 The South African vocalist/guitarist
Dave Matthews formed
the Dave Matthews Band
in Virginia in the early '90s. Featuring
Dave Matthews, Stefan Lessard, Leroi Moore,
Boyd Tinsley, and
Carter Beauford, the group's music presents a more pop-oriented version of
the Grateful Dead crossed with the worldbeat explorations of
Paul Simon and
Sting. The band built up a strong word-of-mouth following in the early '90s
by touring the country constantly, concentrating on college campuses. In
addition to amassing a sizable following, their self-released album Remember Two
Things sold well for an independent release; soon, they were attracting the
attention of majors. Signing with RCA,
the Dave Matthews Band released their major-label debut, Under the Table and
Dreaming, in the fall of 1994. By spring of 1995, the record had launched the
hit single "What Would You Say" and sold over a million copies.
A year and a half after the release of Under the Table and Dreaming, the
record had sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone. In April of 1996,
the Dave Matthews Band released Crash, which entered the charts at number
two and quickly went platinum. Throughout 1996, the group toured behind Crash,
sending it to double-platinum status. Also in 1996,
Dave Matthews launched an attack on bootleggers in conjunction with the Federal
Government, targeting stores that were selling semi-legal discs of live
performances. The efforts of
Dave Matthews, his band, and his management resulted in an unprecedented
crackdown on bootleggers in early 1997 -- with nearly all of the major foreign
bootlegging companies placed under arrest by the United States -- thereby
putting a moratorium on the entire underground industry.
To further combat the bootleggers,
Dave Matthews released an official double-disc live album, Live at Red Rocks
8.15.95, in the fall of 1997. It was an unexpected success, debuting at number
three on the charts and selling a million copies within the first five months of
its release. The live record paved the way for the April 1998 release of Before
These Crowded Streets, the group's most ambitious album to date. Another live
effort, Listener Supported, followed a year later. Summer tours also packed the
late '90s, with sold-out shows across the U.S. The new millennium, however, saw
the band back in the studio with
Glen Ballard to record its fourth studio album -- Everyday, issued in
February 2001. Although popular, it was overshadowed by rumors of a darker album
recorded with Steve Lillywhite in 2000 but ultimately rejected; the band
eventually chose songs from the session, did some re-recording of others, and
released the results as in July 2002 as Busted Stuff. Its debut single, "Where
Are You Going," was also featured on the soundtrack to the
Adam Sandler flick Mr. Deeds.
In 2003,
Dave Matthews released his first solo album, the moody and brooding Some Devil. A
"Dave Matthews and Friends" tour followed -- his "friends" being
Trey Anastasio, Brady Blade,
Tony Hall, Ray Paczkowski, and
Tim Reynolds -- and the album's single, "Gravedigger," earned
Dave Matthews the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
The Dave Matthews Band was back on the road in 2004, and also released more
live material. They also joined
Bruce Springsteen's Vote for Change tour toward the end of the year, just as
their mail-order-only Dave Matthews Band Live Trax series debuted. In early 2005, they launched
a website that featured progress reports on their next album in the form of
video footage, diaries, and soundbites. When the flawed Stand Up finally
appeared in May, it was the band's first album of all-new material since 2001's
Everyday. Weekend on the Rocks, another live set, followed Stand Up at the end
of the year. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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