David Gould
David Gould was born in Hempstead, NY and grew up in Merrick. He studied trumpet from 2nd-8th grade and took up piano at 13. When he was 15, he picked up the electric bass. David spent most of his formative years listening to his parents records from the 1950's and the sounds of classic rock (Led Zep, The Beatles, The Who, Rolling Stones, etc.).
David studied at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he discovered the roots of funk in Sly and the Family Stone, Funkadelic, Herbie Hancock, and James Brown. He heard sounds that changed his life from John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Phish and Frank Zappa. Throughout college, David performed in many bands, including: Mission Impossible, Ryth McFeud, Uncle Chunk, and his senior-thesis project band: ibid and the Footnotes. He also produced rock opera productions of the Who's Tommy and Pink Floyd's The Wall that drew sell-out crowds in 1990-1991.
After college, he moved to Chicago then Boston to pursue music as a life and landed home in 1995 in Boston where he joined the 12-piece funk and soul group "The Crown Electric Company" (CEC). CEC performed around Massachusetts for 3 years during which time David also formed an offshoot group—an instrumental groove band "The Board of Education". It was in this group that he was dubbed David "Solid" Gould by saxophonist/flutist Ken Field.
The Board of Education started playing Thursday nights in the corner "Bakery" room at the Middle East (in the window) on Massachusetts Ave in Cambridge, MA in 1996. It became a great ritual for many and the 3-4 hour jam sessions were happening with many great musical guests. This ritual continued every Thursday night for the next 4 years. During this same time period, Gould discovered reggae music and started collecting and surrounding himself with this wonderfully meditative music. It became a dominant force in his life.
David also discovered music from Africa and Cuba that shifted his creative scope. The music of Fela Kuti, in particularly, provided tremendous inspiration. Other projects in Boston included creating and playing a new instrument called the "Bubbafone". David performed on the streets of Harvard Square with country-blues guitarist Ross Robinson as The Tahini Brothers. He also performed with the New Orleans Jazz Group Made in the Shade.
In 1997, David was approached by the band John Brown's Body (JBB) to fill the bass chair in the group. David left the Board of Ed (who continued to play every Thu night for another 3 years!!!!!) and went on the road with JBB for 5 years. JBB toured the country relentlessly, clocking in more than 700 shows between 1998 and 2001. They were signed to Shanachie Records in 1998 and released 3 CDs on this label. David can be heard on "Among Them"–1998, "This Day"–1999, and "Spirits All Around Us"–2001. David performed with JBB at great festivals such as "Reggae on the Rocks", "Sierra Nevada World Music Festival", "High Sierra Music Festival", "Berkshire Mountain Festival", "Bob Marley Music Festival", among others. JBB has shared the stage with Lauryn Hill, Erika Badu, Maceo Parker, Burning Spear, Israel Vibration, Lee "Scratch" Perry, John Medeski, Michael Franti, The Wailers, Morphine, and many others.
While in John Brown's Body, David explored the connections between roots reggae and the deep Hebrew melodies he heard growing up. The combination resonated deeply in his blood and out of this union was born the eclectic group Adonai and I (A&I). In 2001 David produced and released 2 records with this project: the self-titled debut "Adonai and I" on Itown Records and a dub remix "Adonai in Dub" on John Zorn's Tzadik Records. These CDs are available in stores throughout North America and Europe.
The group performs roots reggae and dub interpretations of Hebrew prayers, melodies, and psalms, as well as classic reggae gems. A&I is currently performing throughout the United States and is available for bookings.
David is currently living in the Ithaca, NY area and performing a locally on a regular basis as drummer for the 10-piece reggae band "The Millionaires of Love" and bassist for "Record New Highs" the bionic rhythm dance machine. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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