I've been putting this off for the last few days, and I knew I wanted to write something about him, but I just couldn't really bring myself to do so.
Here he is when we were asked to play Paranoid Visions 40th anniversary last year, he was thrilled to be asked, and delighted to share the stage with them.
His Life
He was a carpenter by trade, and that job took him all over England, Ireland, and even America.
He spent most of his early life in London, and visiting family
in Dublin regularly. After a while of that, he took off, and landed in New York, where he spent 19 years, on a 6 month work visa.
Over there, he had worked, got plenty of people work when they arrived, and he suffered an accident on a building site, which resulted in some serious injuries, which basically left him unable to work.
The foreman refused to pay him his sick leave, and so, Dave sued the guy. Luckily he had a lot of friends who were able to help him out and support him throughout the process, and eventually the case was settled. After lawyers fee's, and paying back small lends and loans, he was left with $250,000, and he quickly put that money to work.
He opened a jet ski rentals business, called Daves Waves, and even got into stocks.
A friend told him that he should invest some of his money, and he figured it wasn't a bad idea. There were two choices, Superfast Internet, or Google.
Dave decided to go with Superfast Internet, because, "Google sounded like baby language to me, you know, Google Gaga, whereas Superfast Internet sounded more reliable."
Needless to say, he made the wrong choice. But, it wasn't something he bet himself up over, because to him, no choice was wrong or right, because every choice brought him to where he was at that moment in time.
Here's Dave's first song he wrote which was produced by many musical friends of his he had met and it's what kicked off 15 years worth of music and gigs.
Coming To Ireland
He met a lot of people from this neck of the woods and when he was deported from the states he found himself over here, with many of the people he met while in New York.
After writing his first song, he started to write a few more, and was offered his first chance to get up and play it live in a pub alongside a few friends of his.
On his way, he was nervous, and in his mind, he wondered if he could go through with getting up and playing it. So, he stopped, gathered his thoughts and said, "if you don't get up there and do this, just go back home and forget the whole thing."
He did get up and do it, and it's that night that kicked him into top gear, and made him seek out musicians to work with.
Through my mum, he met my dad, and from there the whole thing formed into what we all done together. It was an eclectic bunch of songs, which slowly formed the sound we had.
Many years later we produced 2 albums, and had a bunch more material that was unreleased. We supported some big bands, and played a hell of a lot of gigs. Each one was a celebration, and a stepping stone to the next. Even if we didn't play well, we still enjoyed ourselves and were excited for the next one.
Here's Dave, delighted with himself, and us, to be on stage at Rebellion Festival over in Black Pool.
He had a lot of friends the world over, and was the type of person you couldn't help but like. Dave wouldn't sugarcoat anything, and whether you were a prince, or a pauper, he would treat you with respect, and would be himself.
Thinking back on his life, and all the stories he told over the years, it just leaves me amazed. He honestly lived about 10 lives in one.
He'll be sorely missed by all of his family, friends, and band mates, and events won't be the same without him.
