8-string guitarist Dave Wood has been a busy participant in the New York City music scene for over six years. Dave was featured in the August 2004 issue of Electronic Musician Magazine which prompted him to relocate to Los Angeles. Dave actively performs with several artists including rock/r&b vocalist extraordinaire Ezina Moore, Daniel Kelly’s ‘Duets with Ghosts’ which combines jazz/improvised material with pre-recorded sound clips, singer/songwriter and Indymusic.com’s grand prize winner Greta Gertler, three separate ensembles with award winning vibraphonist Nick Mancini, ambient/improvised/textural music with Liquid Ensemble, and with minimalist/classical composer Chris Woltmann. Performing with such a wide variety of groups has given him the chance to perform at nearly all premier New York City venues.
Born in Fairmont, West Virginia on August 3rd, 1972, Dave immediately hit the road throughout his childhood living in Knoxville TN, West Palm Beach FL, Antioch IL, and Libertyville Illinois where he first began guitar instruction under Gary Bitner. During his junior year in high school, Dave moved to Springfield Missouri to begin his jazz training with Richard Bruton and Johnny Strickler. It was here that he decided to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied and performed with some of the top musicians in the world. He was awarded with a scholarship for his arrangement of ‘Liturgical Dances’ by David Holsinger. While at Berklee, he studied with John Pezanelli, Garrison Fewell and Jon Damian. Performances with current drummer for the Pat Metheny Group, Antonio Sanchez.
After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1995, Dave led three groups performing original compositions and arrangements throughout the Midwest. Working with the great pianist Steve Bach (S.Clarke, C.Corea) which led to opening appearances for Stanley Jordan/Ramsey Lewis at numerous Jazz festivals. Recordings made at Ardent Studios (Memphis) with Pete Matthews (Evanescence producer) with his group ‘The Groove Tube’ still receive radio airtime throughout the country. Dave began his endorsement deal with custom guitar manufacturer Bill Conklin of Conklin Guitars. To this day he performs with custom made 8 & 6 string guitars.
Moving to New York City in 1998 he continued to perform in a wide variety of groups ranging from pop to experimental. Dave shared the stage with Norah Jones, Daniel Kelly, Ezina Moore, Greta Gertler, Nick Mancini and more. Doing freelance work allowed Dave to record at several prestigious New York recording studios and dive into producing and engineering his first self-produced album recorded in his custom built studio. In 2003, Dave launched ‘Music Evolutions Incorporated’ to streamline his music ventures including studio work, teaching and performance arrangements. Fall of 2004 saw the introduction of his long awaited guitar instructional book ‘The Secret Guitar Method’ available through Music Evolutions Publications.