*Purple Dave wanted me to start with...
5 Reasons to Not Dismiss Dave:
his originals
his choice of equipment
being a girl
being friendly
not drinking
I sat down for a half hour with Kalamazoo “legend” Purple Dave on March 22, 2006 to get some basic details about his life, tastes, and philosophies. What follows are outtakes that best describe Purple Dave in his own words.
David Woods was born on December 11th, 1952. In 10th grade he “formed taste and talent… in the basement like usual” with his younger brother Richard, who now lives in Atlanta. “We both decided to take lessons at the same time. The guy that was teaching the lessons said I‘d turn out better than him… but I don’t know if it ever turned out that way”.
Dave’s earliest music memory and inspiration for the guitar was “a guy called Jim Jordan… he was playing in a backyard in Millwood and I decided I wanted to be like him”. Another early musical inspiration was “the Outcasts… they kind of turned me on too back then”. In the 70’s and 80’s, Dave found another inspiration in the form of LSD. While talking about unused band names he mentioned:
“Double Dome. It’s the kind of acid that used to be around a long time ago. I remember when the Frost used to play so loud… Dick Wagner and the Frost used to play so loud that it just about gave me a heart attack. Remember the Note? I went to an outside concert, man, for the Note, man, it was outta site! They had SRC, Scott Richard Case, man. They were good. That was the good old days.”
Though he has seen some strange and tough times over the years, Purple Dave has cleaned up his act and has become somewhat of an icon to Kalamazoo musicians. He has some tips and advice to young bands… like "no short hair" and:
“Start out with Marshall, Laney, or Ampeg on bass at least, man. And don’t fuck around with something shitty on bass, man.”
“I’m not into copying Metallica just to be heavy. I’m not into it. Too many people do… If they have to go to the level of Search and Destroy to get heavy… then… that was me… but that was me 10 years ago so I have a fuckin’ excuse.”
The three definitions of heavy: “Venom Heavy, Metallica Heavy, and Complicated Heavy”.
Purple Dave approved nouns include: Crane Park, Parchment, Kings Highway, Kraftbrau, Harvey’s, Corner Bar, Club Soda, Water Street “if you’re loaded”, 4th Coast, Bimbo’s pizza with anchovies, ribs, fish, coke in a can, tea, coffee, menthol cigarettes, skin tight spandex “like Faith Hill”, The Dukes of Hazzard, panties “I buy ‘em at Meijer”, and GHS .009 gauge strings.
Dave’s dislikes include mosh pits and “when people don’t like me”. His ideal weight is 127 pounds and his favorite color is (you guessed it) purple. Reddish-purple to be exact.
I asked Dave if he had a message for the kids:
“Be careful with drugs, man.”
That’s a good message.
“They can be dangerous.”
Take it from Purple Dave, right?
“I fried my head, man. I’m just coming down now, man… 5 1/2 months later.”
How long were you on drugs?
“Most of my life.”
Since high school?
“Tenth grade, man.”
How old are you now?
“Fifty four and a half.”
I asked Dave if he had any final words for Myspace:
“Show off your legs”.
And finally, I asked him to describe himself in 3 words:
“Sun Tanning Machine”.
Some live MP3’s are coming soon. Ethan and I are going to maintain this site for Dave and possibly have him post blogs once in a while. He hand picked the first batch of friend requests and may even send you a message someday. Thanks to all who ever been kind to Purple David Woods.
- Mark
“You know the reason I’m special? Because I fuckin’ earned it.”
– David Woods
Played with Dave; impromptu at Harvey's on the mall in the earlier 1990s: "All Along The Watchtower"!
Unforgetable! And the part in his hair...perfect!
Hey, I bet over the years I've given you a couple packs a smokes, but don't sweat it (I know you won't) just keep on rock'n and I'll keep on give'n you smokes!
