Dave Matthews Band

The Dave Matthews Band have been a potent commercial force for two decades, combining elements of world music with pop and rock for a sound that’s halfway between jam-band improvisation and mainstream modern radio accessibility. Frontman Dave Matthews normally records with his band but has occasionally stepped out to make a solo album on his own. Respected Grammy winners, the Dave Matthews Band are one of the few groups to consistently do well on the charts and on tour, even having a string of platinum-selling live albums to go along with their successful studio records.Dave Matthews was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. His family moved back and forth between South Africa and Charlottesville, Virginia for the next several years. By 1991, when he was 24, Matthews was permanently living in Charlottesville and started putting together a band to play songs that he’d written. The core of that lineup has remained mostly intact ever since – violinist Boyd Tinsley, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer Carter Beauford, and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. That lineup was unchanged until Moore’s death in August 2008.From the start, Dave Matthews Band were a staunch touring unit, and their first two independent releases, 1993’s Remember Two Things and 1994’s Recently, were live records. On the strength of their sizable following, the band signed with RCA to release Under the Table and Dreaming. The 1994 disc included new versions of songs from the earlier records, and within a year Under the Table had been certified double-platinum. At this stage of their career, the band boasted a hippie-ish sound accentuated by violins and saxophone that drew comparisons to other jam bands like Blues Traveler and Phish.Live favorites and pop stars, the Dave Matthews Band kept their winning streak going with 1996’s Crash. Powered by the romantic ballad “Crash Into Me,” Crash cemented the band’s status as a melodic, pleasant mainstream alternative to the angst of ‘90s alternative rock. Matthews’ material was becoming more sophisticated and studio-savvy, and the band’s eclectic musicianship positioned the group as the smart choice for discerning Top 40 fans who were too old for the shallowness of pop.After releasing the successful live album Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95, the Dave Matthews Band returned with their next studio effort, 1998’s Before These Crowded Streets. Their first No. 1 record, Streets included collaborations with bluegrass artist Béla Fleck, pop star Alanis Morissette and classical group Kronos Quartet. Needless to say, Streets was unusual for a bestselling record, and Matthews’ downbeat examinations of war and aging added to the album’s ambitious, challenging nature. Consequently, Streets didn’t match the sales of the band’s two previous studio records, but it still achieved triple-platinum status.Two live albums – one from the band, one with Matthews playing with friend Tim Reynolds – followed before the band finally put out its next record. After working on a series of songs with longtime producer Steve Lilywhite, Matthews was unhappy with the results and scrapped them, teaming with pop producer Glen Ballard to create 2001’s slick-sounding Everyday. Though featuring one of the group’s best songs, “The Space Between,” Everyday felt uncertain creatively, although that didn’t stop it from going to No. 1.The Dave Matthews Band may have abandoned the songs they were working on before recording Everyday, but they were soon leaked online, prompting the group to re-record them for 2002’s Busted Stuff. Their era of being a multi-platinum juggernaut was soon coming to a close, but the group remained a strong seller and a huge concert draw. Proof of their still-potent live following was that before and after Busted Stuff, the group released live records, and both went platinum and hit the Top 10.To the casual observer, 2003’s Some Devil might have seemed like just another Dave Matthews Band record, except for one thing – it didn’t include the Dave Matthews Band. A solo record, Some Devil represented a stripped-down version of the themes pursued in Before These Crowded Streets. Well-received, Some Devil went platinum, even though Matthews insisted that the album in no way suggested that the band’s future was in doubt.Two more live albums preceded 2005’s Stand Up, a record that was written in the studio, a change from previous Dave Matthews Band efforts. Stand Up went to No. 1 and earned platinum sales, but the band’s stranglehold on radio had loosened – “American Baby” was the lone breakout single but even it failed to cross over to different radio formats, a problem Dave Matthews Band never experienced in the ‘90s.

Sad News:

Tragedy visited the Dave Matthews Band when saxophonist LeRoi Moore died August 19, 2008, due to complications from a June incident when he crashed his ATV and suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung.The Dave Matthews Band announced that their next album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, would be released on June 2, 2009. The first single, “Funny the Way It Is,” became available on April 14.

Dave Matthews Band Lineup:

Carter Beauford – drums
Stefan Lessard – bass
Dave Matthews – vocals, guitar
Boyd Tinsley – violin

Key Dave Matthews Band Songs:

“Too Much” (Purchase/Download)
“Crash Into Me” (Purchase/Download)
“Crush” (Purchase/Download)
“The Space Between” (Purchase/Download)

Dave Matthews Band Discography:

Remember Two Things (live album) (1993)
Recently (live album) (1994)
Under the Table and Dreaming (1994)
Crash (1996)
Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95 (live album) (1997)
Before These Crowded Streets (1998)
Live at Luther College (live album by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds) (1999)
Listener Supported (live album) (1999)
Everyday (2001)
Live in Chicago 12.19.98 at the United Center (live album) (2001)
Busted Stuff (2002)
Live at Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado (live album) (2002)
Some Devil (solo album) (2003)
The Central Park Concert (live album) (2003)
The Gorge (live album) (2004)
Stand Up (2005)
Weekend on the Rocks (live album) (2005)
Live at Piedmont Park (live album) (2007)
Live at Mile High Music Festival (live album) (2008)
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (2009)

Dave Matthews Band Quotes:

Dave Matthews, on the band’s early days.
“We just ended up fitting together. The band wasn’t something that I was looking for; it was very much I loved the people I asked to play with me. There was a connection at the beginning, and I think what we’ve been about is not some grand scheme but more the spirit of everyone, which is why we ended up with this band and why it sounds like it does.”

Dave Matthews, on how commercial success has changed him.
“I have my extravagances. I got land, I got a big bathtub, and I travel easy. But what the money hasn’t changed is the fact that we’re still determined to kick a**.”

Dave Matthews Band Trivia:

• Dave Matthews Band’s first performance was an Earth Day concert in Charlottesville in April 1991.
• Dave Matthews has also pursued an acting career, including roles in Because of Winn-Dixie and You Don’t Mess With the Zohan.
• Dave Matthews endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
• Dave Matthews is on the Board of Directors for Farm Aid.