Dave Matthews Band
In the early 90's, South African singer/guitarist Dave Matthews formed the Dave Matthews Band and mixing the style of pop/rock and instrumental fusion, the band has achieved world wide acclaim with their studio album releases while capturing the cohesiveness and spontaneity of the band with their live albums.
Bursting onto the mainstream spotlight in 1994 with the album "Under The Table & Dreaming," the band took advantage of their strong word-of-mouth following, constant touring and cult-like following to go on to mega-stardom, not only in the U.S., but worldwide as well. A fixture on FM radio with songs like "Satellite" and "What Would You Say" (with John Popper on harmonica), the band mixed their incomparable sound and, blending the unique talents of each member, created a mystique and iconic reputation in the world of music. The Dave Matthews Band has been nominated for 12 Grammy Awards winning for the "Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal" for their hit "So Much To Say."
Numerous live recordings were released as well as several brilliant and legendary studio albums. The album "Crash" featured the hits "Too Much," "Crash Into Me" as well as "Tripping Billies." The band is famous for its live performances that are an unprecedented experience of music and sound allowing concert goers to tape the music for personal use and nonprofit trading. Their concerts include improvisational jams that showcase each members phenomenal creativity, as they guide their listeners through an intoxicating pallette of jazz-tinged funk and pop/rock and the band leaves a sound fingerprint in every city they visit.
Adding to their universal appeal is the fact that the Dave Matthews Band includes numerous "guest stars" recording with them or playing live, including John Popper (of Blues Traveler), the legendary Carlos Santana, bassist Victor Wooten, saxophonist Maceo Parker, Alanis Morissette, guitarist Mitch Rutman and many others, enhancing their status as an elite rock and roll band.
Additionally, the band has performed numerous charity concerts, live archive material albums, free concerts and have become an online staple with their web site. In fact, Live Trax Vol 1 was released on November 2004 (recorded at the Centrum Center in Worcester, Massachusetts on December 8, 1998). The album included the band's old friends such as Bela Fleck, saxophonist Jeff Coffin, guitarist Tim Reynolds and is considered by most to be the quintessential and essential live show lp in the Dave Matthews Band repertoire.
A free concert in San Francisco, California with Carlos Santana accompanying the band on many songs, led to the second release of the Live Trax series, Live Trax 2 in 2004. The lp allowed fans to preview new songs such as "Joy Ride," "Hello Again, ""Sugar Will," 'Crazy-Easy, "Good Good Time." As of this writing (2007), the band is currently on volume 8 of the Live Trax series live album releases.
Subsequent studio albums after "Crash" were released, the critically acclaimed "Before These Crowded Streets" which although it lacked the "singles"power of previous efforts, was successful anyway with hits like "Crush," the political statement number about apartheid in South Africa and the abuse suffered by the American Indian, "Don't Drink The Water." The next two albums, "Everyday" and "Busted Stuff" were commercial successes, but did not appease the band nor their hardcore fan base. The band felt uneasy and believed they needed to create a back to their roots kind of album and did that with "Stand Up," which was released in May of 2005 and debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. Some fans loved the new energy the band had with hits like "American Baby," "Dreamgirl" and "Everybody Wake Up." Yet for some, the album was too simplistic and lacked the signature sound of the band. The band supported the album with a summer tour ending with a four-night gig at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater with the proceeds from the last show going to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
As of January 2007, the band is in the studio with plans to record their seventh studio album. The band continues their philanthropic efforts and since 1999 have contributed more than $4 million to the BAMA Works Fund, a project to support disadvantaged youths, the disabled, the environment and the arts and humanities in the Charlottesville, Virginia area.
The Dave Matthews Band's music and live shows are a summer ritual for many and the band has left their distinctive stamp on today's music and modern rock as well. It won't be long until they are enshrined in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
Author Robert Benson writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates www.collectingvinylrecords.com, where you can secure your copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting." Robert can be contacted at robert@collectingvinylrecords.com.