David Lovering (born December 6, 1961) is an American musician and
magician. He is best known as the drummer for the
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band
Pixies
A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...
, which he joined in 1986. After the band's breakup in 1993, Lovering drummed with several other acts, including
The Martinis
The Martinis are a rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1993. The band consists of Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago and his wife Linda Mallari, both of Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** F ...
,
Cracker,
Nitzer Ebb
Nitzer Ebb () are a British EBM group formed in 1982 by Essex school friends Vaughan "Bon" Harris (programming, synthesizers, drums, vocals), Douglas McCarthy (vocals), and David Gooday (drums).
History
Initial releases (1983–1987)
The g ...
and
Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly (born July 14, 1966) is an American Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her step-sister Kristin Hersh. Donelly went on to co-form the alternative rock band ...
. He also pursued a magic career as the Scientific Phenomenalist, performing scientific and physics-based experiments on stage. When the Pixies reunited in 2004, Lovering returned as the band's drummer.
As a drummer Lovering was inspired by bands from a variety of genres, including
Rush and
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...
.
Biography
Youth and college
David Lovering was born in
Winchester, Massachusetts
Winchester is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) north of downtown Boston as part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. It is also one of the List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income, wealt ...
and grew up in
Burlington, Massachusetts
Burlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 26,377 at the 2020 census.
History
It is believed that Burlington takes its name from the English town of Bridlington, Yorkshire, but this has never b ...
. He learned to play drums during his teenage years and joined his high school's marching band.
[Mico, Ted. "Hispanic in the Streets". '']Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
''. September 1990. According to his friend John Murphy, Lovering was always very "drum oriented" in his musical taste.
[Frank, Ganz, 2005. p. 18] In his high school yearbook entry, Lovering stated his three main ambitions: to be in a rock band, to be an electrical engineer, and to tour with
Rush, his favorite band.
After graduating from high school, Lovering studied
electronic engineering
Electronics engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering which emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current ...
at the
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT) is a private institute of technology in Boston, Massachusetts. Wentworth was founded in 1904 and offers career-focused education through 21 bachelor's degree programs as well as 13 master's degrees.
Histo ...
in Boston. He got a job at a
Radio Shack
RadioShack, formerly RadioShack Corporation, is an American retailer founded in 1921.
At its peak in 1999, RadioShack operated over 8,000 worldwide stores named RadioShack or Tandy Electronics in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Austra ...
store with Murphy,
and the pair often played practical jokes while at work. One such incident involved Lovering wiring the store toilet to a fire alarm.
After graduating from Wentworth with an associate degree in 1985, he took a job building
laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
s, and continued to drum in local bands such as Iz Wizard and Riff Raff.
A number of different genres of music have influenced him, including bands
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...
,
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
, and
Devo
Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...
.
Pixies
On
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
1985, Lovering attended Murphy and
Kim Deal
Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was the bassist and the co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989.
Deal joined Pixies in January ...
's wedding service. In January 1986 Deal was hired to play bass in the newly formed Pixies, an
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band formed by
Charles "Black Francis" Thompson and
Joey Santiago
Joseph Alberto Santiago (born June 10, 1965) is a Filipino-American guitarist and composer. Active since 1986, Santiago is best known as the lead guitarist for the American alternative rock band Pixies. After the band's breakup in 1993, Santiag ...
. Murphy suggested that Lovering audition for the band – who were still without a drummer. Lovering had stopped drumming by this point and was at first unimpressed by the trio's performance of the band's songs. However, after playing along he agreed to join.
Lovering and the band wrote and rehearsed material throughout 1985 and 1986 and performed at small venues in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. The band decided to record 18 songs for
a demo tape in 1987. Lovering co-wrote one of the tape's songs, "Levitate Me" (his only major writing contribution to any Pixies song) and appeared on the cassette's front cover, jogging naked with his back turned to the camera. "Levitate Me" later appeared on the band's first release ''
Come on Pilgrim'', which included seven other songs taken from the demo tape.
