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Dave Matthews Band, The Most Compelling Band Around Essay, Research Paper

Dave Matthews Band is a unique, musically gifted band. Its combination of sounds of folk, jazz, rock, world beat, and reggae give it its originality and musicality that extends the bounds of music. The five members of the band: Dave Matthews, Boyd Tinsley, LeRoi Moore, Stefan Lessard, and Carter Beauford, provide a blend of influences that create this originality. It s an interracial music group compromising of three blacks, and two white, and an age difference of over 20 years between members. (Guitar World: Different Strummer ) “Our musical style illustrates our different backgrounds, both musically and non-musically,” says Matthews. “We’ve been influenced not only by pop, but by African music, jazz, just about everything. We incorporate lots of different textures, so we’ve been able to create a very unique sound — a very American music.” (Relix Magazine: One Nation Under a Groove ) As LeRoi Moore states, It is this blend of influence that creates the blend of texture. (FAQ) This rich texture from the blend of influence is what creates the most compelling band around, Dave Matthews Band.

The band came to be in April 1991, playing its first gig for an Earth Day celebration. Dave Matthews had always dreamed of starting his own band. He approached his favorite jazz players, (who he also served drinks to as a bartender) LeRoi Moore and Carter Beauford to make a demo tape of the songs he had written. Moore and Beauford liked what they heard and decided to stay with Matthews. He also approached Stefan Lessard to play with them, a 16-year-old prodigy bass player. Boyd Tinsley was added to the band after playing the violin in the song, Tripping Billies in the album Crash. Soon the band began playing gigs at area bars, fraternities, Universities, They soon later joined the band circuit, H.O.R.D.E. In 1993, they released their first Album, Remember Two Things, which sold over 150,000 copies. After that, another successful album, Before These Crowded Streets, was released, selling more than 30,000 copies in the first week alone. (Guitar World: Different Strummer) DMB is a big touring band, making long and exhausting concert tours. Dave Matthews is more than just a radio band, they are a band that can play its music live and have it still sound good, for they use acoustic instruments. DMB is a band to be admired for these reasons. (Relix Magazine One Nation Under a Groove. )

Dave Matthews, the bands namesake, provides unique influences to the band. He was born in South Africa in 1967. His father was a scientist and moved around a lot, explaining Dave s unique accent. As a teenager, he moved to the United States. Without a United States high school diploma, Dave s opportunities were limited and therefore decided to go into music. Dave spent his time in Africa soaking up African percussion music, and listening to artists such as King Sunny Ade, Salif Keita, and Hugh Masekala. When he moved to America, he spent his time soaking up Western rock, pop, and funk, listening to the Beatles, and Pink Floyd, among others. Dave plays the acoustic guitar for the band, as well as the vocals. (The Officials Dave Matthews Band Website)

The ways he plays the guitar and sings is how he makes his unique contributions to the band. His guitar playing is influenced by the sounds of African percussion. Dave explained his hard-driving guitar playing as this: I think it s a love of drum and a love of percussion that led me there. I really almost try to think of the guitar and each string on the guitar as a percussion instrument. (The Boston Globe: How Dave Matthews Found His Groove ),

Carter Beauford provided jazz influences to the band. Since childhood, he has been playing jazz drums. Music came natural to him as a result of his father, who played trumpet in a jazz band. Before joining Dave Matthews Band, he was a member of a fusion band called Secrets , auditioned for an Arsenio Hall show (not making it), and landed a spot as a jazz pianist on Bet on Jazz , the jazz show. Carter moved back to Charlottesville, and was approached by Dave Matthews in making a demo tape. (The Officials Dave Matthews Band Website) He liked what he heard, and stayed with Dave. The tape Dave gave me grabbed me immediately. It wasn t jazz, it wasn t rock, it wasn t folk it was something different. (Spin Magazine: Fanfare For The Common Man )

Stefan Lessard and LeRoi Moore add jazz influences to the band. Lessard was only 16 when approached by Dave Matthews, however, his talent shone through as a jazz bass player. Though he originally played upright bass, he converted to the electric bass for the band. However, he does include the upright in some live shows. (The Official Dave Matthews Band Website) LeRoi Moore added a beautiful touch of blend of influences through his jazz and classical background. He plays a variety of saxophones, as well as the flute. Before joining Dave Matthews, he played in a variety of jazz nightspots in the Charlottesville area. LeRoi added a touch of classical sound into the bands music from being trained in the classics. (The Official Dave Matthews Band Website)

Boyd Tinsley s unique character adds to the bands own uniqueness. As LeRoi Moore, Boyd Tinsley contributed to the bands sometimes-classical sounds. 1985, he was a classical violinist, then he switched to rock and roll; thus contributing a rock and roll sound into the blend. Tinsley defined the rock n roll violin sound. Previously to joining with Dave Matthews, Tinsley had his Boyd Tinsley Band. After making demo tapes with Matthews, Beauford, Moore and Lessard, he made a decision to quit his band and join theirs. His words were, I like what you re doing, I like your sound, so I m going to quit my other bands and join you guys. (The Official Dave Matthews Band Website) Tinsley wasn t originally going to be

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