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Dave Campbell proudly characterizes himself as a musical schizophrenic. "I like
traditional bluegrass," he declares, "I just don't want to do only that." A
multi-instrumentalist who has played everything from classical viola to rock
guitar to bluegrass bass and banjo, Campbell has been a member of Back Burner
since 1997. He's a former member of Fidelity Grange. Campbell spent his formative years in the Detroit suburb of Lavonia, Michigan. He began his musical studies with piano in second grade and switched to viola three years later. In seventh grade he moved to Pennsylvania and started playing tuba. He saved up his lawn mowing money, and when he was 12 he bought an electric guitar so he could channel Hendrix, Zeppelin, and Clapton. He got his first taste of bluegrass in high school when he visited his brother in Seattle and went to the newly established Northwest Folklife Festival. Shortly after that he began to teach himself banjo, and then bass. Meanwhile, Dave's brother was in a band called Winchester with Richard Smith (who wrote the Bill Monroe biography). Winchester had a weekend gig up at a ski resort. Dave was invited to sit in a couple songs, and ended up playing bass with Winchester for a couple years. In 1979 Dave settled in the Seattle area, where he met his wife, Carrie. They have three children, and live in Woodinville. Dave is an accomplished sound engineer and can often be seen riding the faders at local concerts. |