David Schulthise (September 16, 1956 – March 10, 2004), also known as Dave Blood, was the
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
ist for the
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band
The Dead Milkmen
The Dead Milkmen is an American punk rock band formed in 1983 in Philadelphia. Their original lineup consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Rodney Linderman ("Rodney Anonymous"), guitarist and vocalist Joe Genaro ("Joe Jack Talcum"), bassist Da ...
. Schulthise was born in
Ridley Park, Pennsylvania
Ridley Park is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 7,002 at the 2010 census. Ridley Park is the home of The Boeing Company's CH-47 Chinook helicopter division.
History
Native American
The Lenape inhabited the Del ...
. He helped form the band in 1983 along with fellow pseudonymous musicians
Joe Jack Talcum,
Dean Clean, and
Rodney Anonymous
Rodney Linderman (born 21 May 1963), also known by his stage name Rodney Anonymous, is an American musician, journalist, and humorist currently based in Philadelphia. He is best known as the lead vocalist, keyboardist and co-songwriter of the ...
. Prior to this he was a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
candidate in
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
at
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...
.
He stopped playing music in 1995 after the band broke up as the result of developing
tendinitis
Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elbo ...
in both hands.
Schulthise visited Yugoslavia while on tour with the Milkmen and became fascinated with Serbia, its culture and people. After the band disbanded, he enrolled at
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
to study Serbo-Croatian language, literature, and history. He moved to
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
for work and study in 1998, but in the wake of the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
bombing campaign there he was forced to return to the US.
In late 2003, he told an interviewer that his favorite bassists were
Mike Mills
Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., h ...
(
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
), Johnny Gayden (
Albert Collins
Albert Gene Drewery, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993),Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. ...
Band) and
Charles Mingus.
Schulthise died by suicide from a drug overdose
on March 10, 2004, at age 47.
References
1956 births
2004 suicides
American punk rock bass guitarists
Purdue University alumni
Temple University alumni
Suicides in New York (state)
The Dead Milkmen members
20th-century American bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
20th-century American male musicians
Ridley High School alumni
2004 deaths
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