Wes's Geat Dave Matthews Band page
For All The DMB crazies
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The Dave Matthews Band formed in
Charlottesville, Virginia in early 1991, when
vocalist/guitarist Dave Matthews decided to put
some songs he had written on tape. Instead of
simply recording himself with a guitar, he opted
to bring in some instrumental help to give his
musical ideas more depth. Dave found assistance
in drummer Carter Beauford and saxophonist
LeRoi Moore, who were both accomplished jazz
musicians in the local Charlottesville music scene.
Based on the recommendation of distinguished
local jazz guru John D’earth, 16-year-old musical
prodigy Stefan Lessard came on board to play
bass. Completing the band was keyboard player
Peter Griesar, who left the band after a couple of
years, as well as the talented and classically
trained violinist, Boyd Tinsley.
The first official gig for the newly conceived Dave
Matthews Band was May 11, 1991, at a private
rooftop party in Charlottesville. Its first public
show was at the city’s 1991 Earth Day Festival.
Local weekly gigs soon followed, and within a little
time, word of the band’s contagious new sound
spread like wildfire throughout the region. Clubs
started to fill up, tours began to cover more
territory, and the fan base grew at an incredible
rate.
On November 9, 1993, DMB released its first
album, Remember Two Things, on its Bama Rags
label. The album was recorded live at The Muse
Music Club on Nantucket Island, in August of
1993. The album debuted on College charts as
the highest independent entry, and went on to be
certified gold by the RIAA -- a significant
accomplishment for an independent album.
Meanwhile, the band kept touring and its fan
base continued to grow. By allowing fans to tape
shows for their personal use, DMB created a
highly interactive community that continues in
spirit today.
During the first part of 1994, Dave Matthews Band
recorded its RCA debut, Under The Table and
Dreaming. Just before the album’s release on
September 27, 1994, Dave Matthews Band hit the
road for their first official national tour. The tour
lasted well over a year and included sold out
theater dates across the country, a trip to Europe,
and two summers playing on the main stage of
HORDE. By the fall of 1995, when the band
returned to the studio to record its next album,
Under The Table and Dreaming had been certified
four times platinum by the RIAA.
Crash, Dave Matthews Band’s second album for
RCA, was released on April 30, 1996, and
debuted at number two on the Billboard 200
chart. The band continued with a steady schedule
of touring throughout 1997, headlining sold-out
amphitheater dates across North America. DMB,
though elevated to the level of national pop
stardom, continued to do things precisely as it
had from day one: organically, with a grass roots
mentality.
On October 28, 1997, Bama Rags/RCA label
released an official double-disc live Dave
Matthews Band album, entitled Live at Red Rocks
8-15-95. Without any marketing or promotion,
Live at Red Rocks debuted at number three on the
Billboard 200 chart and was instantly certified
platinum. The album provided fans with a
high-quality and reasonably priced alternative to
the over-priced, ill-produced, and illegal live DMB
CDs that were beginning to flood the bootleg
black-market. The overwhelming success of Live
at Red Rocks, combined with the band’s
tremendous touring achievements, proved that
Dave Matthews Band had grown from a grass
roots phenomenon to one of the hottest bands in
America.
On April 28, 1998, RCA released Dave Matthews
Band’s third studio album, Before These Crowded
Streets. The critically acclaimed recording debuted
at number one on the Billboard 200 chart; it was
the band’s strongest debut to date. DMB spent
the following year and a half on the road, selling
out stadiums, arenas, and amphitheaters across
the country.
On January 19, 1999, Bama Rags/RCA released
Live at Luther College: An Acoustic Performance by
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds. Tim Reynolds
was a guest guitarist on all of the Dave Matthews
Band albums, and toured with the band as a
guest musician. Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
toured as an acoustic duo during the winters of
’96, ’97, and ’99. The second in a series of live
Dave Matthews Band-related releases, Live at
Luther College debuted at number two on the
Billboard 200 chart and has since been certified
platinum by the RIAA . As with Live at Red Rocks,
the success of this second live album was based
solely on word-of-mouth buzz.
By the fall of 1999, just six years after the
release of its independent album, Remember Two
Things, DMB had sold over 15 million albums and
become the most successful touring band in
America.
Taking a much-deserved break for the remainder
of ‘99, Dave Matthews Band plans to head into
the studio in early 2000 to record its fourth album
for RCA. Look for another live release from DMB
this fall, and a studio CD next year.
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September 29, 1999 
My Message to the World
Dave Matthews has the very coolest band in the world.Sign My Guestbook
Send me e-mail at wesdog2@hotmail.com
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