David McWane

David McWane
Background information
Birth name	David McWane
Also known as	Big D
Born	(1976-11-18) November 18, 1976 Beverly, Massachusetts
Origin	Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA
Genres	Ska-punk, Stroll
Occupation(s)	Musician, Writer
Instruments	Vocals, melodica
Years active	1995 - present
Labels	Fork In Hand, Side One Dummy, Asian Man Records
Associated acts	Big D and the Kids Table, Drexel
Notable instruments
Drums, Guitar, Melodica, Vocals.

David McWane (born November 18, 1976) is an American musician, writer, and filmmaker, best known as the lead singer of Boston ska punk band Big D and the Kids Table.^[1][2]

David McWane hails from Hamilton Massachusetts, an historic town on the North Shore of Boston, where he spent his childhood in a First Period house surrounded by history, dense woods, blossoming orchards, and flowing streams. From an early age, music was his avocation, forming and performing in a succession of bands from middle school through high school. As a student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, he and 6 friends started another band called Big D and the Kids Table, for which he is the lead vocalist. For the past 12 years, Big D has brought their unique style of SKA/punk music to a worldwide audience and developed a wildly devoted fan base.

Big D has produced 12 CDs with the most recent release, Stroll. The talent and popularity of Big D was also recognized in 1999 as the Best New SKA Band at the Boston Music Awards. And in 2008, David produced the “Mash up” CD Strictly Mixed & Mashed with artist dj BC, which won the 2008 Music Awards for best DJ Remix. The track was a fun, upbeat remix of BIG D’s poplar single Shining On.

David began his writing career composing lyrics for Big D’s music. But as the band traveled the roads across America, Canada, England, and Eastern and Western Europe, David began to recount his observations and experiences in prose and poetry. For nearly 12 years Big D played in underground clubs, churches, and outdoor venues and David rarely slept in one city for more than one night. Sleeping in underground squats in Slovenia, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Luxemburg, France, Italy, and Spain and couch surfing through the American mid west, David gained an intimate look at the life of a world traveling musician, all of which he recorded.

On tour breaks back in Boston David would sneak into buildings on the Harvard campus to compile his notes for his first book, The Gypsy Mile. This self-published book is a collection of poetry and prose that describes his observations of the people he’s met, places he’s visited, and experiences he’s had around the world. Selling over a thousand copies, David has developed a loyal and enthusiastic following of readers.

David has also written columns on contemporary music issues in a variety of music magazines — Alternative Press, AMP, Punk Rock Confidential –, as well as 2 full-length screenplays and 4 short film scripts (2 of which will be produced next year). He is currently working on a second collection of poetry and prose entitled The Art of Boredom and a collection of his lyrics entitled Chalk.

In addition to writing, David has developed, produced, and directed a variety of BIG D videos. His current project is the DVD Built Up From Nothing, a do-it-yourself handbook on touring for young bands

David McWane is well known in the contemporary music community for both his musicality and his commitment to environmental and humanitarian activism. This is a prominent element in all Big D performances. As a featured band on last summer’s national VANS Warped Tour, David designed and displayed large stage banners for Climate Emergency and Save Darfur and produced T-shirts, stickers, pins and patches that combined the Big D logo with pro-environmental information that were sold or given out. Recycling competitions were held daily. Big D’s popular song, Try Out Your Voice, that urges kids to become politically active, was overwhelmingly received by their fans. For these efforts, Big D was recognized by EarthEcho International as the tour’s Most Environmentally Conscious Band.

David is a 2000 graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he earned Bachelors degrees in both Music Business & Education and Music Production and Engineering.

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References