MusicDesk: Legends of the Present: Dave Matthews Band

Formed in 1991 in Charlottesville, Virginia (USA), by Dave Matthews, a South African (educated at St Stithians in Johannesburg) born singer songwriter, the Dave Matthews Band introduced a unique sound of pop rock with heavy influences from genres such as jazz, folk and funk as well as clear connotations to works of Paul Simon and Sting.

Bringing together a unique group of local musicians including a violinist (Boyd Tinsley), a bassist (Steffan Lessard), a drummer (Carter Beauford), saxophonist (Leroi Moore) and a short lived keyboardist and himself on guitar the band began touring heavily while being non-discriminate of an audience to play in front of. They quickly developed a buzz through word of mouth, prompting them to record an independant album which ultimately went a long way to getting them signed by the major label ,RCA, under which they released "Under the Table and Dreaming" which sold over 4million copies in the U.S alone and placed them firmly on the path to greatness. Next the band released "Crash" in 1996 which went double platinum and included the song "Crash Into Me" which is a MusicDesk personal favourite as well as being grammy nominated. 1996/7 also saw Matthews launch an attack on music bootleggers together with the American Federal Government which led to the large scale crack down on piracy which included numerous arrests and new legislation. To further combat piracy, the band released three double disc live albums; "Live at Red Rocks", "Before these Crowded Streets" and "Listener Supported" to large unexpected sales, they continued to tour, fostering huge support.

Three albums between 2000 and 2002 saw much acclaim, notably "Everyday" which heard Matthews using the electric guitar for the first time on any of their recordings to date. Matthews went solo for the first time in 2003 and won a Grammy for his vocal performance on the track, "Gravedigger". The band then reformed in '04 to tour with Bruce Springsteen on the Vote for Change tour. In 2005 they then began work on "Stand Up", their first album of all new material since 2001 and during the recording process fans could access a website which offered sound clips and videos of the work in progress. When "Stand Up" dropped at number one on the charts, DMB became the 3rd band in history after U2 and Metallica to land four consecutive number one albums.

The band continued to tour and released two more live albums together with a best of album entitled "The Best of What's Around vol. 1". The band continued to make touring their priority and when the sax man Leroi tragically passed away, he was replaced by Bela Fleck before releasing another live album, "Live at the Mile High Music Festival". The following year the band paid their tribute to Leroi Moore with , "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King".

A truly epic band, benefactors of their own hard work and internationally successful. A legitimate live act concerned only about their fans and the quality they produce; no surprises that they have one of the biggest fan clubs in North America and still growing. Proud to say that Dave Matthews was even born in South Africa. Timeless music and a timeless act.

Click for their website!
Click to listen to them on Myspace!