Neil Sanderson
Sanderson in 2009
Sanderson in 2009
Background information
Birth nameNeil Christopher Sanderson
Born (1978-12-17) December 17, 1978
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
OriginPeterborough, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Drums
  • vocals
  • piano
Years active1992–present
Member ofThree Days Grace
Formerly ofThousand Foot Krutch

Neil Christopher Sanderson (born December 17, 1978)[1] is a Canadian musician. He is the drummer, backing vocalist, keyboardist, and co-founder of the Canadian rock band Three Days Grace.[2] He cites his influences as John Bonham, Danny Carey, and Stewart Copeland.[2] He is also the co-founder of the American record label Judge and Jury.

Early years

Neil Sanderson was born on December 17, 1978, in Peterborough, Canada.[3] Sanderson took up the piano before he started school.[2] He had an avid interest in music and worked with different instruments while he was in elementary school. He became enamored of drums and started playing it at the age of 12.[2][3]

He entered Norwood District High School in 1992. Before that, he attended Adam Scott C.V.I High School in Peterborough, where he met Adam Gontier when both of them were in grade 9. With bassist Brad Walst, they practiced writing and playing instruments. They created the band "Groundswell" with Phil Crowe and Joe Grant.[4]

Sanderson was also the drummer for the band Thousand Foot Krutch from 1995 to 1997.[5]

Groundswell reformed as Three Days Grace in 1997.[6]

Career

Under the name "Three Days Grace" the band played various concerts and locations in Toronto and eventually signed a recording contract with the American label, Jive Records.[2][7][8]

The band's first album, the self-titled Three Days Grace, was released in 2003.[6] Four singles from the album, "I Hate Everything About You", "Just Like You", "Home" and "Wake Up" became hits with the first two reaching No. 1 on the Canadian rock chart and the US Rock chart respectively.[9][10] The album was platinum in Canada and the United States.[11][12]

The band released their second album, One-X in 2006.[8][13][14] The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200.[2] Four singles from the album were released, "Animal I Have Become", "Pain", "Never Too Late" and "Riot". The first three reached number one on the US Mainstream Rock chart.[15] The album has also been certified triple platinum in Canada and the United States.[12][11] In 2006, Three Days Grace won Rock Single of the Year at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards.[16]

Sanderson performing live with Three Days Grace in 2015

Speaking of the band's comeback from problems in 2007 (when a band member spent time in rehab[8]) Sanderson said, "Now it's all about maintaining that communication, and it makes [touring] so much easier and a so much more enjoyable experience."[17]

Sanderson was thrilled by the success of Three Days Grace. Speaking in Greensboro, North Carolina, during their 2008 tour, he said: "We get to blow stuff up onstage now. We like to put in as much production and lights as we can. The seizure factor has gone way up."[18] Speaking of the band's move to larger playing sites, he continued "It's great to be able to see everybody in a smaller place. But the same people who were there in the early days are still there for us."[18] Speaking of fan response to album songs, he said: "[W]e also play a lot of album tracks, and the crowd sings along just as much for those. These days, you have to make an awesome album. I think we're getting back to where people want to hear real stuff, since so much is contrived these days."[18]

In 2009, the band released their thrid album, Life Starts Now. It reached number three on the US Billboard 200.[13][14][19] In 2012, they released their fourth album, Transit of Venus. Following Matt Walst joining the band as lead singer in place of Adam Gontier, the band released Human in 2015, Outsider in 2018, and Explosions in 2022.

Sanderson, along with Canadian songwriter Casey Marshall, were part owners of an artist development company and songwriting collective, Püblicwürks, based in Toronto and Nashville. Sanderson is the co-founder of the record label Judge & Jury Records along with producer Howard Benson.[20] He performed on The Standstills' live event, "#UnpluggedTogether", to help fund the Healing in Harmony campaign, a therapy program for trauma survivors.[21] Sanderson co-produced the tracks, "Snake" and "Christ" from Left to Suffer's 2023 EP, Noah.[22] He released his debut single "Eventually" via Judge and Jury in December 2023.[23] Prior to its official release, he performed the song at the "#UnpluggedTogether" event in 2021.[24]

Critical reaction

Sin Lucas, writing in The Silver Tongue said "It's hard to pick a highlight ... but the drum solo by Neil Sanderson was nothing short of spectacular."[25] A reviewer for Electric City wrote of Sanderson's "impressive chops and accuracy."[26] But Nikki M. Mascali of The Weekender wrote of the same performance "Though an interesting concept, it was an unnecessary lull in the show."[27]

