Dave Krusen
Krusen in 2008
Background information
Also known as	Karl 3‒30
Born	David Karl Krusen[1] (1966-03-10)March 10, 1966 (age 59) Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock,grunge,hard rock,post-grunge
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Drums
Years active	1979–present
Labels	Epic,Mute,Warner,Universal, Wax Orchard

David Karl Krusen (born March 10, 1966) is an American musician. Krusen is best known as the first drummer for the American rock bandPearl Jam and for his work on the band's debut album,Ten. Krusen was also a member of the bandsHovercraft andUnified Theory. He was also the drummer forCandlebox from 1997 to 1999 and from 2015 to 2017.

Krusen was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pearl Jam on April 7, 2017.^[2]

Krusen was born inTacoma, Washington and grew up in the town ofGig Harbor along with his two brothers and sister.^[3][4] He was intoElvis Presley andChuck Berry when he was young,^[4] and later got intoThe Beatles,Led Zeppelin,The Rolling Stones,The Who,The Police, andNeil Young.^[5] Krusen began playing locally in theSeattle area in 1979 while he was in high school.^[6] His first band, Outrigger, was formed with his friends from high school. Throughout the 1980s, Krusen had several stints playing with Seattle area musical acts, including Boibs, Agent Boy, Gary Williams, Tramps of Panic,Liar's Club, Hard Time, and WarmDrive.^[6]

Krusen was recruited in 1990 by bassistJeff Ament and guitaristStone Gossard to be the drummer forPearl Jam. Krusen was asked to join Pearl Jam after auditioning with the band.^[6] Krusen played with Pearl Jam through to the completion of the band's debut album,Ten, in 1991. After the recording sessions forTen were completed, Krusen left Pearl Jam in May 1991 and checked himself into rehabilitation.^[6] According to Krusen, he was suffering from personal problems at the time, includingalcoholism.^[6] Krusen said, "It was a great experience. I felt from the beginning of that band that it was something special," and added, "They had to let me go. I couldn't stop drinking, and it was causing problems. They gave me many chances, but I couldn't get it together."^[5] VocalistEddie Vedder said, "Krusen was a real hero...He was going through a lot, but he had something really special."^[7] Krusen was replaced byMatt Chamberlain.

On May 16, 2022, at theFresno, California show ofGigaton Tour, Krusen played with Pearl Jam for the second time since leaving the band (the first being Pearl Jam’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction),^[8] afterMatt Cameron tested positive forCOVID-19.^[9]

In the mid-1990s, Krusen joinedBeth Liebling and Ryan Shinn in the bandHovercraft under the stage name "Karl 3‒30". Krusen replaced previous drummer Bobby Tamkin.^{[citation needed]} With a more technically proficient drummer, the band was now free to play beyond the lo-fidelity noise experiments of its debut release, and play proper shows with structured improvisation and avant experimentalism.^{[citation needed]} While a member of Hovercraft Krusen toured with the band and recorded the albumAkathisia (1997).

In 1994 Krusen co-founded Diamond Star Halo with former Candlebox bass player Aaron Seravo. The two were introduced by a mutual friend and discovered they had exactly the same vision for a band. The band was completed by Singer Bo Bligh and bassist Steve Martin the band released their first record in 1995 tiltedIn The Rough on Regal Recordings. The album was produced by Cristopher Thorne of Blind Melon and Kevin Martin of Candlebox & was mixed by Kelly Grey. The band enjoyed moderate success but not to the level of their former bands Candlebox and Pearl Jam.After much conflict centering on singer Bo Bligh's drug addictions the band dissolved. There was a later version of the band reformed by Seravo in 2000. Aaron Seravo died of cancer January 9, 2011, surrounded by friends and loved ones, at Stanford University Hospital. Steve Martin died very early in 2011 as well (committing suicide) a few days before Seravo's passing.

Krusen was the second drummer forCandlebox, replacing previous drummerScott Mercado. Krusen joined in 1997 and recorded the albumHappy Pills (1998) while as a member of the band. Krusen left the band in 1999 and was replaced byShannon Larkin ofUgly Kid Joe. Krusen completed eight tracks on the Candlebox record,Into the Sun, which was released in July 2008 and nine tracks on the latest Candlebox record,Love Stories & Other Musings, which was released in April 2012. As of 2015 he has rejoined the band.

Krusen played drums with the bandUnified Theory on itsself-titled album, issued in August 2000. The band was made up of two ex-Blind Melon members (bassist Brad Smith and guitarist Christopher Thorn) and newcomer Chris Shinn on vocals/guitar. Unified Theory began to form in early 1998. After the first plan to carry on Blind Melon with a new singer didn't work out, Smith and Thorn decided to start a new band and came across vocalist Chris Shinn after moving to Los Angeles. Krusen was already friends with Thorn and Smith. While working on tracks for a second album, delays set the band back, and Krusen grew somewhat frustrated and left. This eventually led to Unified Theory's break-up.

Krusen played drums withThe Hung White Ponies which also includedRick Rosas on bass,Ryan Kralik on guitar and vocals and Michael G. Ronstadt on Cello. Formed in 2011 by Ryan Kralik, the band released the albumNo Agenda in 2011 along with a cover single ofCSNY's Neil Young penned classic protest tuneOhio which also featured Iraq War vet Josh Hisle. In 2012 the concept audio/film album CRAZYTOWN A Visual Music Album was released as both an audio album and a feature film. In 2013, after a west-coast tour, the band released the live concert CD/DVDThe Hung White Ponies Live at the High Dive which documented one of the tours Seattle, WA concerts. Krusen is credited as co-producer on many of the Hung White Ponies releases.

After leaving Pearl Jam, Krusen teamed up with former Son of Man vocalist Tal Goettling, bass player Matt McClinton, and guitarist Tim Bethune to form the short-lived but highly acclaimed Purple Decade. The band recorded two demo tapes before imploding under the pressures of the Seattle and Los Angeles music scenes. In 2004, Krusen performed with musician Shawn Snyder as part of his backing band. He was a part of aSeattle, Washington-based band called Novatone which released the albumTime Can't Wait in 2005. He wasCheyenne Kimball's drummer from 2005 to 2007 and played on her debut album,The Day Has Come (2006). He is currently working on a blues/noise-groove, avant-garde record and performing live and in the studio with various artists including Martyr Reef, Toy Robot,George Stanford, Lowlight, Jesse Cole, Foster Timms, Matthias Sturm, La La Birdtime, Dave Giles, Shelby, Carolyna Loveless,Chris Robinson, Puppies and Kittens and John Pringle. He is now touring withIda Maria and recording her third album due out in 2012.

Krusen currently playsPaiste cymbals,DW,Gretsch,Yamaha and C&C Drums,Remo drum heads, andVater drumsticks, preferring the SD9 in wood tip.^[10]

Krusen resides near Los Angeles with his wife and two children.^[6][10]

• Dave Krusen atAllMusic
• Dave Krusen atIMDb
• 2013 Audio Interview with Dave Krusen from the I'd Hit That Podcast

• 1966 births
• Living people
• American rock drummers
• Grunge musicians
• Candlebox members
• Pearl Jam members
• Drummers from Washington (state)
• Musicians from Tacoma, Washington
• People from Gig Harbor, Washington
• 20th-century American drummers
• American male drummers
• Epic Records artists
• Mute Records artists
• Universal Records artists
• Warner Music Group artists
• Hovercraft (band) members
• American alternative rock drummers

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