Dave Matthews Band

The Dave Matthews Band is a jam-band from Charlottesville, Virginia. Dave grew up in South Africa and moved to Virginia at some point. His music is best described as jamming. In his earlier songs, he would improvise chords, lyrics, etc, though he has standardized his music more to appease the fans, I'm assuming. The band has a way of grasping the audience in a swaying heap of people for two hours.

(This chunk is stolen by request from mordel's writeup, which he plans to then delete.) The band began with Dave Matthews, Carter Beauford, and LeRoi Moore in 1991. Later in '91, the trio approached Stefan Lessard to join (who was 16-years old at the time). I haven't found an official year for when Boyd Tinsley joined, but I have seen mention that he was on the original demo tape, so that would make it also 1991.

A sixth member of the band was Peter Griesar, who played keyboard and harmonica and did some vocals and songwriting. He left the band in 1997 to do his own work. Another familiar name is Tim Reynolds, whom Dave did a duet gig with at Luther College. Tim has played on every CD (to my knowledge), and is an unofficial member of the band. He also tours occasionally with DMB. (End stolen chunk.)

The band is composed of:

• Carter Beauford: Drums
• Stefan Lessard: Bass
• Dave Matthews: Guitar, Vocals
• LeRoi Moore: Saxophone
• Boyd Tinsley: Violin

Pretty much everyone does back-up vocals from time to time, and Boyd has a new song or two that he sings primarily

The DMB also plays occasionally with Tim Reynolds on guitar, and Dave has his "lovely ladies" whom sing back-up.

Discography:

Nov. 9, 1993: Remember Two Things, on the Bama Rags label. Recorded live at The Muse Music Club on Nantucket Island. The album debuted at #1 on College charts, and was later certified gold by the RIAA.
Sep. 27, 1994: Under the Table and Dreaming, on the RCA label certified platinum four times by the RIAA.
Apr. 30, 1996: Crash, RCA, debuted #2 on the Billboard 200.
Oct. 28, 1997: Live at Red Rocks 8-15-95, on Bama Rags/RCA, debuted #3 on the Billboard 200...with no marketing or promotions and was instantly certified platinum.
Apr. 28, 1998: Before These Crowded Streets, debuted #1 on the Billboard 200.
Jan. 19, 1999: Live at Luther College: An Acoustic Performance by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and certified platinum. Again, all with no promotion.
Nov 21, 1999: Listener Supported, an homage to the fans. Feb. 27, 2001: Everyday, good album overall, very different sound. First album produced by Glen Ballard.
Oct 23, 2001: Live In Chicago 12-19-98 At the United Center, best yet of the (released) bootlegs I've heard.
Jul. 16, 2002: Busted Stuff, don't know much (no money to buy); largely a production based on The Lillywhite Sessions (see also: Steve Lillywhite). Fifth release under RCA Records.
Nov. 5, 2002: Live at Folsom Field, great album (like all DMB releases). Will probably also be known as the best to-date live release (recorded in Boulder, CO).

What makes this album interesting is that it is the most successful and wildly different work DMB has released.

Lead singer and guitarist, Dave Matthews, has, up until this point, played nothing but the acoustic guitar. However, with the coming of a new producer, Dave has now picked up a baritone electric. What happened was magic. In an interview with "Rolling Stone," DMB's producer told them that since showing Dave the electric, he couldn't pry it away from him.

Before Dave found this new toy, the band had had an entire CD lined up: during their summer tour they had been exhibiting new songs at concerts, including a fan favorite, "Greystreet". Amazingly, the band dumped every new song they'd written up until that point. They just tossed them away and began anew.

And thus, you have "Everyday". When I fired up the first few tracks, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was like I was listening to entirely new band. The new songs DMB has created are fresher than anything they've put out in years. During interviews, DMB has described this album as the sound they've been after all along.

Perhaps best of all, though, is the reaction this album has gotten in the public. During its first few weeks, the album has sold over a million copies. At the time of writing, it is sitting proudly at the number one in sales slot in the US. Though some hardcore fans have expressed displeasure at the band's completely changed sound, most do admit that the new sound is pretty cool as well.

Pick up a copy and see what I mean.