Bill Rieflin

William "Bill" Rieflin (born September 30, 1960) is a contemporary musician and is currently drumming for R.E.M.. In the past he has worked with Ministry, the Revolting Cocks, LAND, KMFDM, Pigface, Swans, Chris Connelly, Nine Inch Nails and many others. He lives in Seattle, is married to the artist Francesa Sundsten and is one of the founders of the independent music label First World Music

History

Rieflin began his professional career in his hometown of Seattle, playing drums for the Blackouts. His bandmates included his brother Raymond, Paul Barker, Roland Barker and Erich Werner. Eventually that band dissolved and Paul Barker joined the nascent Ministry. Rieflin's earliest collaboration with Al Jourgensen was on the first RevCo release Big Sexy Land. Later, he participated in the creation of Ministry's ground-breaking album The Land of Rape and Honey. He was noted for his performance in the live video In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up (Live), which featured not only his precision percussion (alongside fellow drummer Martin Atkins), but Rieflin's genteel fashion sense. His work with Ministry and its side projects lasted through to the mid-Nineties, though he notes that he was never credited as a member of Ministry proper, always as an "other" musician. Therefore, when he parted ways with the band during the Filth Pig sessions, he didn't really quit since he was never an official member.

Rieflin helped Atkins kick off Pigface, the industrial collective that would grow to incorporate hundreds of artists, formed a friendship with labelmate Chris Connelly and founded First World Music. Like Connelly, Rieflin's work has grown beyond his industrial roots. They have collaborated on several recordings; two in particular, The Ultimate Seaside Companion (as "The Bells") and Largo, showcase Rieflin's frequently overlooked keyboard skills.

Living in Seattle gave Rieflin the opportunity to build relationships with other prominent musicians including Robert Fripp and Trey Gunn of King Crimson, Scott McCaughey of the Young Fresh Fellows, Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM and Peter Buck of R.E.M.. Fripp contributed to Rieflin's solo debut, Birth of a Giant, which also featured Rieflin singing in something other than a background role. Improvisations from these sessions turned up later on the CD The Repercussions of Angelic Behavior. Rieflin has appeared on most KMFDM records released since the mid-Nineties, credited as a drummer, programmer, vocalist and keyboardist. He toured with the band as a bassist in 2002 in support of its comeback album, ATTAK. He also drummed for McCaughey's band, The Minus 5, which occasionally included Peter Buck. Eventually Buck offered Rieflin the opportunity to sit in with R.E.M., who were missing a permanent drummer since the 1997 departure of Bill Berry. The band gave him the live drummer slot in its Around the Sun tour. They later announced that Rieflin would fill the role indefinitely, though once again as an "other" musician rather than as an official member.

Rieflin maintained a weblog through the end of 2004. In it, he ruminated on his day-to-day doings and mental state, recounted the exploits of his two cats, Pim and the Egg, and obliquely referred to his fellow musicians.

Rieflin is currently involved in a new music collaboration 'band' project entitled The Humans which consists of him and Toyah Willcox. The duo have been invited to perform a series of live dates in Estonia in Autumn 2007.

Band affiliations

• The Angels Of Light
• The Bells
• Chainsuck
• KMFDM
• LAND
• Robyn Hitchcock and The Venus 3
• Lard
• Ministry
• The Minus 5
• 1000 Homo DJ's
• Pigface
• R.E.M.
• The Revolting Cocks
• The Screamers
• Swans
• Sweet 75
• Ten Seconds
• The Slow Music Project
• The Vagaries

Solo discography

• Birth of a Giant
• The Repercussions of Angelic Behavior with Robert Fripp and Trey Gunn
• Largo with Chris Connelly

External links

• First World Music
• Bill Rieflin interview (march 2000) for QRD