dead pioneers

Dead Pioneers

Dead Pioneers is a punk rock band from Denver, Colorado. The group combines punk rock with spoken word and original material, and it is rooted in a DIY approach. Its songs often address political and social issues, with a First Peoples perspective and support for Indigenous rights, Black rights, Brown rights, Asian rights, gay rights, trans rights and workers’ rights.

Formation and members

The project begins as an extension of Gregg Deal’s performance piece, The Punk Pan-Indian Romantic Comedy. Deal, a nationally known Indigenous artist and member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, starts writing music for that work and forms Dead Pioneers during the Covid lockdown. He works closely with guitarist Josh Rivera and drummer Shane Zweygardt, and early material from Rivera and Zweygardt helps shape the band’s sound.

The lineup expands when Deal meets Lee Tesche, the lead guitarist for Algiers, at an art residency in Florida; Tesche becomes the band’s bassist. Later, guitarist Abe Brennan joins while the group records its first self-titled LP at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Releases

Dead Pioneers releases a self-titled album in September 2023. The band’s material includes both original songs and spoken-word sections set against punk riffs.