David J. Irvine

David J. Irvine is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist in the located in Sarasota, FL. Primarily playing and composing on guitar and piano, his songs vary from acoustic alternative to 7-String electric guitar where he is comping the bass lines, chords and singing, to piano tunes that echo Queen, The Beatles, Sting, Foo Fighters and late 19th century french composers such as Debussy and Ravel mixed with his unique voicings. Live shows consist of switching between those instruments and depending on the line-up of the show, he may have a violinist, cellist and percussionist or a full traditional rock band configuration, or just himself on a solo gig. "I love doing solo piano gigs and just showing up at a place with a house piano. It's so much fun to exercise that side of my playing and I love not having to lug around a bunch of gear!" His music isn't about living it up and partying. It's cerebral. Listeners are taken in. "I try to bring others into my head and heart. I'm just writing what I enjoy and if others do too, then that's a bonus."

He started playing piano at age 5, guitar at age 8, and worked a paper route to save and buy a beautiful Kamaka ukelele (which he still owns!) when living in Hawaii at age 9. "We all would be at school out in the playground area huddled in groups of 3 or 4 playing our ukeleles and singing songs. That's how it was in Hawaii." David didn't get serious about guitar until age 14 when he fell in love with the electric guitar and discovered Jeff Beck through a high school friend. "I remember when I was 15 and my family had rented this scary Amityville-Horror-style house in Mountainside, NJ. It was perched above the 7-Eleven right downtown and actually was named 'High Point' by the local residents as it had quite a history. My bedroom was literally in the living room! My Dad would tell me to stop playing guitar and go to bed and my Mom would come down after he was asleep to tell me that I could continue to practice. That was great! I remember putting in 8-12 hour days of playing back then. I was pouring over every lick on Beck's 'Blow By Blow' album."