Dave Dreiwitz (born January 2, 1966) is a multi-instrumentalist, best known as the bassist for the band
Ween
Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band are ...
since 1997.
Biography
Dave Dreiwitz was born on January 2, 1966, in New York City, New York to traditional jazz musician parents, Richard and Barbara Dreiwitz. His father plays trombone and his mother plays tuba. In 1983, at the age of seventeen, after a short time on trumpet in
Mod Fun
Mod Fun are an American power pop/garage punk band from New Jersey. Mod Fun were originally active in the early to mid-1980s, and played an integral part in New York City's burgeoning garage rock revival scene at the time. By mid 1986 they were ...
, Dreiwitz joined the
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
based
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
band
Tiny Lights
Tiny Lights was a music group formed by John Hamilton (guitar/vocals) and Donna Croughn (vocals/electric violin) in 1985. Original members include Dave Dreiwitz (bass/trumpet), Jane Scarpantoni (cello), John Mastro (drums). Based in Hoboken, Ne ...
, his first professional band out of high school. In 1986, while attending
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
in New Brunswick, New Jersey, he met fellow schoolmate and drummer Scott Byrne and through a love of similar music, they started the rock band Instant Death in 1991. Instant Death dissolved with the passing of Byrne in 2005.
In 1997, Dreiwitz joined
Ween
Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band are ...
.
Dreiwitz is also a member of
Joe Russo's Almost Dead
Joe Russo's Almost Dead is an American rock band formed in 2013 that mainly covers the music of the Grateful Dead. Formed by Furthur and Benevento/Russo Duo drummer Joe Russo, the band played their first show on January 26, 2013 at the Broo ...
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 ...
instrumental tribute band,
Bustle in Your Hedgerow
The Benevento/Russo Duo (or The Duo for short) is an alternative jazz/Rock music, rock band from New York City, featuring Marco Benevento on keyboard instruments and Joe Russo (musician), Joe Russo on drum kit, drums.
History
Benevento and Russo ...
. He occasionally plays bass with Chris Harford and the Band of Changes, Old Rugged Sauce as well as in his own drum and bass duo, Crescent Moon, which features Dreiwitz on bass and vocals alongside various guest drummers. Crescent Moon drummers have included
Claude Coleman
Claude Coleman Jr. is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock group Ween. He has also worked with Eagles of Death Metal, Chocolate Genius, the Wooden Soldiers, Elysian Fields and 3 Input Woman. As well as bein ...
of Ween,
Tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
from the
Sound of Urchin
The Sound of Urchin (Sound Of Urchin / SOU / TSOU / Urchin) is a musically diverse "outsider arena-rock" band from Brooklyn, New York and New Hope, Pennsylvania. SOU is known for their eclectic songs, for energetic, spontaneous live shows, and fo ...
,
Eric Slick
Eric Slick (born May 15, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter and drummer. He is the drummer of Dr. Dog, performing on their albums ''Shame, Shame'' (2010), ''Be The Void'' (2012), ''B-Room'' (2013), ''The Psychedelic Swamp'' (2016) ''Abandone ...
of
Dr. Dog
Dr. Dog is an American rock band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its lineup consists of Toby Leaman (bass guitar), Scott McMicken (lead guitar), Frank McElroy ( rhythm guitar), Zach Miller (keyboard), Eric Slick ( drums), an ...
Moistboyz
Moistboyz is an American hard rock band formed in New Hope, Pennsylvania in 1991 by Guy Heller and Mickey Melchiondo. Moistboyz music is typically fast-paced punk/metal, combining stream-of-consciousness lyrics with aggressive rock guitar riffs. ...
, The
Marco Benevento
Marco Benevento (born July 22, 1977) is an American pianist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who has been a fixture of the New York experimental music rock and jazz scene since 1999. He is the founder and recording e ...
Mark Mulcahy
Mark Mulcahy is an American musician and front-man for the New Haven, Connecticut-based band Miracle Legion. The band earned modest renown, especially in their native New England region, but disbanded after a sad turn of events with their recor ...
,
Russell Batiste
David Russell Batiste Jr. (born December 12, 1965 ) is an American drummer based in ,
Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...
,
Johnny Vidacovich
John Joseph Vidacovich Jr. (born June 27, 1949) is an American jazz drummer and a member of the band Astral Project with James Singleton, Tony Dagradi, and Steve Masakowski.
He has also worked with Bobby McFerrin, Stanton Moore, Charlie H ...
, Lunar Bear Ensemble with John Lunar Richey,
John Kruth
John Kruth is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist best known for his highly energetic “Banshee Mandolin” style of playing. He has also worked as a music journalist and has authored several book about popular music.
Biography
He is al ...
, Peter Stampfel of
The Holy Modal Rounders
The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who began performing together on the Lower East Side of New York City in the early 1960s. Their unique blend of folk music revival ...
, Fishermen's Stew,
Brook Benton
Benjamin Franklin Peay (September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988), better known as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960 ...
,
Hal Willner
Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...
,
Sam Shepard
Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...
,
John S. Hall
John S. Hall (born John Charles Hall, September 2, 1960) is an American poet, author, singer and lawyer perhaps best known for his work with King Missile, an avant-garde band that he co-founded in 1986 and has since led in various incarnations.
...
Robert Musso
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
Trio,
Clem Snide
Clem Snide is an alt-country band featuring Eef Barzelay (guitar, vocals), Brendan Fitzpatrick (bass) and Ben Martin (drums).
History
"Clem Snide" is a character in several novels by William S. Burroughs, including ''Naked Lunch'', ''The Ticket ...
,
Joan Osborne
Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...
and
Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. Sparklehorse was active from 1995 until Linkous' 2010 death. Prior to forming Sparklehorse, Linkous fronted local bands ...
.
Dreiwitz has played bass every year in the core band for
The Complete Last Waltz
The Complete Last Waltz is a live rock show put on bGolden Gate Presents including all 41 songs from the historic 1976 rock and roll concert The Last Waltz. Thirty eight musicians from current rock bands participated in the original presentation ...
annual rock concert performance since the inaugural show in 2012.
Equipment
*Fender Precision Bass
*Bass 1980
Rickenbacker 4001
The Rickenbacker 4001 is an electric bass that was manufactured by Rickenbacker as a two- pickup "deluxe" version of their first production bass, the single-pickup model 4000. This design, created by Roger Rossmeisl, was manufactured between 1 ...
*
Gibson EB-3
The Gibson EB-3 is an electric bass guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.
Origins and history
The Gibson EB-3 is a bass guitar introduced in 1961 and discontinued in 1979. It was produced at Gibson's plant in Kalamazoo, MI. It ...
*Rig
Gallien-Krueger
Gallien-Krueger, also referred to as 'GK' (as in their logo), is a manufacturer of bass amplifiers and speaker cabinets . The company is based in Stockton, California, and was founded in 1968.
History
Robert Gallien started his company, then ...
Ampeg SVT
The Ampeg SVT is a bass guitar amplifier designed by Bill Hughes and Roger Cox for Ampeg and introduced in 1969. The SVT is a stand-alone amplifier or "head" as opposed to a "combo" unit comprising amp and speaker(s) in one cabinet, and was capab ...
,
Ampeg
Ampeg is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers. Originally established in 1946 in Linden, New Jersey by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels as "Michael-Hull Electronic Labs," today Ampeg is part of the Yamaha Guitar Group. Although ...