David is a singer-songwriter who draws on pop, punk, country, jazz, blues–and folk certainly. His melodies, while sometimes unpredictable, are also catchy. His innovative lyrics are raw, poetic,  moving, and at times funny. So much of his language is new and fresh. In three verses he can spin a story with twists and turns—and with characters for whom we feel genuine compassion. His music both captivates and disrupts our expectations. He gives voice to those who have not typically had a voice in pop music, those who suffer from addiction, those who through choice or circumstance might not be afforded the advantages and privileges of mainstream society. He is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, having been out for fifty years. Three decades ago, The Squealer wrote that David delivers “songs sung by a man to other men with no explanation or apology. His is a world rich in loss, survival, and redemption wrought through artistry, sensitivity, and humor.”

The lean, intimate folk arrangements of his first album, All the Deals You Done, showcase the songs’ themes of loneliness, identity and redemption. These arrangements allow the lyrics and his “rich baritone voice” to take center stage. On his second album, Arrivederci Baby Ciao, new wave meets folk, and the songs’ lighter, faster beats underline the humor and wit of the songs, allowing his pop sensibilities to shine through. His language becomes looser with an increasing focus on the colloquial. His third and fourth albums, Prettiest Girl in the Bar and Leaving the Party Alone (recorded during the same time period) present more layered, complex musical arrangements and a wider array of themes and topics, from a homeless gay kid’s space travels to a handyman enjoying the hot monks at a Buddhist monastery. The richer arrangements are made possible, in part, due to a number of top-tier Milwaukee musicians joining David in the studio. His fifth album Dope presents an exploration of love between men in the face of addiction and challenges both mundane and harrowing. Many of the musicians that worked on his previous two albums return, as well as a few more. The collaboration among these musicians allows Dope to be his most adventurous album yet, with strings, horns, an array of guitars and keyboards, gorgeous harmonies. David’s most recent project, a six-song EP entitled Almost a Man, is currently being released online, one song per month over a half-year period.

Over the years, artists who have served as inspiration for David are Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Ani DiFranco, Paul Simon, Sam Cooke, Dave Van Ronk, Billie Holiday, Tom Waits, Phoebe Bridgers, and Dan Reeder, among so many others. Praise for David’s work, along with an acknowledgment of his influences, comes from the After Hours Radio Show (90.1 FM, KPFT, Houston TX):“David’s music amazes—lyrically, sonically. He is a rare artist, the love child of Morrissey and Ani Difranco!”  The remarkable, prolific singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey commented that, “David has style! I love his vibrato, his falsetto.I love how his voice can go from gravelly to nearly operatic.  A singular voice!”

David was born in Omaha, and as a child he lived in Des Moines and Chicago. His family moved north to Milwaukee when he was in high school.  After graduating from high school he moved to Paris where he lived for a year before coming back to Milwaukee for college. At the age of twenty-five he went to teach in Lyon, France. After coming back to the States he moved to New York. Love brought him back to Milwaukee, and since then he stayed in Milwaukee, spending a lot of time in Phoenix as well for a while. Now it’s pretty much Milwaukee, where he lives with his husband Gabriel.