Dave began his musical journey in 1995 when his father brought home an old snare drum given to him by a coworker. This drum was given to Dave to play with until broken since it was going to be thrown out anyway. However, this was not to be the case. Instead, after a few weeks of playing with this drum, Dave decided to join the school band. It was soon clear that Dave possessed a previously unknown natural ability for percussion. So, his parents decided to encourage this and presented him with a full drum set for his 13th birthday. Dave practiced the drum set at any opportunity he could and six months later he sat in for the very first time ever in front of a live audience with Eddie Blazonczyk’s Versatones. Dave was “bitten” by the music performance bug at that very moment. More determined than ever, Dave practiced to many different genres of music to further his abilities, and later that fall, he played his first paying polka gig with John Stanky and The Coalminers.
Dave continued to play with several different bands of varying genres on and off throughout high school and into college until he was offered a full-time position with Jolly Rich and The Polka Stars in 1999. Dave jumped at the opportunity and remained a full-time member until joining Charm City Sound in 2004. Dave remained with Charm City Sound until the group disbanded in 2009. That same year, Dave joined up with the Polka Country Musicians where he is still a member to this very day.
That old snare drum has lead Dave on quite a journey thus far. He has had the opportunity to perform in 20 states and in 7 countries including a USO Oktoberfest at Osan Air Force Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. In addition to the traveling and meeting so many wonderful people along the way, Dave has also been featured on many polka recordings. In 2016, he recorded the drums and percussion on the original motion picture soundtrack for the Netflix movie: The Polka King featuring Jack Black. Interestingly, that old snare drum provided the desired sound for several tracks on that recording.
When not on the road playing the music he enjoys so much, Dave works as an AOG maintenance controller and technician for Jet East Corporate Aviation and currently resides in Allentown, PA with his wife Linda and daughter Aleena.