David Kerman (born August 24, 1959), better known as Dave Kerman, is a United States experimental rock drummer and composer, best known as the founder and member of the Los Angeles avant-rock group 5uu's. He is also a member of the Belgian progressive rock band Present and the Israeli avant-rock band Ahvak. Kerman has been a member of the United States bands U Totem and Thinking Plague, and the Dutch band Blast. He has collaborated with several musicians, including Bob Drake, Chris Cutler and Fred Frith.
PROGNET DENMARK : How did your adventures with music begin? Did you have any musical training or are you self-taught?
DAVID KERMAN : I am mostly self-taught, being weaned on Led Zeppelin and the Beatles in the 60's /70's garage culture of Torrance, California. I went to a Military Academy school as a child to take drum lessons, but the regimen was too much for me. And all that marching around at 5:30 AM was too taxing on my skinny little frame. I quit and, as a result, learned to hold drumsticks completely incorrectly, and began my lifelong fear of the twenty-six essential drumming rudiments. Later, I faked my way through school marching bands to get out of arithmetic and Spanish classes.
PROGNET DENMARK : What music genres do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you?
DAVID KERMAN : I’ll probably listen to anything of quality. But, I like Musique Concrete, Grindcore, RIO, Latin Samba, Rembetika, Avant Garde and Contemporary Classical musics the most. Just about anything that’s presented in a thoughtful manner can inspire me, and I don’t really hold an allegiance to any form or style.
PROGNET DENMARK : If you should mention 10-15 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be?
DAVID KERMAN : Not in any order of preference, but some of my all-time faves are:CAPTAIN BEEFHEART: Trout Mask Replica, DENIS DUFOUR: 10 Portraits, MUMAKIL: Customized Warfare, XAVIER CUGAT: El Americano, NICO: The Marble Index, LED ZEPPELIN 1, THIS HEAT: Deceit, LUCIANO BERIO: Laborintus 2, JIMI HENDRIX: Are You Experienced ?, MARKOS VAMVAKARIS: Bazuki Pioneer, SOFIA GUBAIDULINA: Offertorium + Hommage to T.S. Elliot, MILES DAVIS: Bitches Brew, GAZA: I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die, HENRY COW: Western Culture, VAN DYKE PARKS: Song Cycle
PROGNET DENMARK : You are in my ears a musician who is in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track and from release to release. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)?
DAVID KERMAN : There’s really no secret. In the old days I realized it was best not to pass up any credible opportunity that might arise; So, I ended up playing with a lot of different bands, and in a lot of different countries. This gave me the chance to travel, which led to the opportunity to live abroad (in France, Slovenia, Italy, Israel and now in Switzerland). Which, in turn, allowed me to meet more musicians, in more places, than I would have had I stayed around in Southern California. I assimilated enough different cultures to consider myself a “man without a country”, which might explain why my personal tastes are a bit esoteric, and all over the map. In the long run, I somehow got a reputation for being quick at memorizing difficult or complex music, which made me in demand a little bit, for the guys who write and perform that kind of stuff. Personally, I get ideas from just about anywhere, but hope there’s at least something clever or humorous in most of my work.
PROGNET DENMARK : Are you a full-time musician or is music your second job?
DAVID KERMAN : Besides being a drummer, I’m a composer, lyricist, producer, sometimes band-leader, tour organizer, concert promoter, music publisher, compact disc distributor and the President of a Record label. Most everything I do is connected to Music.
PROGNET DENMARK : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music?
DAVID KERMAN : “CRISIS IN CLAY” (5uu’s album) was a very fun record to make, and is really a musical assault on the senses. Bob Drake and I had a clear vision of where we wanted this to go with it, and it still, to this day, seems pretty no-holds-barred. Also, “ABANDONSHIP”(5uu’s album), which is almost the intrinsic opposite, sounds good to me, after all this time. For that one, Udi Koomran and I had a pretty clear understanding of how we should proceed to come to the desired end. I like them both equally. For stuff that I didn’t compose, both PRESENT’s “BARBARO NON TROPPO”, or AHVAK’s self-titled record, may be interesting for the uninitiated.
PROGNET DENMARK : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the progressive/experimental part of the music world. Do you agree with that? And what are your opinions on that genre, and genres in general?
DAVID KERMAN : Well, it’s commonly known that I hold the dubious honor of being the single most outspoken “Prog” musician AGAINST the notion of modern Progressive Rock. I believe Progressive Rock died as an art-form decades ago, and never became rejuvenated, nor replenished with any of the ground-breaking ethos that once made it interesting and unique. To my admittedly bias ears, today’s Prog bands almost universally choose to emulate their heroes, rather than further the musical terrain those people charted. And because nowadays most musicians cannot make a decent living playing this style of music, their day jobs will keep them in amateur status indefinitely in terms of instrumental technique. It’s a vicious cycle, and I look forward to the day the music dies. Sorry, but that’s the truth. We need to move on, really, in order to “progress”. But, as my own influences were from the original school of Progressive Rock (Henry Cow, Faust, Gentle Giant, National Health etc.), and because it would be fool-hearted of me to deny that I myself could not really break SO far out of the mold which greatly influenced me, I would have to confess that yes, the stigma of Progressive Rock or Experimental- Instrumental might best suit any legacy I might ever be offered.
PROGNET DENMARK : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians, who want to make it in the progressive music world or any world for that matter?
DAVID KERMAN : I’m compelled to have this answer follow-up on your former question; I would merely suggest, mildly, that they be open-minded to other styles and forms of music, as opposed to becoming an “expert” in everything that falls under one banner. In my book, the original Progressive Rock bands from the 60’s and 70’s were innovative because their music began as a veritable hybrid of popular styles: Psychedelic, Jazz, Folk, Skiffle, Surf, Classical, Country Western etc. etc. These styles, and more, were mixed and mashed until an astounding degree of both empirical perspicacity and instrumental virtuosity were simultaneously achieved. But today’s Prog bands seem to cull ideas only from their favorites of the so-called “Golden” era of Progressive Rock, which is neither a progressive vocation, nor a way to better their music. Keeping an open set of ears might both offset the temptation to pay homage, and put something musically worthwhile into motion. You know, Prog is dead, long live prog, and all that stuff.
PROGNET DENMARK : Could you tell us a little about your many different projects ?
DAVID KERMAN : It’s fairly extensive catalog of recordings, made over many years’ time, so probably best is to see the discography at davekerman.net.
PROGNET DENMARK : Finally, what are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from your many projects?
DAVID KERMAN : Presently (2010-2011) I’m working with the Belgian group ARANIS, who just released their fourth album, the first with percussion, oddly enough. And two other Belgian groups that have merged, PRESENT and UNIVERS ZERO. Aranis will also be added to this line-up for a huge orchestration at the next Rock In Opposition Festival in France, September 2011. I also drum for Bob Drake’s CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, and we will make a live album in France next year. Lastly, I’m the touring drummer for the Swiss performance group, LES REINES PROCHAINES. Basically, I’m running around quite a lot !