History

During this time David was also playing with the original progressive rock band Jester. With his diversity of playing styles and reading ability David auditioned for Thomas Dolby and after 3 call backs, he got the gig. This led to three records with Thomas (Aliens Ate My Buick, Astronauts and Heretics, and The Gate to the Minds Eye) and touring all over the world.

After time on the road with Thomas Dolby, David decided to stay in town which led to countless jingles and a series of recording projects and gigs. From smooth jazz with guitarist Peter White, funky jazz with Scott Wilkie, latin jazz with Latinum, progressive jazz rock with Learning Curve, pop rock with Mothers Favorite Son's and a variety of Christian projects David remained very busy.

From Oct. 2000 David played drums for the LA production of The Lion King at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. In January of 2003 (after more than 900 shows) The Lion King ended it's run in LA. Since leaving the Lion King pit David has been joyfully freelancing around LA. From playing live jazz gigs with Matthew Von Doren to recording projects with Steve Young, David Miller, Joe Ongie , Rob Rinderer and a variety of commercial projects to playing with the Harvest Praise Band, David is enjoying this new phase of his career.

For a more in depth look keep reading...........

My interest in the drum set began in High School. The first album I bought was the first Led Zeppelin Recording. I was a metal head of sorts. I loved Zeppelin, Grand Funk and Black Sabbath. At a Black Sabbath concert at the Forum I saw Yes as the opening act and was blown away. From that moment on I became a progressive rock fanatic. I immediately put away my metal albums and got into Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, ELP, King Crimson and anything else that could be called progressive. It was during this time that Jester started up. We wrote original songs that were as varied as our tastes. We produced our own concerts and recordings and played almost every college in Southern California.

During college I got a gig as the house drummer at Knott's Berry Farm. It was a great way to improve my repertoire. We played every variety of music imaginable, from country to 20's to 40's to top 40. During my stay at Knott's I started playing a show called "Rock Around The Clock" that was put together by Bill Medley (Righteous Brothers) at his clubs called "The Hop". This continued to broaden my drumming palette.

While keeping very busy with The Hop and Knott's and casuals, I heard about auditions for Thomas Dolby in the Music Connection Magazine. I put together a quick demo of some interesting stuff I had just finished recording for Mike Tavera and took a picture in a photo booth at Knott's and sent it in. I got a call about a month later. After 3 call backs I was asked to be in the band. This was an enjoyable time for me. Playing challenging music with such a great band pushed me to the next level. After much touring and recording with Thomas I was asked to work with other artists on the road but decided I needed to stay in town and be with my family.

Stopping the road work led to countless jingles with Kevin Nadeau, the Wojahn Brothers and a few others. I was also involved in an original band called Learning Curve whose leader, Mike Bacich had been in Oingo Boingo. I also worked with latin\jazz band Latinum every Wednesday for a couple years. Francisco Loyo led the band until he got his current gig with Louis Migel.

In the mid nineties I hooked up with Steve Young from South Coast Community Church. Steve was helpful in introducing me to many new players. Through Steve I re-met Bob Somma (I had worked with him at Knott's years earlier) and was introduced to Billy Batstone. This led to work with Cherie Keaggy and Billy and Franklin Graham Crusades. Because of the Crusades I was asked to play and teach for Worship Leader Workshops. From playing in the Praise Band to Teaching Drum, Rhythm Section and Rehearsal classes, I have found these workshops to be very rewarding.

In the late nineties I met Joe Ongie and started working with Joe, Jason Foster and Tim Neinhuis. This later turned into the band Mothers Favorite Son's. We recorded a CD (the first rhythm section to work) in Richard Bredice's new studio. Somehow David Mantel (Limp Bizkit, Collective Soul) got a hold of the CD and we did a bunch of showcases at the Viper Room and eventually ended up in Atlanta doing a showcase for LA Reid and Arista Records.

I was also working with Scott Wilke during this time. We played a bunch of Smooth Jazz festivals and recorded two CD's for Narada\Jazz. We went to Japan and enjoyed playing Scott's funky and fun charts. I was also helping out Peter White (smooth jazz guitarist) when he would need a sub. Smooth jazz was very good to me for a while.

In Dec of 1999 I got a call from Mark Manchina about doing the LA production of The Lion King. I had met Mark years earlier when we used to play the Orange County club circuit. He later helped me program electronics for the Thomas Dolby Gig. Mark was the musical producer for the Lion King and is known for his scores of movies like Twister, Speed and Tarzan. From October of 2000 to January 2003 I was at the Pantages six nights a week doing the show. The Orchestra was full of exceptional musicians and I felt very fortunate to have such an entertaining and steady gig. I did get out of the "Pit" enough to do other things like subbing for Bob Wilson doing a Franklin Graham Crusade and a Billy Graham School of Evangelism at Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies as well as many workshops.

When Lion King ended in January of 2003 I was thrown back into the freelance scuffle. I've been working on a drum instruction book and CD as well as a project with Steve Goomas (that we affectionately call "Hymnotic Derangement's") of Hymns arranged in various contemporary styles. I continue to teach private lessons and do sessions. Some current work has been recording various projects and jingles for Kevin Nadeau, recording CD's produce by both Joel Goldsmith & Chris Stone, and CD's for Joe Onjie, Steve Young, David Miller, Rob Rinderer and more Disney and Universal sessions for Audio By The Bay.

One of my biggest joys is playing live jazz gigs with my good friend Guitarist Matthew Von Doren. His new record came out in Jan. of 2004. It was produced by Jimmy Haslip of the Yellowjackets. The drummers on the CD are Peter Erskin, Terry Lynn Carrington and Gary Novak. It's a pleasure to try to recreate what these great players contributed to the project as well as adding my own voice to the mix.

As of Aug. 2004 I started doing road work with Fernando Ortega. It's been a long time since I have done a bus tour but it does seem to agree with me (even though I do miss my family). Fernando is a wonderful songwriter, vocalist and storyteller. It makes for a very enjoyable concert. I feel Blessed to be a part of this band.

And every Wed. (when I'm in town) I still play for the Harvest Praise Band. This is a very talented group and I always look forward to an evening of worship with them. We start @ 7pm at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside on the corner of Adams and Arlington. And watch for a Christmas CD from Harvest that we just finished recording.

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