Dave Thompson was born in Sydney, Australia but has lived in North America for the past 6 years. Having been brought up in a less than musical family, (his step father was in the NSW Police Band) he started playing the guitar, bass and keyboards simultaneously around the time he was 15 years old.
He started playing professionally at the age of 16 (in a Top 40 band that toured Australia) and starting recording in studios as a session player at 17. As a multi-instrumentalist playing guitars, bass and keys, Dave has performed over 4,000 gigs touring in North America, Australia and Asia, playing with such diverse acts as the Australian Pink Floyd show, the Australian U2 show and countless top/cover bands.
He has played with members of Savage Garden, Jeff Martin from the Tea Party, and worked with the producers of the Mathew Good Band, The Salads, Dolores O'Riordan and Edwin to name a few. Dave joined Roadrunner/Universal rock band High Holy Days as bass player in the fall of 2004 and moved to guitar duties in July 2005, till Feb 2008 when he moved to Vancouver to attend acting school, and started pursuing acting professionally in 2009. Dave signed with the prestigious King Talent in Vancouver in Jan 2010.
Dave has remixed some amazing artists including Chris Vrenna (NIN),....He also released his first record with Halfahalo titled "The Thrashing Floor" where he produces, records, mixes, writes, sings, and performs just about everything on the record.
Aside from being a studio producer/remixer for Digital Underdog Productions (what he calls his "day job"), he spends time touring and recording with other bands and artists. Dave was on the "House Of Carter's" reality show as Leslie Carters' musical director and guitarist and recorded the new High Holy Days record in the UK. He recently created the induction music for the Canadian Olympic Committee and promo music for the FIFA U20 promo spots. Dave also produced Ben G's "Cut You In", which Ben won "Rock Artist of The Year" at the 2008 London Music Awards and Fan Favorite at the 2008 Jack Richardson Music Awards. Dave also creates theme music for TV shows seen across North America on Sportsnet and Fox among others.
Dave currently officially endorsers Mesa Boogie Amps, Music Man and Spector Basses, Firewire Strings, Dot On Shaft guitars and Levy's Leathers guitar straps. Dave is also a Gibson artist playing Gibson Guitars.
Dave started playing guitar, bass and keyboards all at once at the age of 15.
6 months later, Dave got the chance to tour Australia with a cover band, playing guitar and keyboards. "I could only play Jump by Van Halen and guitar solos in A when I first toured, and very badly at that". While Dave toured Australia for the next few years, he learnt from anyone who was willing to show him. He left the band in Darwin and met a guitarist/singer/songwriter who changed his life.
"His name was Mark Horan, he was a kiwi and he was the most amazing player and singer that I had ever seen. I knew I had to learn from him, his style, his feel was a mixture of soul, blues and funk. Mark was the artist I didn't know I wanted to be, so I joined his band playing bass".
After a year of extreme heat, jungle rot and many gigs, Dave returned to Brisbane, Australia, an accomplished touring musician, ready for the next challenge. Dave spent some time in studios working on projects for local artists, when a call came. It was the Pink Floyd Tribute Show, and they needed a bass player. Dave accepted the gig, and spent the next 6 months in rehearsals with just the drummer.
"The Pink Floyd Show gave me a new meaning of professionalism and attention to detail."
It was in the Pink Floyd Show where Dave first met a computer, the much loved Atari 1040ste running Notator, a sequencing program created by Emagic.
"This computer was rock solid, never missed a beat. I fell in love with the creation process, and started to slowly collect gear to build my own studio."
A short tour followed, again Dave looking for the next challenge...
Over the next few years Dave played in countless touring bands and worked in numerous studios with the likes of John Swan, Tanya Self, members of The Screaming Jets and Savage Garden, the producers of The Church and AC-DC to name a few.
"I realised early that I absolutely loved the creation process in and outside of the studio. Technology was moving pretty slow back then, so that gave me chance to really understand midi applications and sound. I never went to school for guitar, keys or bass, so I thought I could teach myself midi and sound design. I suppose it's not really something you decide. You just start fiddling with gear and next thing you know, it's 10 years later and you're still learning. I am sure that what I know about music could be learnt in about 6 months at school, but I found it so exciting to discover all of these things on my own, I didn't even think about it."
