About Me

First Name

Dave

Last Name

Flatpicking, Bluegrass, Blues, Discovering new music

Nickname

dj

Why I'm Here

I always thought my brother was the only one in the family who could play an instrument so I never really tried all that hard. I dabbled on the drums as a kid and took a dozen or so harmonica lessons when I was a teen as well. Nothing really stuck. I always though I was a music “listener”, not a player.

When we were younger, my wife and I went to several Strawberry Music Festivals @ Camp Mather in Yosemite NP. We danced and sang all weekend to some of the greatest bluegrass acts touring at the time. The energy at the festivals was so amazing and I miss it dearly. We settled down into careers and endurance sports (Ironman triathlon) which pretty much sucked up any available free time.

We lost our musical way.

Well that all changed when my amazing daughter arrived in 2012. From day one she loved music. Our love of bluegrass returned as we played and danced with our little one. I would sing her to sleep to the songs of The Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash and several other folk heroes.

In February 2016, on a whim, I purchased a Taylor 110 acoustic guitar and set about learning to play. I jumped in feet first with a teacher at the store where I bought the guitar. I’m a wheeler and dealer, making shopping on eBay a sort of sport. I parleyed my starter guitar through a series of deals into one hell of a nice guitar, a Taylor DN7 with an amazing sound.

In the summer of 2016 I slipped and fell while hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI). I was in pretty bad shape for about 6 months and had an irrational fear that I had forgotten how to play anything, so I let the guitar sit and mock me. Finally, in January of 2017 I asked my neurologist if I should bother trying to play again and he said YES. (He owns and plays 17 guitars!). It turns out I had some issues, but I had not forgotten nearly as much as I thought and now I’m on my way. I picked up a Yamaha LL6T for my office to make sure I had a guitar to practice on between conference calls and I also acquired a Washburn WCDM25SK travel guitar so I could take one on the road with me. Just a few weeks back, I picked up a nice electric so I can practice quietly while our daughter is asleep.

I hope to gain inspiration from tackling the TAC courses and I look forward to becoming a better player, for my own mental stimulation / brain healing, and for my daughter to enjoy.

We moved to Boise, Idaho in 2018 for a slower pace of life and lower cost of living. Found the music scene here hit and miss, but the vibe is pure and people are nice. Our new home has a backyard MADE for jamming and playing. Can’t wait to find fellow pickers here to form a jam group.

City

I want to be able to play for my little girl and instill the love of bluegrass and folk music in her.