Dave Baksh (born 26 July 1980)
also known by his stage name Dave Brownsound, is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter best known as one of the guitarists of rock band
Sum 41
Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCas ...
. Baksh quit Sum 41 in 2006 (not counting a guest appearance on stage in 2008) to pursue his own career in his
heavy metal/
reggae project
Brown Brigade. He rejoined Sum 41 in 2015 and has released two subsequent studio albums with the band. He also plays guitar for
Organ Thieves, with two of his fellow Brown Brigade members and the Canadian
deathpunk four-piece Black Cat Attack. In 2019, Baksh co-founded the merchandise company Loud & Immortal.
Early life
Baksh is a native of
Ajax, Ontario
Ajax (; 2021 Canadian census, 2021 population: 126,666) is a town in Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham Region in Southern Ontario, Canada, located in the eastern part of the Greater Toronto Area.
The town is named for , a Royal Navy cruiser ...
, along with fellow
Sum 41
Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCas ...
bandmates
Jason McCaslin and
Steve Jocz. His ancestry is
Indo-Guyanese. In 2019 Baksh stated he was a fan of
English Premier League club
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
.
Career
Sum 41 (1998–2006; 2015–present)
Baksh joined Sum 41 as the third member in 1997, after
Deryck Whibley and
Steve Jocz formed the band in the summer of 1996. In addition to being the lead guitarist, Baksh also provided backing vocals. Baksh went by the name Pleasure in Sum 41's alter-ego band,
Pain for Pleasure. Baksh also goes by the names "Dave Brownsound" and "Hot Chocolate", playing off of his Indian heritage and
brown sound, the name Eddie Van Halen coined for his own guitar tone. He has stated his favorite Sum 41 songs are "Mr. Amsterdam," "Machine Gun," "Pain for Pleasure," and "The Bitter End", and his least favorite to play with the band is "
Pieces
Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess
* ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES
* P ...
".
On July 23, 2015, Sum 41 played their comeback show at the
Alternative Press Music Awards, which featured
DMC and Baksh himself as guests. On August 14, 2015, after rumors and speculation, it was announced that Baksh had officially returned to Sum 41, and would appear on the band's sixth studio album. The resulting album ''
13 Voices
''13 Voices'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian Rock music, rock band Sum 41, released on October 7, 2016. It is the first Sum 41 album to be released through independent label Hopeless Records after the band fulfilled their contract with majo ...
'' was released on October 7, 2016.
In 2019 during an interview with
Loudwire
''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...
, Baksh confirmed that he regretted leaving the band after hearing the band's fifth album ''Screaming Bloody Murder''.
Brown Brigade (2006–2008)
On May 11, 2006, Baksh announced in a statement through his management company that he was leaving Sum 41 for personal reasons. He explained that he could not keep trying to express himself through guitar skills without being a pain to the band. During the post-''Chuck'' hiatus, he decided it was time to move on from Sum 41 and to focus on his side project
Brown Brigade, his new band that he founded with his cousin Vaughn Lal and with which he currently plays lead guitar.
Brown Brigade's debut album ''
Into the Mouth of Badd(d)ness'' was released September 18, 2007, in Canada and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
only and became critically successful, even though it was not released widely in the US and have not brought the band any outside attention, the band still continues to tour Canada in support of the album.
Baksh stated that the band is currently working on new and experimental songs to be released for free on the band's website. The new songs, unlike the band's traditional music, would feature varied music such as
punk rock,
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
and
reggae and not
metal like the debut album.
In a show that took place on March 27, 2008, in
Toronto, Ontario, Baksh joined Sum 41 to play "Pain for Pleasure" at the end of the show. Some thought this was a hint of him returning to the band, however, Deryck Whibley said that Baksh's appearance was a one-off
cameo and that he would continue with Brown Brigade.
On September 12, 2008, Baksh announced on the Brown Brigade's
Myspace page that he would quit singing for the band, but would remain as the lead guitarist. The band was looking for a new lead singer to work on new material. On November 27, 2009, Baksh announced that due to his cousin
Vaughn Lal
Brown Brigade was a reggae-influenced heavy metal band created by Sum 41 guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh. The band's final lineup was Baksh (vocals, guitar), Vaughn Lal (bass guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Owens (drums), Chuck Coles (guita ...
's involvement in his business, they intended to keep
Brown Brigade strictly a studio act, releasing single songs and collaborating in the studio with many different artists, with a small chance of playing live. Baksh's main focus will be
Organ Thieves and Vaughn's main focus will be his new business.