After a few short tours to Asia playing in dance/top40 acts, Dave was starting to get interested in electronica. "Back in the late 80's midi gear manufacturers were trying to reproduce organic instruments electronically, so I didn't really explore the unorganic side of electronica. I was too busy being dissapointed with sounds that were sub par. It's not that manufacturers weren't making great units, it was just that I was looking for the wrong sounds." With touring becoming less of a focus, Dave decide to start a recording studio in Brisbane, Australia.
"It was cool, because I had a great job at a music store where it was my job to read manuals and play with hi-tech music gear all day. This was the best learning curve, as I was forced to learn all aspects of music creation, design and application. It was just natural to utilize the knowledge not only for sales, but for the creation process itself."
Dave also came to the realization that if he wanted to make a name for himself, he would have to leave Australia and move to North America.
"North America offers the rest of the world a steady diet of TV programming and music, so I knew it was the best thing to pack up and move there."
With a mobile studio in tow, Dave moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1998.
"I didn't know a soul, but it was an amazing experience to be in a whole new world. Anyone who has done it will tell you that. The newness of everything, I saw opportunity everywhere, and I know this gave me an upper hand."
Dave quickly made contacts in Vancouver and was offered to audition for the Mathew Good Band, as a bass player, but declined."I didn't know who he was, and besides, I had just got here. I didn't want to take off on tour again so quickly."
As fate would have it, Dave worked on a project with Mathew Good's producer, John Shepp, as programmer, songwriter and musician. He also went on tour.
"In march of 1999, I decide to do a small tour up to Yellowknife with a band from Vancouver, just for experience. I came back and everything was gone. My studio was gone, I had no where to live. I was in a real bind, not knowing what to do, or who to call."
So for the next 18 months Dave spent time on the road with a band, while couch surfing in the down times off tour.
"It was definately an amazing experience not having a home, rarely having money etc. If it wasn't for a few special Canucks, I would of been in a whole lot of trouble. It's fine to be on holiday, but 18 months was a long time to be without a home. Touring was seasonal, due to the climate in Canada, so there was quite a bit of down time where I wasn't touring. I networked with the music industry using public access computers at the local library, building up contacts and talking to people. No one new that they were talking to a homeless individual with no money. It paid off though, as many contacts have now become either clients or friends."
In Jan 2001, Dave moved to Toronto, Canada ready for a new start.
"The drummer I had worked with on tour lived out there, so he paid my way out. It was a life and career saving move."
After a few months in southern Ontario, Dave met a TV producer/host Helen Stoumbos. It was through this contact that Dave met David Hastings, a studio owner in Guelph, Ontario, who was looking for a studio manager.
"I couldn't believe it. I had lost my studio 2 years ago and now I got to manage a recording studio with more gear than I had ever owned. I was blessed, and I owe it to the fact that I had acceptance for my hardships when they were upon me. I accepted that I was meant to learn about appreciation and respect, material things and their (lack of) real world value and plain old fashioned love." Dave managed Ignition Sound for 2 years before moving on.
Dave now owns his own production company Digital Underdog Productions. He also produces major label remixes for Promo Only for artists such as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Whitney Houston, Jessica Simpson, Janet Jackson and Sugar Ray to name a few.
"The production company offers many services applicable to the entertainment industry for clients at any level. From artists needing demos to companies that want a commercial shot, we do it all. My focus is still on creating music, and now remixing. I have been remixing for about 10 years, I just didn't really know what I was doing untill I got Logic Audio Platinum. This program is the great grandaddy of the humble Notator I used all those years ago. I know this program better than I know anyone, but I still have lots to learn. Remixing is so much fun and a creative outlet for me. You get to start with a superbly recorded foundation and basically use imagination to create an interpretation of that song. I love it, and I don't have to deal with 5 guys saying 'turn me up in the mix'!" says Dave.
Dave moved to Vancouver in 2008 to study acting with Mel Austen Tuck, Philip Granger, Brent Stait, Sid Kozak and Martin Cummins at New Image College of Fine Arts.
It really is only the beginning.....
