David Kerman (born August 24, 1959), better known as Dave Kerman, is an American

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

drummer and composer, best known as the founder and member of the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

5uu's. He is also a member of the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

band Present and the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

band Ahvak. Kerman has been a member of the United States bands U Totem and

Thinking Plague Thinking Plague is an American avant-garde progressive rock group founded in 1982 by guitarist/composer Mike Johnson and bass guitarist/drummer Bob Drake. Based in Denver, Colorado, the band has been active off and on since 1982, taking on a ...

, and the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

band

Blast Blast or The Blast may refer to: *Explosion, a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner *Detonation, an exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front Film * ''Blast'' (1997 film), ...

. He has collaborated with several musicians, including Bob Drake,

Chris Cutler Chris Cutler (born 4 January 1947) is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, ...

and Fred Frith. Kerman lived in Israel between 2000 and 2003 and holds dual American and Israeli citizenship. He established RēR USA in 2003, the North American distributor of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

independent record label,

Recommended Records Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected mus ...

, and RēR USA's own record label, AD Hoc Records in 2006.

Biography

Dave Kerman was born in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...

, south of

. At the age of six he started playing with the drum sticks, and at nine he auditioned for a percussionist in his school band. In spite of failing the audition, Grateful Dead keyboardist

Keith Godchaux Keith Richard Godchaux (July 19, 1948 – July 23, 1980) was a pianist best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead from 1971 to 1979. Biography Godchaux was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Concord, California ...

, family friend and neighbor, recognised potential in Kerman and suggested to Kerman's parents that they buy him a set of drums. Kerman's first public performance was at the age of 10 with a band of his that he had entered in a local talent contest. In high school, Kerman formed a

garage band Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

with guitarist Greg Conway and bassist Jon Beck. They began as a

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. ...

playing a mixture of Deep Purple,

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

and Lynyrd Skynyrd songs but soon switched to experimenting with noise music. Kerman also modified his drum kit to extend its capabilities, including adding telescoping metal tubing that changed pitch (made from old

fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which ha ...

s), and stringing the bass drum shell with heavy-gauge strings that produced an un-tuned

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...

sound. He also started using a variety of objects to strike his drum kit with, including kitchen utensils, golf clubs and Barbie dolls. In 1976 Kerman's band named themselves "Farmer Fred Genuflects to A-440" and played at a Greenpeace Festival in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. While their performance did not go down very well, one concert goer recognised potential and suggested they listen to

Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...

and

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

. These new influences prompted Kerman to begin exploring new compositional techniques and he started writing experimental songs for his band. Even though Kerman was a drummer, he taught himself guitar and keyboards to compose on. After finishing school, Kerman attended

California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

where he studied

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and contemporary music under professors Marshall Bialosky and David Champion. At the time he also studied audio engineering at the Sound-Master Institute with Brian Ingoldsby.

5uu's

By the early 1980s Kerman's band was playing

and took on the name 5uu's. They began recording their first album in 1984 and went on to make six more albums, an EP and a single. 5uu's were also regularly featured on

Quarterly Magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

installments, with specially commissioned pieces, which were available nowhere else.The band toured 25 cities in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

and 14 cities in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

during 1995. The 5uu's has been Kerman's principal band, for which he is best known. He composes most of the music for this group.

Other bands and projects

In 1988 the 5uu's and another Los Angeles band, Motor Totemists Guild merged to form U Totem to play at the Frankfurt Art Rock Festival in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. U Totem toured Europe and North America and made two albums, and Kerman remained with the band until its demise in 1994. While in Europe with U Totem in 1993, guitarist/composer Roger Trigaux of the

progressive rock band Present, asked Kerman to replace drummer Daniel Denis, who was leaving. Kerman joined Present and has remained with the band ever since, appearing on their 2009 DVD and on five of their albums. He has also toured Europe and North America with them several times. In 1989 Bob Drake from the Denver based avant-rock group

left the band and moved to Los Angeles where he met Kerman. Kerman had been interested in Thinking Plague's music and moved to Denver in 1989 to join the band. He remained with Thinking Plague for eleven years, performed live with them at

NEARfest The North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest for short, was a multi-day event celebrating the resurgence of progressive and eclectic music in the United States and around the world. The event was held annually in early summer in Bethlehem, Pennsy ...

