THE SOLO CAREER
As you can tell, this site is devoted to the solo career of singer/songwriter David Usher. Between recording Creature and Mercedes Five and Dime with Moist, the simplistic, organic sounding Little Songs was released much to my surprise and excitement. The best part of this record was that it was completely different from Moist and showed a different, gentler and darker side to David Usher. Recorded in David's kitchen in three, 10-day stretches, the album shines in its acoustic simplicty. Forestfire and St. Lawrence River are prime examples of its quiet sencerity and beauty. Trumpets and soft keyboards make its sound even more memorable.
Always the one to keep himself busy, Morning Orbit was just released on July 24, 2001. The disc has more edge and heavy guitars, but still has the characteristic darkness from its predecessor. Black Black Heart screams with anger, while David continues to reveal himself through the keyboard-laden My Way Out and Blinded. Moist had a much larger impact on this record, with bassist Jeff Pearce helping produce six tracks and guitarist Mark Makoway five. Alone in the Universe could be easily mistaken for Moist, but the disc still maintains a David Usher feel. Best of all, David will be doing a tour for the record!
MOIST
Like most, my first exposure to David Usher was through his highly successful Canadian band, Moist. Moist formed in 1993 and quickly began their rocking ways in 1994 with Silver. Push was a HUGE song in Canada, but the band proved they were much more than one-hit wonders. The moody and painful classics like Silver and Low Low Low, along with the edgy Machine Push Through, were just a taste of things to come.
In 1997, Creature was released, by far my favourite Moist album. Resurrection and Tangerine showed they could still rock out, but songs like Leave It Alone and Creature are the true gems in my opinion. They proved the seemingly fluid mix of rock and emotions that Usher and the band had perfected.
The band's third disc, Mercedes Five and Dime, released in 1999, is a lighter, electronic diversion. Underground and Tonight are my favourites. Although it's safe to say that this album is a big disappointment from the previous two, you have to give credit to the band for diverging from the easy road to succes and making an album they were happy with.
THE MAN
David was born in Oxford, England on April 24, 1966. His family traveled extensively in Thailand and settled in Kingston, Ontario when he was 3. In his college years, David wound up at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver majoring in poli-sci. His degree would later influence his music career, as political themes (and big words) are a big part of his writing. He and his fellow bandmates now reside in Montreal.
David got married (sorry girls) in 1997 to Sabrina, his long time girlfriend and a model from New York.
OTHER NEAT STUFF
¬ Before Moist, David was in a rap band! They were called True Hype Crew. ¬ Nickname: Hollywood, Monkeyboy ¬ Little Songs was written while on tour with Moist on a $70 plywood Yamaha acoustic guitar. ¬ While in Thailand, David was once bitten by a shark! ¬ David is the only member of Moist who doesn't smoke.
Source: http://www.d.usher.com
