Dave Matthews Bio 

Dave Matthews

Dave Matthews is a singer-songwriter and musician who has made a lasting impact on the music industry.

He is best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist of the Dave Matthews Band.

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1967, Dave grew up in a musical family and was exposed to a variety of genres, including jazz, classical, and African music.

He started playing the guitar when he was nine years old, and soon began writing his own songs.

He was quoted as saying, "I loved to play the piano like it was a drumkit."

His family moved to Yorktown Heights, which is a suburb of New York. After spending about a year in Europe, Dave's family moved back to the New York area.

Shortly after moving back in 1977, his father John Matthews died of Lung Cancer.

Dave Matthews officially became a US citizen in 1980.

His father's death gave Dave a very unique perspective on life and a "seize the moment" type of attitude. This type of emotion is often reflected in Dave Matthews Band lyrics, such as Pig and Two Step.

"Celebrate we will, because life is short and sweet for certain."

"The time is short, time, that's all right
May we'll go out in the middle of the night."

Dave ended up leaving South Africa in 1986 due to mandatory military service what was being requested.

His quaker upbringing strongly opposed aggression, so he needed to get out, so he joined his family in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In addition to playing guitar, Dave also enjoyed community theatre, attended Charlottesville Community College briefly, and started bartending at Millers.

This bar is where Dave first met Tim Reynolds. After a few open mic shows, Dave first performed with a group in 1989.

Eventually, in 1990, Dave befriended Ross Hoffman, who was a local songwriter in Charlottesville and owned a recording studio. He was a strong proponent for Dave to record some of his songs.

Beyond offering the recording studio, Hoffman actually helped Dave strengthen his songs by working on the intros and outros and piecing together several snippets of songs that Dave had.

In October of 1990, Dave had 4 finished songs.

Those four songs ended up being Recently, the Best of Whats Around, I'll Back You Up, and the Song that Janes Likes.

This 4 song demo was instrumental in the Dave Matthews Band beginning because he used that demo to convince drummer Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore to play with him.

The three got together the next year in January of 1991 and Dave admits... they sucked.

But, the more they played and the more the practiced, their sound started to come together.

Stefan Lessard, who was just a teenager, joined next on bass guitar and the final member to join the band was Boyd Tinsley.

At this point, the Dave Matthews Band was born.

The band started out playing small clubs in the Charlottesville area, but soon gained a large following.

They credit college students and concertgoers who shared VHS tapes and recordings of the band for their success.

They played out so regularly that Dave Matthews actually injected shots of cortisone in his neck to help his singing voice.

They released their debut album, Under the Table and Dreaming, in 1994 and it was an instant success. The album spawned several hit singles, including "What Would You Say," "Crash Into Me," and "Ants Marching."

Since then, Dave Matthews has gone on to record 9 official studio albums, won a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group (So Much to Say) in 1997 and one for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance (Gravedigger) in 2004. 

Although Dave jokes it's just the same 30,000 people traveling from city to city, the Dave Matthews Band still tours every summer and constantly sells out arenas and amphitheaters. 

Dave is married and has three children.