This debut CD/album by Dave Anthony Grummer is the realization of a childhood dream. Dave was bitten by the music bug early in life, and was driven from an early age by a clear vision of a life-long career in music. Growing up in Los Angeles, CA in the 1970's and 1980's, the possibility for such a career seemed to be all too real. Indeed, Dave was performing in world renowned nightclubs in LA at the tender age of 15 years old - an age where he was too young to be a patron of the venues, and was forced to wait outside or in the kitchen of some venues until it was time to go on stage, due to alcohol licensing issues. After garnering some industry attention, but failing to land that 'all-elusive' recording contract, Dave watched as his band dissolved into a never-ending series of lineup changes and one-off gigs. Always the principle songwriter for the band, Dave never lost hope that his songs would one day appear on an CD/album. In 1995, Dave's original band finally dissolved completely. It was then that the dream was born to record an album of his most 'commercially appealing' material. Dave resolved that if no one would help him to realize his dreams, he would do it all himself - After all, over the years, Dave had gained respectable facility on most of the primary instruments his music required. Dave formulated a plan to perform in the growing popularity of the Los Angeles tribute band scene, where he could then sell his CD's of original material at his tribute gigs. Dave was a founding member of several popular and highly regarded LA tribute acts. However, as time wore on, he found that he spent more time working on his craft for the demanding tribute bands, cover bands, and other 'novelty acts' he was involved with than he did working on his original music. Frustrated with the time demands of those projects, he 'retired' from live performance in 2005 to concentrate on recording his original material. The next several years brought 'complications' in his personal life which slowed his progress to the VERY occasional weekend. As a result of his inactivity in live music performance, Dave's vocal and instrumental skills deteriorated sufficiently, which further hampered his efforts to record the somewhat ambitious material slated for this debut album. Recognizing this, Dave again began to perform live music in 2008, in an effort to regain his former facility. Stubborn to the end, and not wanting to give up any artistic control, Dave spent several years trying to master the art of audio production. Ultimately, he realized that there are others more suited to that work than himself, and he eventually found a kindred spirit in Jamie Lang (langsongs@yahoo.com) of Nashville, TN. Jamie graciously worked with Dave to realize his production vision for the songs, and provided Dave with the excellent mixes on this album. These mixes were finished in early 2013 - a full 8 years after recording began! Ever the perfectionist and visionary, Dave had a very particular aesthetic in mind for the album, which he then set about creating, in between demands on his time by the commitments of a domesticated life and his non-music-related career endeavors. This took several more months to complete... Dave continues to perform when time and circumstances allow, and also continues to compose original music. The collection on this album represents select music from 1986 through 2011. (!) Several songs that Dave recorded did not make the album, and will be released at a future date. Dave has a vast collection of other songs, ranging in style from full-blown prog rock and conceptual pieces to simple pop ditties and instrumentals. This CD/album only represents maybe 10% of the material he has composed. He hopes to record and release more material in the coming years, and has vowed to never take as long with a project again! To follow what Dave is up to these days, please 'Like' DAGtunes on Facebook.com. To contact Dave directly, you can e-mail him at DAGtunes@gmail.com.
