Dave Goodman

Guitarist, singer and songwriter was born in Victoria B.C. Canada on March 28, 1965.

The youngest of seven children, he grew up in a musical household. Starting with the violin at age 12, he quickly changed over to the electric guitar taking private lessons and playing with his older brothers.

As a teenager, under the tutelage of West Coast guitarist Dave Vidal, he learned to play blues as well as guitar building and repair. From age 15-18 while still at home he became more and more interested in jazz and played together often with schoolmate and bandmate Miles Black. After graduating from highschool, Dave moved to Vancouver to study jazz at Vancouver College under Bruce Clausen.

The next few years found him playing all over Canada as well as in the U.S. including a house gig at the ‘Wave Waikiki’ where he hosted sessions with David Sanborn and Was Not Was. He also played in the bands of Canadian artists Neil James Harnett and Mark Hasselbach.

In 1990 Dave moved to Northern California where he became a fixture in the Bay Area blues scene playing together with guitarist Steve Kimock and singer Judge Murphy in the Goodman Murphy band. He also recorded for Blues Bureau International on CD#1 of a three CD set of Bay Area guitarists featuring Tommy Castro, Johnny Nitro, Garth Webber and Chris Cobb. Dave also played in trio formation with piano and organ player Stu Blank and drummer Ty Smith. It was with this trio that he had the honour of meeting and playing for John Lee Hooker who happened to walk into the South San Francisco club where they were playing. John Lee Hooker stayed and listened to a ninety minute set and then signed his name with a felt pen on the front of Dave’s Stratocastor. Dave laquered over the signature and it is still there today. It was one of the biggest honours and highest moments of his career he says.

Always staying interested in the technical side of music Dave became involved with the renowned California amplifier manufacturer Mesa Boogie in 1991. During his years with Mesa, he designed The Revolver, a rotating speaker system for guitar much like a ‘Leslie’ is for organ. Boogie licenced the speaker from him and put it into production in 1995. Carlos Santana bought the first two which Dave delivered to him personally- another very big honour and high point in his musical experiences.

During this period Dave toured Europe as a member of the Ford Blues Band. With the help of Patrick Ford he began to make contacts in Europe . Eventually he secured a management and a record deal first with Bear Family Records and later with CrossCut Records. Through this time Dave was still playing electric guitar in trio formation with Canadian drummer Aaron Anderson and Hawaiian bassist Billy Mendoza as the Dave Goodman Band. This band only recorded one CD, Live ‘96 was recorded at the Breminale Festival and was released on Bear Family Records (BCD 17009) that year.

In 1998 , ready for a change from living in California, Dave moved to Bremen, Germany. Wanting to make a musical change as well as doing some soul searching, he took a break from playing live and began playing fingerstyle acoustic guitar and writing songs in a more personal style. His first acoustic CD, Roadbook Rhymes (CrossCut Records CCD 12001) , a very intimate collection of original songs in a roots, singer songwriter style, was released in 2000 on Crosscut Records. It was mostly a solo recording with three songs in duo formation with guest guitarist from Switzerland, Hank Schizzoe.

His second acoustic CD, Rocks, Skies and Waters (CrossCut Records CCD 12007) was released in 2004. It is also a very personal collection of roots oriented original songs ranging from solo, to several instruments played by Dave, to trio performances featuring German drummer Oliver Spanuth and Russion acoustic bassist Paul Pastouchov. Both CDs received very positive critiques in Europe.

Since the release of ‘Rocks, Skies and Waters’ Dave has been touring regularly in Central and Eastern Europe both solo and in trio formation.

He is also staying busy with concerts and workshops organised by Yamaha such as the ‘2006 Summer Namm Show’ in Austin Texas, the ‘Frankfurt Music Messe’, and a U.K. tour along side Glenn Tilbrook and Antonio Forcione which took place in fall 2006.

Between touring Dave is also becoming more in demand as a producer.

In 2005 he co-produced an acoustic CD for French singer Fred Blondin, who composes for and tours with French star, Johnny Hallyday.

Dave Goodman’s live shows are high energy, and often humorous.

He takes his audience through an array of emotions with sensitive ballads, high powered blues with both funny and moving stories in between.

A top level guitarist and singer songwriter, Dave Goodman in concert is one not to miss.