The Pixies entered the studio again in 1988 to record their second album ''
Surfer Rosa
''Surfer Rosa'' is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in March 1988 on the British label 4AD. It was produced by Steve Albini. ''Surfer Rosa'' contains many of the elements of Pixies' earlier output, incl ...
''. Lovering's contribution on songs such as "Bone Machine" – which begins with a 10-second drum solo – "Break My Body" and "River Euphrates" established his steady, accurate style. ''
Doolittle'', the band's major label debut, followed in 1989. During the album's recording sessions, Thompson convinced Lovering to sing on "La La Love You", which had been written as a "dig at the very idea of a love song". The album's producer
Gil Norton
Gil Norton (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer known for his work with alternative rock bands such as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, The Distillers, Maxïmo ...
later said that during the sessions Lovering "went from not wanting to sing a note to 'I can't get him away from the microphone'. He was such a showman". In addition to drums and vocals, Lovering played bass guitar on the album's penultimate track, "Silver".
After the release of ''Doolittle'', the relationship between the band members became strained because of constant touring and the pressure of releasing three albums in two years. After the final date of the ''Doolittle'' "Fuck or Fight" tour in November 1989, the band was too exhausted to attend their end-of-tour party the following night and shortly afterwards announced a hiatus. After the band reconvened in mid-1990, Lovering moved to Los Angeles along with the rest of the band. The Pixies released two more albums, ''
Bossanova'' (1990) and ''
Trompe le Monde'' (1991). Lovering sang lead vocals on the "
Velouria
"Velouria" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, written and sung by the band's frontman Black Francis. "Velouria" was released as a single in July 1990 and was the band's first UK Top 40 hit. It was included as the third tra ...
" B-side "Make Believe"; a song about his admitted "obsession" with US singer-songwriter
Debbie Gibson
Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress.
Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...
. The Pixies toured sporadically throughout 1991 and 1992. They eventually broke up in 1992, mostly due to tensions between Thompson and Deal, although it was not publicly announced until 1993.
The Scientific Phenomenalist and other projects
Following the Pixies' breakup, Lovering drummed with several artists, including
Nitzer Ebb
Nitzer Ebb () are a British EBM group formed in 1982 by Essex school friends Vaughan "Bon" Harris (programming, synthesizers, drums, vocals), Douglas McCarthy (vocals), and David Gooday (drums).
History
Initial releases (1983–1987)
The g ...
, but turned down an invitation to join the
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
.
[Frank, Ganz, 2005. p. 183] Lovering then joined Santiago's band
The Martinis
The Martinis are a rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1993. The band consists of Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago and his wife Linda Mallari, both of Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** F ...
, appearing on their song "Free" on the soundtrack of ''
Empire Records
''Empire Records'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Allan Moyle, starring Anthony LaPaglia, Maxwell Caulfield, Debi Mazar, Rory Cochrane, Johnny Whitworth, Robin Tunney, Renée Zellweger, and Liv Tyler. The fil ...
''. However, he soon left the band to become a touring drummer for
Cracker. Lovering moved from band to band, drumming with
Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly (born July 14, 1966) is an American Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her step-sister Kristin Hersh. Donelly went on to co-form the alternative rock band ...
's group on 1997's ''
Lovesongs for Underdogs
''Lovesongs for Underdogs'' is the solo debut album by American singer Tanya Donelly, who had formerly recorded with Throwing Muses, The Breeders, and Belly. It was released on August 9, 1997. Two singles were released for promotion of the album. ...
'' and with Boston band Eeenie Meenie. After facing difficulty finding new work, Lovering gave up the drums and moved into a rented house that banned drumming.
Towards the end of the 1990s, Lovering's friend
Grant-Lee Phillips
Grant-Lee Phillips (born Bryan G. Phillips; September 1, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He led the group Grant Lee Buffalo in the 1990s, afterwards launching a solo career. He features as the town troubadour ...
took him to a magic convention. Lovering was very impressed by some of the illusions, and later said "I had to learn how to do it".
Mutual friend Carl Grasso invited them to a show at the
Magic Castle
The Magic Castle is a clubhouse for magicians and magic enthusiasts, as well as the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. It is in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California and it bills itself as "the most unusual private club in t ...
