Dave Matthews Band, abbreviated DMB, is an American rock band that was formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. in 1991. The group's lyrical themes focus on topics ranging from God, love, sex, the enjoyment and appreciation of life, to ending racism, and political and anti-war statements. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was added to the band as a violinist soon after the band was formed. Moore died suddenly in August 2008 due to complications from injuries sustained in an ATV accident. Grammy Award-winner Jeff Coffin, of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, has since filled Moore's spot as the band's saxophonist. Rashawn Ross and Tim Reynolds have also become full-time touring members of the band. The band's 2009 album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (the first since Moore's death) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, giving the band their fifth consecutive number-one debut, making them the second band behind Metallica to do so. Their most recent album, Away from the World, was released in 2012, and also debuted at number one on the Billboard chart. As of 2010, the Dave Matthews Band has sold approximately 30 and 40 million records worldwide.
The band is known for their annual summer-long tours of the US and Europe, featuring lengthy improvisational renditions of their songs, accompanied by an elaborate video and lighting show. This portion of the tour has become a stamp of DMB and has grown with the band since Fenton Williams began in the early 1990s. After twenty consecutive years of touring the band announced that it would take the summer of 2011 off.
The band has won one Grammy Award, and was awarded the NAACP Chairman's Award. According to Julian Bond, "they sell out the largest arenas on Earth, but frequently give their music away."
Read more about Dave Matthews Band: History, Taping and Bootlegs, Warehouse, Philanthropic Efforts
Famous quotes containing the words matthews and/or band:
“I was supposed to retire when I was seventy-two years old, but I was seventy-seven when I retired. On my seventy-sixth birthday a lady had triplets. It was quite a birthday present.”
—Josephine Riley Matthews (b. 1897)
“And the heavy night hung dark
The hills and waters o’er,
When a band of exiles moored their bark
On the wild New England shore.”
—Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1783–1835)