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Hi. I am this site's host, Dinosaur
David B., the proverbial Dinosaur loose in the theme
park! Ultimately this section of the site will contain
sound clips of my music and information on my upcoming CD,
but until then, this is the place where I get to toot my
own horn and expound some loud, primitive and opinionated
Dinosaur thinking.
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How I got the Name
Dinosaur David B. The the proverbial Dinosaur loose in the theme
park!
More than anything else, this name came from going to jams
and being looked at like I was a freak because I wanted to
play loud, primitive rock-metal. I'd find guys with Stevie-Ray
hats, using these bluesy sweet tones wanting to play endless
1-4-5 blues progressions and Hey Joe, and I'd show
up with my T-Rex Driving a Steamroller tone, wondering
if anyone knew 16th Century Greensleeves or Electric
Funeral — and they never did. They didn't dislike
me or my playing, but they sure didn't "get" me either. I
sounded too loud when my amp was on 2! Some guys were even
ex-Dinosaurs — they knew where I was coming from, but they
told me, they don't play that way anymore. I'd come home
frustrated. My best friend said to me: Man, you can't jam
with normal people. You're a Dinosaur! They'll run screaming
from you! It was true. More importantly, it was a philosophy
I could embrace. If you can't beat 'em, EAT 'em! Heavy
boots of led, fills his victims full of dread, running as
fast as they can, Iron Man lives again. I started using
the name on web forums. Top
Dave's Excellent
Adventure
I became a musician in 1980, and I say musician because
I started on bass and was a bassist when I played professionally
(hard rock and metal). At the same time, I dablled with guitar
— playing anytime I could get my hands on one. If memory
serves, I bought my own first electric guitar around 1983.
I was always into guitar and guitar players even as
a bass player.
My band days ended back in 86. I've been playing guitar exclusively
since, but not regularly. I had laid off serious playing for
roughly 12 years. I'd pick it up every once in a while, but
I'd go through long periods — sometimes more than a year
— without playing. So when people ask me how long
I've been playing guitar, I don't have a easy answer for
that question.
I had really burned out on playing music and everything that
went with it. For me, the 90s was largely devoted growing
up and getting my life in order — going back to school,
getting a degree, finding a real career, getting married,
buying a house. It wasn't until I'd done all of these things
and felt settled down that I got the itch to play again.
And I hadn't played regularly for a long time. So when I
came back, I rededicated myself and set a simple goal: all
I wanted to do was improve as a player. I set limitations
on my re-involvement with guitar: I did NOT want the headaches
of being in a band. I did not want to gig. I didn't want any
of the frustrations involved in being a working musician again.
I wanted to have fun! Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?
To address the first part — improving —
I took some lessons to attack my weaknesses and started practicing.
I'd always considered myself a hacker and I wanted the get
beyond that level I'd been stuck at for a long time. I wasn't
bad, but I wasn't all that good either — though
my tone was always good! My best friend is fantastic player
and teacher. He gave me lots of great stuff to work on to
improve my playing. It was good. My playing improved.
Having fun proved MUCH harder. I would have been
totally content to just jam with people, and that's what I
initially set out to do. It turned out to be rather difficult.
I found jams, but most of them have been unsatisfying. I was
meeting nice people, but I was not meeting stimulating players.
I was meeting LOTS of beginners. I discovered that very few
players these days know how to jam in the traditional sense
of the word (i.e. making up a song on the spur of the moment
and taking it for a ride). If it's not a song they know, or
a 1-4-5 blues progression, they're largely lost. Worse, despite
the promised attendance, many times I'd go to these things
and there'd be no drummer and only 3 guitar players there
including me. It was that old frustration again. I put up
ads to try and organize my own jams. Never got enough response.
Finally, I bought a drum machine to jam with. It really helped
me improve my playing. Perhaps more importantly, it was an
enormous kick in my creativity. Songs started pouring out
of me. So many, in fact that I decided to pursue Home Recording
and make a CD of my own music. Funny, really. Something I
basically tripped over accidentally became the creative outlet
I'd been seeking. Recording my own songs had been the most
rewarding musical experience I have had to date. Top
Dave's Excellent
Adventure Part Two
Well, things were cruising along like that for a while. I
lived in a three bedroom house in the suburbs of Boston. I
had all my expensive gear, and my home studio and I was recording
my music. But the rest of my life was destructing. So after
several unhappy years, I finally decided to stop trying to
save a marriage that had gone bad, and I pulled the plug.
I changed everything about my life. And I do mean everything.
DRG has given me many positive experiences over the years.
I've made many friends, I've interviewed some of my favorite
players, and discussed lots of subjects with lots of people
and learned a lot about guitar from some great players. The
one thing I never expected, however, is that a guitar web
site would bring me the most amazing woman I ever met, and
that she would become my wife! Amy (the redhead in the photo
above) showed up at DRG right around the time I began divorcing
my first wife. When we figured out that we were meant to be
together, I left my life in Boston behind and moved to NYC
to be with her. We were married in 2005 and we've been living
happily ever after (in a small NYC apartment), ever since.
These days, my guitar playing consists of bringing a gig bag
and some pedals to some jams in the city. Most of my gear
(other than a few guitars) is in storage. My recording project
is on-hold indefinitely. And while I occasionally miss some
of those things, they had never made me truly happy when I
had them. They had just provided temporary distractions from
my unhappiness. So the tradeoff was a no-brainer. With Amy,
I'm finally happy, and enjoying my life in NYC tremendously.
My Guitar Influences
Mostly 70s hard rock and early 80s pre-Yngwie metal. Zeppelin, Purple/
Rainbow, Sabbath, Rush, Thin Lizzy. My favorite players and influences (for one
reason or another) are Gary Moore (circa 1978-90), Michael Schenker, John
Sykes, Ritchie Blackmore, Jeff Beck, and Wolf Hoffmann. Tony Iommi is a huge
influence on my songwriting. Top
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