Philanthropy

Sanderson joined The Herbie Fund charity in 2007 when he met the president of Operation Herbie, Liisa Palokoski. In addition, he started a charity fund called, "Herbie Rocks".[28] In 2017, he travelled to Kenya with World Vision to film a mini-documentary raising awareness of some of the challenges accessing clean drinking water. He also created the 3DG Kenya project and Mountain of Hope to help raise funds and awareness of the needs.[29] In 2018, Sanderson opened up about his battles with anxiety at the fifth annual Friday Night Lights fundraiser for Team 55 Let's Tackle Suicide Awareness and the Canadian Mental Health Association.[30]

Discography

Singles

Title Year Album
"Eventually" 2023 Non-album single

Other appearances

Year Artist Album Notes
2010 My Darkest Days My Darkest Days Composer[31]
2012 My Darkest Days Sick and Twisted Affair Programming[32]
2013 Tim Hicks Throw Down Composer, drums[33]
2015 Art of Dying Rise Up Composer[34]
2016 The Abrams The Abrams Composer[35]
2023 Left to Suffer Noah Producer[22]

References

  1. ↑ Selin, Alicia (December 1, 2021). "Rock Stars Celebrating Birthdays in December". Loudwire. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Neil Sanderson: Biography". SABIAN Ltd. 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Neil Sanderson | Yamaha Artist − Biography". Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Former And Current Members Of Three Days Grace Honored By Ontario High School: Photo + Video". Blabbermouth.net. June 30, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Thousand Foot Krutch: Biography". Last.FM. September 16, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Sutton, Michael. "Three Days Grace – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  7. ↑ Malachowski, David (February 4, 2010). "Three Days Grace keep fame in perspective". Times Union. Albany, NY: Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 Jordan, Mark (February 22, 2008). "Small-town angst fuels Three Days Grace's lyrics". DeSoto Appeal. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Three Days Grace cheats death". Canoe.com. July 25, 2006. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  10. ↑ Chad Childers (September 10, 2018). "Three Days Grace Set Billboard Record With 14th No. 1 Mainstream Rock Single". Loudwire. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "RIAA – Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Canadian certifications – Three Days Grace". Music Canada. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Mascali, Nikki M. (February 2, 2010). "Three Days Grace Goes Raw". Times Leader -- Weekender. Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on February 24, 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  14. 1 2 Franklin, Kelly-Ann (February 11, 2010). "Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace and FlyLeaf to bring their alternative sounds to the Sun". Norwich Bulletin. Norwich, CT: GateHouse Media. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Three Days Grace Chart History – Mainstream Rock Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  16. ↑ "The 2006 Billboard Music Award Winners". Billboard. December 4, 2006. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  17. ↑ Sculley, Alan (March 13, 2008). "Musical grace period: Bands on the rise after rocky beginning". Evansville Courier & Press. Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  18. 1 2 3 "Three Days Grace bounds towards bigger venues". The Flint Journal. March 20, 2008. Archived from the original on November 15, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  19. ↑ Tuni, Walter (January 31, 2010). "Three Days Grace has a more upbeat outlook these days". Lexington Herald-Leader (LexGo online supplement). Archived from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Judge and Jury Records". Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  21. ↑ "#UnpluggedTogether with The Standstills feat. Neil Sanderson". View the Vibe. August 5, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  22. 1 2 "Hear Nu-Deathcore Band Left to Suffer Surprise EP 'Noah'". Revolver. August 4, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Eventually - Single by Judge and Jury". Spotify. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  24. ↑ "#UnpluggedTogether with Neil Sanderson of Three Days Grace". YouTube. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  25. ↑ Lucas, Sin (February 24, 2010). "Live Show Review: Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin and FlyLeaf at James Brown Arena". The Silver Tongue. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  26. ↑ Ear Full (February 11, 2010). "A Graceful Evening". Electric City. Scranton, PA: Times-Shamrock Communications. Retrieved February 26, 2010. drummer Neil Sanderson had the stage and the audience to himself for a five-minute solo which started with a keyboard/sampler segment followed by an intense drum solo on a riser which turned 360 degrees displaying Sanderson's impressive chops and accuracy.
  27. ↑ Mascali, Nikki M. (February 8, 2010). "Three Days Grace's night of highs and lows". Times Leader -- Weekender. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  28. ↑ Karen Bliss (October 16, 2009). "Three Days Grace Gathers Goods For Herbie Rocks". Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Neil Sanderson — Judge & Jury". Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  30. ↑ Mike Davies (September 22, 2018). "Three Days Grace drummer shares his story at Team 55 Friday Night Lights". The Peterborough Examiner. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  31. ↑ "My Darkest Days - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Sick and Twisted Affair - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Throw Down - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Rise Up - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  35. ↑ "The Abrams - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
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