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For other persons named David Matthews, see David Matthews (disambiguation).
This article is about Dave Matthews. For the band, see Dave Matthews Band.
David John Matthews (born January 9, 1967) is a South African-American Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band, but he has also worked as a solo artist, and with other musicians such as Tim Reynolds and Trey Anastasio. An occasional actor, he has also appeared in several feature films.
[edit] Biography[edit] Early lifeMatthews is the third of four children born to John and Valerie Matthews. At age two, Matthews' family migrated to Yorktown Heights in Westchester County, New York, where his father, a physicist, started working for IBM.[1] In 1974, the family again moved to Cambridge, England, for a year before returning to New York, where his father died from lung cancer in 1977. Biographer Nevin Martell argues that Dave's father's death may be an impetus for his "carpe diem" lyrics.[2] The family moved back to Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1980.[citation needed] Upon Matthews' graduation from St Stithians College high school, he was faced with conscription into the South African military just as civil disobedience to the practice was becoming widespread.[3] A Quaker (and consequently pacifist), Matthews left South Africa to avoid service.[4] Matthews moved to New York,[citation needed] then Charlottesville, Virginia in 1986, a town Matthews' family had lived in before he was born. It was in Charlottesville that he became part of the local music community.[4] Pursuing various interests, Matthews acted in various local productions.[citation needed] While enthusiastic for music, and a popular bartender at a local restaurant named Miller's, Matthews was intimidated by the quality of the local musicians and largely shied away from performing publicly.[citation needed] But local star (and future collaborator) Tim Reynolds had Matthews join him on stage one night, and Matthews reputedly did well.[5] This eventually led to his first professional musical gig at a modern dance performance by the Miki Liszt Dance Company, singing "Sensitive Feelings," composed by John D'earth and Dawn Thompson.[citation needed] In 1990 he hatched the idea to form his own band.[citation needed] In 1994, Matthews' older sister, Anne, who lived in South Africa, was murdered by her husband, who subsequently committed suicide, on or around January 27 of that year.[6] The event had a drastic effect on Matthews' outlook on life.[7] Immediately following her death, Matthews was forced to return to the United States from South Africa, due to professional obligations.[citation needed] On January 29, 1994, he performed with Tim Reynolds at The Wetlands in New York where he dedicated that performance "to her memory". Dave Matthews Band's "Under the Table and Dreaming," released later that year, was dedicated to her.[6] Anne Matthews was survived by her two children who, upon her death, traveled to America, where Dave and his younger sister Jane took responsibility for their upbringing.[6] [edit] Formation of Dave Matthews BandMatthews had originally envisioned someone else singing his songs, but instead decided to use his own vocals.[citation needed] After writing his first few songs, including "I'll Back You Up", "The Song that Jane Likes" and "Recently", he began to consider starting his own band.[citation needed] Matthews formed Dave Matthews Band in early 1991 with Boyd Tinsley, LeRoi Moore, Carter Beauford, Stefan Lessard, and Peter Griesar (who left the band in 1993) while working at Miller's. The band's first show was on April 20, 1991, at the Earth Day Festival in Charlottesville. [8] [edit] Music
Matthews sang on the track "Sing Along" on Blue Man Group's second album The Complex in 2003. Later that year he released a solo album, "Some Devil", which went platinum; its single, "Gravedigger", won a Grammy Award in 2004. To support the album, Matthews toured with a group of musicians (most of whom performed on "Some Devil") under the name Dave Matthews & Friends. Matthews is also a close friend of Bela Fleck. Matthews appears as a guest vocalist on Bela Fleck and the Flecktones' 1998 release Left of Cool and both Fleck and Flecktones bassist Victor Wooten have made numerous appearances both live and studio with DMB. The Flecktones also opened for DMB on several tours. [edit] ActingBefore he was known as a musician, Matthews was an amateur actor, appearing onstage in several productions at Charlottesville's Offstage Theatre and Live Arts theater[citation needed] in the early 1990s; the role for which he is best remembered is as a used car salesman in Offstage Theatre's "Just Say No," directed by John Quinn, co-starring Kylie Sicher [9]. Dave Matthews has also acted in four feature films. He played Will Coleman in the 2003 adaptation of the novel "Where the Red Fern Grows."[10] In the 2005 film "Because of Winn-Dixie" (based on the novel of the same name), Matthews portrayed the character of Otis, a timid pet-shop employee.[11] In 2007, Matthews appeared briefly in the movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, where he plays a homosexual salesman.[12] In 2008, he appeared in another Adam Sandler movie, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, as a racist character named James.[13] His next film is Lake City with Sissy Spacek and Troy Garity, in which he portrays the character "Red."[14] In 2007, Matthews guest starred in the FOX drama series House in the episode "Half-Wit." He played a piano-playing musical savant who ended up having half of his brain removed in order to recover from his mental retardation, but at the expense of his musical abilities.[15] Matthews had a piano double for the complex pieces but played the simpler pieces himself.[16] [edit] BusinessSince 2000, Matthews has been one of the board members of Farm Aid along with Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young.[17] Matthews owns 542 hectares (1,340 acres) of farmland near Scottsville, Virginia named Maple Hill Farm, where he grows organic vegetables, flowers, and herbs through a community-supported agriculture program.[18] He also has a 1.6 hectare (4 acre) wine-growing operation, Blenheim Vineyards, which utilizes gravity flow and other gentle winemaking techniques.[19] Matthews is one of the principles of ATO Records, founded in 2000.[20] [edit] Personal lifeMatthews married his long time girlfriend, Ashley Harper, a naturopathic doctor, on August 10, 2000.[21] The couple have twin daughters, Stella Busina and Grace Anne, born on August 15, 2001, and a son, August Oliver, born on June 19, 2007. They currently reside in Seattle, Washington.[22][23] [edit] CharityMatthews has been active in charity work, both on his own and with his bandmates. He has performed benefit concerts for music education,[24] Hurricane Katrina victims,"Dave Matthews Band to Perform Hurricane Katrina Benefit", Paste Magazine, Paste Media Group (2005-09-01). Retrieved on 13 October 2008. farmers,[25] and victims of the Virginia Tech shooting.[26] The band's charitable organization, the Bama Works Fund is administered by the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, benefiting charitable programs in the region.[27] In 2008 he participated in a music album called Songs for Tibet, together with a number of other celebrities as an initiative to support Tibet and Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso.[28] [edit] PoliticsMatthews openly supported the 2008 presidential campaign for Barack Obama, both in the primaries and in the general election.[29] On April 6, 2008, he and Tim Reynolds played a concert titled "Change Rocks" to encourage students in Indiana to register to vote. The tickets were distributed by the Obama campaign.[30] Even though he was recently bereaved by the loss of band co-founder and saxophonist, LeRoi Moore, he and Tim Reynolds played for DNC delegates on Sunday, August 24 at Red Rocks.[31] Matthews has often supported environmental initiatives, such as biofuel availability and the fight against global climate change.[citation needed] [edit] Past and present equipment
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
[edit] Live albums
[edit] Singles
[edit] Collaborations
[edit] Awards[edit] Grammys
[edit] ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards
[edit] Honorary degrees
[edit] Guitar
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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