Organ Thieves (2008–2015)
In mid-2008, Baksh started recording and producing his fellow
Brown Brigade member
Chuck Coles
Chuck Coles (also known as Chuut Coles) (born 20 March 1980 in Oshawa, Ontario) is a Canadian musician. He was the guitarist for heavy metal band Brown Brigade and the lead singer, guitarist, and "band leader" for the band The Organ Thieves. ...
' new project
Organ Thieves. By November 2008, Coles has asked Baksh to join the band for a few live shows, resulting in Baksh joining as a full-time member. He recorded the band's first EP ''
God's Favorite Sons
''God's Favorite Sons'' is the debut EP by Canadian hard rock band Organ Thieves (then known as The Organ Thieves), self-produced and released in March 2009.
The EP includes 5 first demo songs recorded by the band in Jesse Smith and Jason Bon ...
'' in January 2009. The EP was released for free on the band's Myspace page and was later released into physical copies in March 2009. On the same month, Baksh also joined Canadian
hardcore punk outfit
Blackjacket
''Vespula consobrina'', the blackjacket, is a species of stinging wasp in the family Vespidae.
References
Further reading
*
*
Vespidae
Articles created by Qbugbot
{{vespidae-stub ...
for a short UK tour.
In October 2009, Organ Thieves began pre-production for their first full-length studio album, with former longtime
Sum 41
Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCas ...
producer/manager
Greig Nori. Organ Thieves has since become Baksh's main focus as he intends to keep
Brown Brigade strictly a studio act.
On April 24, 2012, their first full-length studio album, ''
Somewhere Between Free Men and Slaves'', was released through
MapleMusic Recordings.
Equipment
He generally plays a
Paul Reed Smith McCarty Double Cut Solid body, but he also plays Paul Reed Smith Single Cuts and
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...
s and also a
Gibson Explorer Studio (Alpine White). He uses
Dean Markley
Dean Markley Strings is an American company that manufactures musical instrument-related products, primarily strings for acoustic and electric guitars, classical guitars, and bass guitars. The company also produces pick ups, amplifiers, and ...
strings. For his pedals, he uses
MXR Effects, a
Digitech Whammy, and
Dunlop wah Pedals. He uses
Marshall Amplification
Marshall is a British company that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, speaker cabinets, brands personal headphones and earphones, drums and bongos. The company also owns a record label called Marshall Records. It was founded in London ...
.
Discography
With
Sum 41
Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCas ...
* ''
Half Hour of Power'' (2000)
* ''
All Killer No Filler'' (2001)
* ''
Does This Look Infected?
''Does This Look Infected?'' is the second studio album by Canadian rock band Sum 41. It was released on November 26, 2002.
It is their only album to feature a Parental Advisory label on the cover, despite the fact that other albums by the band ...
'' (2002)
* ''
Chuck'' (2004)
* ''
13 Voices
''13 Voices'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian Rock music, rock band Sum 41, released on October 7, 2016. It is the first Sum 41 album to be released through independent label Hopeless Records after the band fulfilled their contract with majo ...
'' (2016)
* ''
Order in Decline
''Order in Decline'' is the seventh studio album by Canadian Rock music, rock band Sum 41. It was released on July 19, 2019, by Hopeless Records. The band released the lead single "Out for Blood (song), Out for Blood" on April 24, 2019. The second ...
'' (2019)
* ''Heaven and Hell'' (TBA)
With
Brown Brigade
* ''
Appetizer for Destruction'' (EP) (2006)
* ''
Into the Mouth of Badd(d)ness'' (2007)
With
Organ Thieves
* ''
God's Favorite Sons
''God's Favorite Sons'' is the debut EP by Canadian hard rock band Organ Thieves (then known as The Organ Thieves), self-produced and released in March 2009.
The EP includes 5 first demo songs recorded by the band in Jesse Smith and Jason Bon ...
'' (EP) (2009)
* ''
Somewhere Between Free Men and Slaves'' (2012)
With Black Cat Attack
* ''Brightside of the Moon'' (EP) (2014)
* ''Edraculation'' (2016)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baksh, Dave
Brown Brigade members
Canadian musicians of Indian descent
Canadian people of Guyanese descent
Canadian people of Indian descent
Canadian punk rock guitarists
Indo-Guyanese people
Lead guitarists
Living people
People from Ajax, Ontario
Sum 41 members
1980 births