Carter Beauford
Carter Beauford grew up in a household full of music. Everything from jazz, gospel, and to the Beatles was played.
For Carter Beauford, the drummer, it all started when he was three years old. His father was going to a Buddy Rich concert, but he couldn't find a babysitter for young Carter. His only solution was to take Carter with him. From the moment Carter laid eyes and ears upon Buddy Rich, he was enthralled and facinated with Rich.
After the concert, the young Carter took up drums and wanted to emulate Buddy Rich. I guess you could call Buddy Rich Carter's idol when he was a young lad. Upon hearing his son's playing, Carter's father was impressed and bought him a Roy Rogers drum kit made with paper heads and tin shells. This was all Carter needed. So thank Carter's father for bringing this wonderful drummer into the world!
During those young years, Carter's major influences were Tony Williams, Papa Joe Jones, and of course, Buddy Rich.
Throughtout his career, Carter has played with many different bands with various musical styles. Carter feels it is important to have an open mind musically and to expose oneself to different forms of music.
One band, besides the Dave Matthews Band, that Carter is very proud of was called, Secrets. This band played the Richmond, Virginia area and was composed of many talented musicians, including Carter on the drums. After this band dissolved, Carter went to California to try out for the Arsenio Hall show. For whatever reason, the Show didn't want Carter, so he moved back to Virginia; which is where the next chapter of his life starts...
The Origins of the Dave Matthews Band
Imagine a bar in Virginia, called Miller's. A jazz oriented bar where Carter played drums and Leroi Moore played the sax during frequent gigs. Look over to the bar and see a young waiter named Dave Matthews who appears interested in the music. This is where it all started...
After listening to Carter and Leroi, Dave approached the two with a demo tape of a few tunes. Both were impressed and felt they could add to this young man's music. Carter was especially impressed and thought Dave's music would be a new challenge.
They started rehersing in the basement of Carter's mother's house. After a few weeks, they all felt they needed a bass player. Enter Stefan Lessard. Even though Stefan was only 15 or 16 at the time, they all felt he was good enough for the part of bass player.
After a month or so of practicing, they felt they were ready to record. So the band headed into the studio to record these first few songs. Boyd Tinsley entered the picture after sitting in to play fiddle on Tripping Billies. Later he was persuaded to join the band permenantly.
The recording turned out to be a success. Both the band, friends, and family were impressed and they were encouraged to take this further and to where they exist now.
Source Name: Carter Beauford Fansite
Source Link: www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/9123/carterbeauford/pics.html
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