At the age of 13 Dave got a used electric guitar and amp for his birthday. He took lessons on and off for a couple of years. Throughout his teenage years, Dave continued to play guitar, teaching himself power chords and learning by jamming heavy metal tunes with his friends.
When Dave turned twenty, some friends took him to see a Grateful Dead concert. That was a turning point in his life as he left behind his destructive, rowdy, rebellious teen years for peace, love, head-trips and road-trips with his hippy friends. It was during this time that Dave played with several bands and began to develop his playing style.
Dave joined an acoustic outfit with some friends called "The Unemployed Nug-Puffers Acoustic Band" This chaotic ensemble eventually dropped a few members, added a few more, went electric and became "Uncle Remus" specializing in funk/jazz fusion jam music. People assumed the name "Uncle Remus" was taken from the Frank Zappa song with the same title, but actually "Uncle Remus" was the nick-name of a friend of Dave's and his bandmates. This guy was the band's namesake and mascot. There's one in every crowd, who's the "Uncle Remus" in your scene? Anyway, after jamming time and time again on the bands Philadelphia rooftop to a consistently unsuspecting South Street audience, and a few bar gigs, "Uncle Remus" disbanded in 1993.
Shortly after the band broke up, Dave took some time to "get his head together". During this time he met an awesome lady, who is now his lovely wife. Throughout this mellowing period, Dave continued to play his guitar and jam on occasion with friends.
In the year 2000, Dave stumbled upon digital audio and the ability to record and mix music on a computer. He slowly built a home studio and invested in more equipment and instruments. With his bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and synth guitar, Dave can record all the parts of a band (with the help of audio drum samples) himself, sort of a "one-man band" kind of a thing. This opened up Dave's eyes as a new way to express himself through music. After some initial experimental recording, Dave discovered that he can post his music on the internet, with potential for a new audience to hear his creations.
Dave needed to come up with a name for his online presence. Being the lazy bastard he is, Dave just decided to keep the name of his former fusion ensemble, thus carrying the torch of his old band: "Uncle Remus" was born. Again..... (continues next page)