About Me
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davesolzberg.com
The Dave Solzberg Story
Dave Solzberg began playing music over 25 years ago. Originally from Roslyn, New York, he began playing saxophone at age 8. Having played alto, tenor, and then baritone, he finally settled down on tenor. However, his desire to play music began at an even earlier age. It was sometime in late '77, and Dave was hanging at his bro's pad (...hanging with your bros is what you did at age 6 in 1977). Well, somewhere in between playing with Star Wars action figures and playing Combat on Atari, his buddy's older brother came home with Yes's album Fragile. His brother was 10 years older than both of them, and he was one of those crazy, insane audiofile types (he was a Trekkie too...but, I digress). Anyway, he had just recently gotten a new stereo system. I'm not sure what kind, but it had one of those huge dials that adjusted the radio stations, and it was super high powered. He wanted desperately to show them how "cool" his new stereo was, so he played the first cut of Yes's Fragile, which was "Roundabout". He played it so loud, that it actually vibrated 2 light bulb cans out of the ceiling, showering sheetrock dust on all 3 of them. While a little dazed, and covered in white "ceiling powder," Dave approached his buddy's brother and asked, "What's that really low thing that's going really fast? I wanna do that!!!"
The rest is history....
Dave actually began as a guitar player (would you imagine that...a guitar player turned bass player...), yet most of his guitar playing was rooted in bass. Unlike most guitar-turned-bass players, his guitar playing sounded like a bass player playing guitar, and not vice-versa. In his first professional group (his first paid gig was at age 13), the group had 3 guitar players and a drummer. A friend of the group had a bass and an amp, but didn't play, and loaned the gear to Dave's group. Everyone in the group wanted to play the guitar so they all compromised and decided that, as a gimmick, they would all switch off on bass, and actually switch instruments in the middle of songs. Thus, while still considering himself a guitar player, the foundation for Dave as a bass player was firmly established.
By the time college rolled around, Dave enrolled as a Pre-Med student (biology), and music took a back seat. Getting fed up with the school thing, Dave left and traveled the country on a motorcycle for quite some time; just his bike, his backpack, and himself. This is when his thoughts, desires, and passions really began to solidify. It was one night at a hostel in Moab, Utah that it really sunk in.
It was after dinner, and everyone in the hostel was just sitting down talking; people from all around the world. Just talking...communicating. However, a number of the hostellers did not speak English. Dave, while watching all the interactions, began strumming a guitar that was sitting in the corner of the hostel. Not really strumming much of anything in particular, it was just nice relaxing background sounds to most of the people. As Dave continued strumming away, somebody began tapping the side of their chair with a fork, or something. Someone else found a set of bongos in the corner...and then...it seemed like all of a sudden...all 25 or so people were making music. It was as if everyone was communicating through their own language, yet everyone understood each other. At that moment, Dave decided that music was to no longer take back seat to ANYTHING.
Eventually returning to school in New York, he almost instantly found himself a music group. The group needed a bass player, not a guitar player. Knowing how to play bass, he joined. Within weeks, he was gigging about 5 times a week, making decent cash, and classes took a very definite second call to his music. Dave was the youngest member of that group, and in the next few months, the group was moving to Colorado, and asked Dave if he wanted to go. Again, Dave left school. This time to follow music...and his dreams.
Dave came to the Colorado mountains in 93 in search of a new scene. Gigging, recording, and touring with various groups, he began to feel musically stifled. In '95 he moved to the small, little mountain town of Nederland, CO. Still musically freelancing, he got a very high profile New Years gig in '95-'96.
He blew it...BAD.
After the gig that evening...or morning...(it was 4am), he decided to return to school. However, this time for his passion...music. He wanted to know everything about his instrument, and everything about music. Mainly, he wanted to never, ever blow a gig again....
Dave has since received both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Music Performance.
Feeling the never-ending expanse of the mountains, as well as the artistic and creative atmosphere that Colorado (and especially Nederland) had created for him, he had been freelancing throughout the entire time in school, sharpening his craft to a fine point, as well as making, and maintaining the contacts to ensure a fruitful and creative musical career.
Coming from an broad musical background, and adding the extensive musical study, Dave is a true "real world" musician. Being a doubler (playing both upright and electric basses), Dave is as at home on a jazz gig, as he is on a country gig; hip hop to blues, salsa to funk, reggae to fusion, folk to metal, bluegrass to swing to free...and so on.
Now for some token name-dropping....
Dave has worked with some of the best in the business. As well as his solo projects (The PumpWerks, and various Dave Solzberg Jazz groups (duo's on up)), he has shared the stage and/or worked with members of Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain String Band, Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead...), De La Soul, Joan Osbourne, moe., Myron Dove (Santana), The Derek Trucks Band, Keller Williams, The Tony Furtado Band, The Motet, Robert Bradleys Blackwater Surprise, Cracker, Bobby Rush, Swingset, Ross Martin, Blackdog, Runaway Truck Ramp, Liquid Soul, Everything, Vinyl, Fat Mama, Salem, Breakfast for Supper, Fireweed, Butterhead, Melissa Reaves, Legba, Tony Levin, Duke Robbilard, Koko Robocheaux, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, The Mercury Project, 4th. Chair, Sugar in the Raw, New Nations Gospel Choir Praise Team, Cecil P-Nut Daniels, Shanti Groove, The Funky Babylonians, Soul Reclusion, Yo Flaco, Payne & Trouble, Jyemo, Full Belly, Nederland Acid Jazz, 2nd Sound, The Peneplain Jazz Project, The Jerry Weiss Trio, The E-Tones, Armando Zuppas Kitchen (New Country Kitchen), Heavy G. and The Boogaloo Communicators, Onda, The United Dope Front, The Chronophonic, Beto Hale, The Boulevards, Chris Klein, The Peaceful Warriors, Chris Daniel's and the Kings, The Psychodelic Zombies, On Air, Liquid Playground, Paul Potyen (jazz legend), Kizumba, Gypsy Mandolin, Rue, Chris Lacinak, The Ethereal Plane, Sol & Swift, Maggie Brown (Oscar Brown's daughter), Destination Freedom...Black Radio Days (Live Radio Show), The Roneeka Cox Trio, The Jarad Astin Trio, Dan Walker and the Sky,and the list goes on.
He records frequently for Cuzone Records, Artist Accelerated, LLC., and PumpWerks Productions (his own label), and is called upon for sessions at HOG Studios, Schoolhouse Productions, Colorado Sound, Time Capsule, Dog House Music, Sound Planet, Lamont Music Studio, and Immersive Studios., as well as many in-house home studios. Dave also has many radio and television jingles to his name. He is director of Rock-n-Roll Teen Camp and Rock-n-Roll Adult Fantasy Camp at Dog House Music. He has been a private bass instructor/music educator for over twelve years.
