About daviddunkley

DAVID DUNKLEY – Since 1995 Percussion, background vocals

I started out doing the bar scene in my hometown of Charleston, West Virginia, and writing and trying to send stuff to Nashville. I packed up and moved to Nashville in ’87, went back home to lick my wounds in ’88, came back again in ’92, and went back home again a year later. I was back in Charleston in ’95 and playing drums in a rock band and I got a call from our sound man, John Ward, who’s also West Virginia. He knew I knew how to tune a drum set and make it sound good, so he called to see if I wanted to be a drum tech with Tim for a couple of weeks, and after that I never went back home. After I’d been on the crew for about a year, I started playing percussion on a few songs during the show, which meant that I’d be tech-ing for Billy through the show, then change my shirt, push the congas out from under the drum riser and play them on the song, then push them back underneath, change my clothes, and take the drums and pack them up. Then Tim started talking about adding a full-time percussionist, and Darran says, “You’ve already got someone capable working for you.” So one day Tim just walked by me in the hallway and said, “I want you to order up everything you need so you can start playing in the band full time.” My first full-time gig with the band was at the Universal Amphitheatre in LA, which was a little intimidating.