David First

about

It seems reasonable to assert that David First has had a rather eclectic musical career. He has played guitar with renowned jazz innovator/pianist Cecil Taylor (culminating in a legendary Carnegie Hall concert) and the rock band Television’s Richard Lloyd. He has created electronic music at Princeton University and led a Mummer’s String Band in bicentennial parades. He has played in raucous, drunken bar bands and in concert halls with classical ensembles. As a composer he has created everything from finely crafted pop songs to long, severely minimalist soundscapes. And his influence on modern music may be incalculable: a 45 single release, The Zipper, by his punk-era rock band, The Notekillers, was cited by Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore as one of the songs he played for the rest of the band when they were starting out. Moore recently called it a "mind-blowing instrumental single" in the British rock magazine Mojo. Known for his dense, mesmerizing drone structures - which he has been experimenting with since his teens - as well as his intense and highly unusual, minimalist approach to the guitar, First has been a pivotal figure in the world of experimental music, releasing recordings on O.O. Discs, Ecstatic Peace and Analysand as well as works on the CRI, Aerial, Homestead, and EMF labels. A recent CD entitled "Dave's Waves - A Sonic Restaurant" - the music from his sound installation of the same name in Lier, Belgium - was the first international release on the highl