excited to introduce Greyson as our new drummer. Starting next month at Welcome To Rockville, Greyson will be ‘driving the bus’ and we’re all stoked to head on the ride together.
“We’ll have more info on Greyson, ST and our plans going forward, but for now, please give a thank you to Brandon and a big ST welcome to Greyson!”
The 20-year-old Nekrutman is an up-and-coming drummer who has performed with William Duvall of Alice in Chains on his recent solo live album “11.12.21 Live-In-Studio Nashville” CD, which came out last June. Nekrutman has also performed or recorded with Bakithi Kumalo, Darren Criss, Drumeo, Pearl Drums, Meinl Cymbals and has been featured in articles by Rolling Stone, Rhythm, Rhythm And Drum (Japan) and Sweetwater Music.
Photo courtesy of Suicidal Tendencies