The Dave Matthews Band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in
early 1991, when vocalist/guitarist Dave Matthews decided to put
some songs he had written on tape. Instead of simply recording
himself with a guitar, he opted to bring in some instrumental
help to give his musical ideas more depth. Dave found assistance
in drummer Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who were
both accomplished jazz musicians in the local Charlottesville
music scene.
Based on the recommendation of distinguished local jazz guru John
D'earth, 16-year-old musical prodigy Stefan Lessard came on board
to play bass. Completing the band was keyboard player Peter
Griesar, who left the band after a couple of years, as well as
the talented and classically trained violinist, Boyd Tinsley.
The first official gig for the newly conceived Dave Matthews Band
was May 11, 1991, at a private rooftop party in Charlottesville.
Its first public show was at the city's 1991 Earth Day Festival.
Local weekly gigs soon followed, and within a little time, word
of the band's contagious new sound spread like wildfire
throughout the region. Clubs started to fill up, tours began to
cover more territory, and the fan base grew at an incredible
rate.
On November 9, 1993, DMB released its first album, Remember Two
Things, on its Bama Rags label. The album was recorded live at
The Muse Music Club on Nantucket Island, in August of 1993. The
album debuted on College charts as the highest independent entry,
and went on to be certified gold by the RIAA -- a significant
accomplishment for an independent album. Meanwhile, the band kept
touring and its fan base continued to grow. By allowing fans to
tape shows for their personal use, DMB created a highly
interactive community that continues in spirit today.
During the first part of 1994, Dave Matthews Band recorded its
RCA debut, Under The Table and Dreaming. Just before the album's
release on September 27, 1994, Dave Matthews Band hit the road
for their first official national tour. The tour lasted well over
a year and included sold out theater dates across the country, a
trip to Europe, and two summers playing on the main stage of
HORDE. By the fall of 1995, when the band returned to the studio
to record its next album, Under The Table and Dreaming had been
certified four times platinum by the RIAA.
Crash, Dave Matthews Band's second album for RCA, was released on
April 30, 1996, and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200
chart. The band continued with a steady schedule of touring
throughout 1997, headlining sold-out amphitheater dates across
North America. DMB, though elevated to the level of national pop
stardom, continued to do things precisely as it had from day one:
organically, with a grass roots mentality.
On October 28, 1997, Bama Rags/RCA label released an official
double-disc live Dave Matthews Band album, entitled Live at Red
Rocks 8-15-95. Without any marketing or promotion, Live at Red
Rocks debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart and was
instantly certified platinum. The album provided fans with a
high-quality and reasonably priced alternative to the
over-priced, ill-produced, and illegal live DMB CDs that were
beginning to flood the bootleg black-market. The overwhelming
success of Live at Red Rocks, combined with the band's tremendous
touring achievements, proved that Dave Matthews Band had grown
from a grass roots phenomenon to one of the hottest bands in
America.
On April 28, 1998, RCA released Dave Matthews Band's third studio
album, Before These Crowded Streets. The critically acclaimed
recording debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart; it
was the band's strongest debut to date. DMB spent the following
year and a half on the road, selling out stadiums, arenas, and
amphitheaters across the country.
On January 19, 1999, Bama Rags/RCA released Live at Luther
College: An Acoustic Performance by Dave Matthews and Tim
Reynolds. Tim Reynolds was a guest guitarist on all of the Dave
Matthews Band albums, and toured with the band as a guest
musician. Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds toured as an acoustic
duo during the winters of '96, '97, and '99. The second in a
series of live Dave Matthews Band-related releases, Live at
Luther College debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart
and has since been certified platinum by the RIAA . As with Live
at Red Rocks, the success of this second live album was based
solely on word-of-mouth buzz.
In November of 1999, Bama Rags/RCA released Listener Supported.
This was the third in the series of Dave Matthews Band live
releases. The album was recorded from the bands performance at
the Continental Airlines Arena on September 11, 1999. Without any
type of marketing, it debuted at number two on the Billboard 200
chart and was instantly certified platinum.
Taking a much-deserved break for the remainder of '99, the Dave
Matthews Band headed into the studio in early 2000 to record its
fourth album for RCA. However, the band didn't finish the album
before the start of the summer tour, so it was put on hold. Eight
new songs from the album were road-tested during the tour. When
the band regrouped in October of 2000, they started over, this
time with producer Glen Ballard. Twelve new tracks were layed
down for Everyday, due in stores February 27, 2001.