Gregg started playing on his dad’s drums at about age 5. His dad was his first teacher …showing him various ideas on the drums set. He started taking private rudimental snare drum lessons at age 10 with a local teacher in Warren Michigan named Bob Yarborough. Bob also started Gregg on reading drum set music at age 11. He also started taking private trumpet lessons at the same age from Jim Ruffner.
After high school, Gregg went away to college to North Texas State University in Denton Texas. Gregg became the drummer in the famed NTSU One O’Clock Big Band. Gregg recorded 2 albums with the 1;00 Band; “Lab 80”, AND “Lab 81”, Under the direction of Leon Breeden. He also joined one of his favorite R & B bands in Dallas called “The Buster Brown Band”.
Gregg left Dallas and moved to LA in 1982. In his new home of LA, he made friends with 3 of his favorite drummers: Myron Grombacher from the Pat Benatar band, Mark Craney from Gino Vannelli’s band, and Doane Perry from Jethro Tull. They started a fun drummers club with other friends of theirs: Jay Rubin, Barry Schnider, Dean Zimmer, Tony Pia, and many others called “The Woodland Hills Drum Club.”
Later that year, one of his childhood dreams came true when he joined Maynard Ferguson’s band, which already included Matt on bass. They toured the world, and recorded a live cd called “Live In San Francisco”. After the Maynard gig, Gregg joined the Brandon Fields band, and did a cd with that band called “The Other Side Of The Story”.
In the summer of 1985. David Lee Roth had just left Van Halen, & started his own band in the fall of 1985 that included Steve Vai on guitar, Billy Sheehan on bass, Brett Tuggle on keyboards, & Gregg on drums. This was a real highlight of Gregg’s musical career. This band recorded the multi platinum cd’s “Eat ‘Em & Smile”, & “Skyscraper”.
In 1989, Gregg had the great experience ton perform with The Buddy Rich Big Band, on the Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert video. This video also featured Vinnie Coliauta, Steve Gadd, Louie Bellson.
Gregg recorded 2 solo cd’s. One is called: “Gregg Bissonettte”, on Shrapnel Records, and the 2nd is called “Submarine” on Favored Nations records. Both cd’s are written and produced by his brother Matt, who also plays bass on the entire cd’s.
One of Gregg’s musical dreams was to play with his brother in a pop rock band like his favorite band The Beatles. In 2003, THIS dream came true when Gregg and Matt were both asked to play drums, bass, and sing in Ringo Starr’s Band. They did a tour of the U.S. that promoted Ringo’s album “Ringo Rama”. In addition to playing drums while Ringo fronted the band on vocals like “Yellow Submarine”, “With A Little Help From My Friends”, “Photograph”, “It Don’t Come Easy”, and new songs like Ringo’s tribute to George Harrison called “Never Without You”, Gregg & Ringo also played double drums on Beatles hits like “I Wanna Be Your Man”, and “Boys”.
Gregg exclusively uses Mapex Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drum Heads, Vic Firth Drum Sticks, the Gregg Bissonette Signature Stick Bag by Kaces, XL Specialty road cases, and LP Percussion products.