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Biography: DMCB (Dave Matthews Cover Band)
While most Dave Matthews Band fans never got to experience the band at intimate venues before they became the platinum-selling, touring phenoms they are today, many now are jumping at the chance to experience the next best thing: The DAVE MATTHEWS COVER BAND. A 5-piece ensemble from Athens, Georgia guided by exceptional talent and unwavering reverence for the Dave Matthews Band, The DAVE MATTHEWS COVER BAND is a live powerhouse act that is headlining top rock venues throughout America and delivering to the faithful – and soon-to-be-converted -- a dynamic, up close and personal concert experience that sounds remarkably similar to their famous counterparts.
And, much like the grassroots success of the real deal, The DAVE MATTHEWS COVER BAND has, in just three short years, grown from an open mic pastime on the campus of University of Georgia into one of the country’s top independent touring forces.
“This wasn’t something we expected,” says lead singer/guitarist David Koon about the band’s rapid rise, evidenced by the capacity crowds they draw in some of the nation’s top rock rooms. “It just started out as something to do for fun and it’s had an unexpected and very exciting life of its own.”
For Koon, the fun started when he was in high school and he began playing and perfecting his favorite band’s material. “As a musician and songwriter, Dave Matthews was my biggest influence, and I loved studying his guitar playing, singing along the way any other person would,” explains Koon. “In many ways, it just came very naturally, and I guess it rubbed off on me.”
Koon began displaying his talent at local cafes around his hometown of Snellville, Georgia and continued playing solo shows during his freshman year at the University of Georgia, appearing at open mic nights and wowing students at local venues. Then, in an effort to complete the Dave Matthews Band concert experience, Koon began to assemble top-notch musicians from the rich music scenes of Athens and Atlanta that shared his admiration as well as technical prowess. Joining him first was ace drummer Lance Tilton, a longtime Dave Matthews Band enthusiast who honed much of his chops emulating the finesse of Carter Beauford. The band’s lineup was soon completed with the addition of Jimmy De Martini on violin, Deniz Felder on saxophone and Mike Finnie on bass.
“We were all fans who decided to give this a shot,” shares Tilton. “Before we knew it, we got booked to play the famed Georgia Theatre and ended up selling the place out.” With such an impressive start, The Dave Matthews Cover Band decided to test the waters elsewhere and soon found that Dave Matthews fans across the U.S. enthusiastically embraced their efforts. The band committed themselves to touring fulltime and has ever since been winning audiences over as they perform in over 20 states and as far away as the nation of Panama.
“The success we are having is indebted to the Dave Matthews Band and the passion their fans - just like us - have for the band,” explains Koon. “We embrace that wholeheartedly, and we’re just happy to be a part of something like this.”
Drawing from the Dave Matthews Bands’ extensive 12-album catalogue, The DAVE MATTHEWS COVER BAND works within the framework of the original material but infuses every concert with a fresh perspective by exploring each member’s virtuosity and improvisational skill. Koon explains: “It’s as if we are a live jazz-fusion review of DMB. Instead of playing standards like a straight up jazz act, we play DMB. We play the most important parts of the songs as true to the structure and feel of the original, but each member adds his personality and playing style to the more open sections of the song.”
The DAVE MATTHEWS COVER BAND has also started to showcase the songwriting talents of Koon at concerts, as well as the various projects the band’s members are involved in, with the latest original recordings of each member become available for purchase at shows.
“There’s no question this band is a great vehicle for exposing our original work to a large audience,” says Koon. “We’re enjoying our travels and on-the-road musical schooling, as we continue riding this wave we somehow got on and see where it takes us next.”
And with David, Lance, Deniz, Jimmie and Mike fully capable of bringing the energy and sound of a real Dave Matthews Band concert to fans night after night, they continue to spread the music of the Dave Matthews Band in the best way possible: live and dynamic.
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