2000 and is featured on three of their albums. DaveKerman 2005

When U Totem broke up in 1993, Kerman reformed the 5uu's with Drake and Sanjay Kumar. In 1994 Kerman and Drake moved into an old unoccupied farm house in Caudeval in southern France owned by ex-Henry Cow drummer Chris Cutler and sound engineer EM (Maggie) Thomas. Cutler and Thomas had purchased the farm a few years earlier with a view to using it as a recording studio. Kerman and Drake undertook the task of renovating and converting the farm house, and it was named Studio Midi-Pyrenees, with Drake the resident engineer/producer. In 1996 Kerman joined the

avant-garde band

, recorded one album and toured Europe and North America with them. In 2000 Kerman relocated to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

where he teamed up with engineer/producer Udi Koomran to continue work with the 5uu's. He also spent much of his time working as a composer for the Israeli Batsheva Dance Company. In 2002 Kerman and Koomran started a new band in Israel called Ahvak (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

for "Dust") in a similar vein to U Totem and Thinking Plague. Ahvak played at the Tritonale Festival in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 2004 and released a self-titled album the same year. In 2002 Kerman wrote a series of editorials on progressive rock for ''Exposé'', a United States quarterly music publication, entitled "Earth to Josh: Prog Is Dead" (Exposé #25, September 2002), "The Further Adventures of Josh" (Exposé #26, February 2003) and "The continuing story of Josh" (Exposé #27, August 2003). Kerman moved back to Denver in 2003 where he guested on Thinking Plague's ''A History of Madness'' (2003). He also established RēR USA in Denver in 2003, the North American distributor of the Chris Cutler's

independent record label,

. In 2006 he created RēR USA's own record label, AD Hoc Records. In 2007 Kerman joined Bob Drake's Cabinet of Curiosities, a live band comprising Drake (guitar, vocals, violin, banjo), David Campbell (guitar, bass, vocals) and Kerman (drums), plus a few guest musicians for each performance. In June 2007 they played at

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

with guests Olivier Tejedor (keyboards) and Lynnette Shelley (vocals) and then undertook a Midwest/ East Coast tour in Autumn of 2008. By April 2008 Kerman had re-joined Thinking Plague after a seven year absence. During that month the band performed a series of concerts in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and at the Gouveia Festival in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. In September 2009, Kerman became a member of Aranis, a critically acclaimed, Flemish chamber-rock group, which played frequent concerts in Europe, and at

in the USA. His tenure with the group ended in October, 2013. Kerman relocated to Switzerland in 2010. Throughout 2011 and 2012, he toured Europe as part of the Swiss music/art troupe, Les Reines prochaines. Also during this period he produced and played drums and guitars on their studio album, "Blut", which was released in February 2013. In Summer 2013, Kerman joined the Zürich-based band, Stepmother, which includes Bill Gilonis (The Work, News From Babel), Jeroen Visser (The Nudes, Cedric Vuille) and Lukas Simonis (Vril, Dull Schicksall). He also plays drums for the Basel-based bands, Dave From Hollywood, Aie Ca Gicle, Mrs. Understanding, and Ludwigs Mondlichtkapelle.

Selected discography

;With 5uu's *''The Quiet In Your Bones'' (2022, Digital LP,

Cuneiform Records Cuneiform Records is a record label in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1984, the label releases an mixture of musical styles, all with a Rock in Opposition aesthetic, including progressive jazz, jazz fusion, the Canterbury scene, and elec ...

, US) *''Bel Marduk & Tiamat'' (1986, LP, U:r Records, US) *''Bar Code'' (1987, 7", Rotary Totem Records, US) *''Elements'' (with

Motor Totemist Guild Motor Totemist Guild is an American rock band, formed in 1980 in Orange County, California by band leader James Grigsby. Described as an avant-prog, avant-rock and chamber rock band, Motor Totemist Guild was noted for its songs that worked into ...