, a magic-oriented nightclub in Los Angeles.
There Lovering met
Possum Dixon
Possum Dixon was an American rock band, which existed between 1989 and 1999. Fronted by singer-songwriter and bassist Rob Zabrecky, the group's neo- new wave pop and post punk style first appeared among a string of early independently released 7&nb ...
frontman
Rob Zabrecky
Robert Zabrecky (born June 2, 1968, in Burbank, California) is an American actor, author, magician, and songwriter. His career began as a musician while being the front man for the band Possum Dixon. In the later years of his career, he has fo ...
, and the pair soon became friends. Zabrecky convinced Lovering to apply for a performers' membership to the Magic Castle.
After gaining his membership, Lovering reinvented himself as "The Scientific Phenomenalist". His act combined his electrical engineering knowledge with his stage performance experience. His decision to pursue a career in magic was influenced by the fact that as a musician, he "couldn't top the Pixies". Lovering elaborated: "When
ixiesbroke up
n 1993
N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...
it was traumatic because it was something I loved doing and it was suddenly gone. I didn’t know what I was going to do in that time off, so I picked magic. You’ve heard of the starving musician? Well, I was the dying magician, so it’s not the wisest career choice! But magic gave me confidence, because with the Pixies, I was behind three people and a drumkit, whereas when I did my first magic show in front of an audience of just six people, I could have wrung my shirt out with sweat!"
As the Scientific Phenomentalist, Lovering performs science and
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
experiments in a lab coat while on stage. He shuns traditional magic tricks, and prefers "things that are more mental, using mental powers".
He later explained: "It's all kind of upbeat, really weird physics experiments that you'll never see.
..I'd rather have them
he audiencegoing 'Is it
agicor isn't it?' rather than 'It's all science' or 'It's all magic'. So I do kinda weird things that other magicians don't do".
Lovering cites sleight-of-hand artist
Ricky Jay
Richard Jay Potash (June 26, 1946 – November 24, 2018) was an American stage magician, actor and writer. In a profile for ''The New Yorker'', Mark Singer called Jay "perhaps the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive". In addition to sleight ...
, mind reader
Max Maven
Max Maven (born Philip T. Goldstein; December 21, 1950 – November 1, 2022) was an American magician and mentalist whose performances were considered erudite and intelligent. He is ranked as one of the most influential mentalists of all time, a ...
and
Eugene Burger
Eugene Burger (June 1, 1939 – August 8, 2017) was an American magician. He was born in 1939 and was based in Chicago, Illinois. He was reputed for his close-up skills and his work in mentalism and bizarre magic.
Burger was also a philos ...
as influences on his technique.
His performances often involve intricate self-built machines.
Lovering became part of
The Unholy Three The Unholy Three can refer to the following:
* ''The Unholy Three'', a 1917 novel by Tod Robbins
* ''The Unholy Three'' (1925 film), directed by Tod Browning
* ''The Unholy Three'' (1930 film), a remake of the 1925 film directed by Jack Conway
* ...
, a trio of magicians that resides at the Magic Castle, and performs "a new wave, alternative, avant-garde kind of magic".
He toured his act across the United States as the opener for
Frank Black
Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Fo ...
(the new stage name of former Pixies bandmate Thompson),
[Frank, Ganz, 2005. p. 184] Grant-Lee Phillips,
the Breeders
The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson ...
and
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk, alternative country, and world music. The band init ...
. He performed his act at the
Shellac
Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...
-curated
All Tomorrow's Parties
"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''.
Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...
music festival in 2002. He later commented that his performance at the festival was "perhaps my greatest achievement".
Lovering resumed drumming, appearing at some
Frank Black and the Catholics
Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies (band), Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Bl ...
shows. He also appeared on one track of The Martinis' 2004 album ''
The Smitten Sessions''.
Pixies reunion
![David Lovering](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/David_Lovering.jpg)
By the summer of 2003, Lovering was feeling depressed.
In a 2004 interview, he commented: "I remember I was on the way to the bank, and I was just bummed out—everything, financially, was really a mess for me. I was involved in this relationship that was absolutely terrible. I was bottoming out. And I'm on the way to the bank and my cellphone rings. It's Joe
antiago he says, 'Guess what?'"