) (1988, LP, Rotary Totem Records, US) *'' Hunger's Teeth'' (1994, CD,

, UK) *''Crisis in Clay'' (1997, CD,

, UK) *''Regarding Purgatories'' (2000, CD,

, US) *''Abandonship'' (2002, CD,

, US) *''Tel Aviv Construction Events 1–3'' (2004, online download-only EP,

, US) ;With Dave From Hollywood *"Wax A Hot One" (2017, LP, Konkord Records, Austria) ;With Les Reines Prochaines *"Blut" (2013, CD, Un-Records, Germany) ;With U Totem *''U Totem'' (1990, CD,

, US) *''Strange Attractors'' (1994, CD,

, US) ;With Bob Drake *''What Day is It?'' (1994, CD, Crumbling Tombs, US) *''Bob's Drive-In'' (2011, CD,

, UK) ;With Present *''Live'' (1996, CD,

, US) *''No 6'' (1999, CD, Carbon 7, Belgium) *''High Infidelity'' (2001, CD, Carbon 7, Belgium) *''A Great Inhumane Adventure'' (2005, CD,

, US) *''Barbaro (ma non troppo)'' (2009, CD + DVD, Ad Hoc Records, US) ;With

*''Stringy Rugs'' (1997, CD,

, US) ;With

*''

In Extremis ''In extremis'' is a Latin phrase meaning "in the farthest reaches" or "at the point of death." In extremis or extremis may also refer to: * ''Extremis'' (2005–2006), a six-issue story arc from the Marvel Comics series ''Iron Man'' (vol. 4), p ...

'' (1998, CD,

, US) *''Upon Both Your Houses'' (live at

2000) (2004, CD, NEARfest Records, US) ;With Ahvak *''Ahvak'' (2004, CD,

, US) ;With

Aranis Aranis are a Flemish acoustic avant-rock, experimental and neo-classical chamber music group led by composer and contrabass player Joris Vanvinckenroye. Their music has been described as a blend of "chamber classical and rock", "Chamber Music ...

*'' RoqueForte'' (2010, CD, altrOck Productions, Italy) ;With

Stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a non-biological female parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. Culture Step ...

*''Calvary Greetings'' (2015, LP, CD, Knock'emdead Records, US)

Other featured recordings

*N.I.M.B.Y.: ''Songs For Adults'' *Motor Totemist Guild: ''Contact With Veils'' *Motor Totemist Guild: ''Shapuno Zoo'' *Motor Totemist Guild: ''Omaggio a Futi'' *Motor Totemist Guild: ''City of Mirrors'' *Motor Totemist Guild: ''All-America City'' * Fred Frith: '' Prints'' *Fred Frith: ''Place of General Happiness'' *A.A. Kismet: ''What's the Use of Crying When the Wolves Have Arrived?'' *Noisemaker's Fife: ''Corpse'' * Rascal Reporters: ''Happy Accidents'' *Pox: ''Borgnine'' *Yugen: ''Iridule'' *Yugen: ''Laborinto d'Aqua'' *

: ''A History of Madness'' *IZ: ''Em'' * Hail: ''Kirk'' *'' Recommended Records Quarterly Magazine'': Vol.1 #1 *'' Recommended Records Quarterly Magazine'': Vol.2 #2 *'' Recommended Records Quarterly Magazine'': Vol.3 #3 *'' Recommended Records Quarterly Magazine'': Selections From Vol.1 *'' Recommended Records Quarterly Magazine'': Selections From Vol.2 * 5uu's: ''Hoketemists – ReR #33 Subscription Item'' *5uu's: ''Die Ind Austria Report #3'' *5uu's: ''KXLU Radio Archives'' *5uu's: ''Bad Alchemy #6'' *5uu's: ''A Beginner's Guide To COMA'' *U Totem: ''COS Magazine Japan'' *U Totem: ''Eyesores – A Stab At The Residents'' *U Totem: ''Unsettled Scores'' *U Totem: ''Cuneiform Sampler #1'' *U Totem: ''Cuneiform Sampler #2''

Film appearances

*Les Reines Prochaines: "Alleine denken ist kriminell" DVD (2014) *Les Reines Prochaines: "Dings" - live concert footage/ documentary DVD (2015) *Les Reines Prochaines & Friends: "Gottlieben Revue" DVD (2014) *'' Romantic Warriors II: A Progressive Music Saga About Rock in Opposition'' (2012) *'' Romantic Warriors II: Special Features DVD'' (2013) *Present: "Barbaro, ma non troppo" – live concert DVD (2008) *Present: "NEARfest 2005" - live concert DVD (2007)

References

External links

Dave Kerman homepageInterview with Dave Kerman, March 2003
''Agarth: The Prog Music Dimension''.

''The GrEEN DoLPHiN's PoLL''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerman, Dave 1959 births Living people American male composers 20th-century American composers American music industry executives American experimental musicians Musicians from Los Angeles 20th-century American drummers 21st-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Torrance High School alumni