Santiago had just received a call from Thompson stating his desire to reunite the Pixies. Lovering was overjoyed at the news.
He added that "the saddest thing is that when I sat down to rehearse for the Pixies, I couldn't believe that I had given up something that I loved".
In 2004 Lovering and the band recorded their reunion single, "
Bam Thwok
"Bam Thwok" is a Music download, download-only single (music), single by the American alternative rock band the Pixies (band), Pixies. Written and sung by bassist Kim Deal, the song was released exclusively through the iTunes Store on June 15, 200 ...
".
Lovering appeared in the 2006 documentary ''loudQUIETloud'', which covered the Pixies' 2004 reunion tour. His father died midway during the tour, and Lovering began drinking heavily as a result. According to Thompson, Lovering "messed up a couple of songs" during a number of live shows.
"It was all caught on film", said Thompson, "but they re-edited this to look like it happened in the middle of our tour and it looked like this whole tour careened into this drunken stupor with David. It really wasn't like that at all".
He toured with the Pixies throughout 2005 and 2006, while performing at the Magic Castle on Friday nights with The Unholy Three. In 2007, Lovering played a benefit concert for
Wally Ingram
Wally Ingram is an American drummer and musician. He is most famous as a member of the band, Timbuk 3.
In recent years, he has toured with the multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, and released several records with him:
* 2000 : ''Twango Bango D ...
as part of The Martinis.
Later that year, he formed a new band called The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, with Los Angeles musicians Amit Itelman and Oscar Rey.
Discography
Pixies
* ''
Come on Pilgrim'' (1987)
* ''
Surfer Rosa
''Surfer Rosa'' is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in March 1988 on the British label 4AD. It was produced by Steve Albini. ''Surfer Rosa'' contains many of the elements of Pixies' earlier output, incl ...
'' (1988)
* ''
Doolittle'' (1989)
* ''
Bossanova'' (1990)
* ''
Trompe le Monde'' (1991)
* ''
Indie Cindy
''Indie Cindy'' is the fifth studio album by the American alternative rock band the Pixies. Released in April 2014, it was the band's first album since 1991's '' Trompe le Monde'', and the first Pixies album not to feature bass guitar player Kim D ...
'' (2014)
* ''
Head Carrier
''Head Carrier'' is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band the Pixies (band), Pixies, released on September 30, 2016 on Pixiesmusic and PIAS Recordings, PIAS. Produced by Tom Dalgety, and recorded at RAK Studios in London, t ...
'' (2016)
* ''
Beneath the Eyrie
''Beneath the Eyrie'' is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Pixies, released on September 13, 2019, by BMG/Infectious. Produced by Tom Dalgety, and preceded by the singles "On Graveyard Hill" and "Catfish Kate", the albu ...
'' (2019)
* ''
Doggerel
Doggerel, or doggrel, is poetry that is irregular in rhythm and in rhyme, often deliberately for burlesque or comic effect. Alternatively, it can mean verse which has a monotonous rhythm, easy rhyme, and cheap or trivial meaning. The word is deri ...
'' (2022)
With Tanya Donelly
* ''
Lovesongs for Underdogs
''Lovesongs for Underdogs'' is the solo debut album by American singer Tanya Donelly, who had formerly recorded with Throwing Muses, The Breeders, and Belly. It was released on August 9, 1997. Two singles were released for promotion of the album. ...
'' (1997)
With The Martinis
* ''
The Smitten Sessions'' (2004)
With The Everybody
* ''Avatar'' (2009)
References
* Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn. ''
Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies''.
Virgin Books
Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company.
History
Virgin established its book publishing arm ...
(2005).
* Sisario, Ben. (2006). ''Doolittle''. Continuum, 33⅓ series. .
Notes
External links
Official website4AD – Pixies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovering, David
1961 births
Living people
American magicians
American rock drummers
Pixies (band) members
People from Burlington, Massachusetts
American alternative rock musicians
Wentworth Institute of Technology alumni
Alternative rock drummers
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
Cracker (band) members