The rich musical legacy Dave Halstead grew up in undeniably helped shape him into the musician that he is. Born in a resort town in the Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York plus his Mom being a longtime horn player that knew everyone local in the music scene was all that was needed for the stars to align. His Mom set him up with lessons at an early age with one of the busiest drummers in the area that was playing everything from big band to rock and before you know it Dave was sitting in at rehearsals and soon at gigs. Mr. Ray, his instructor, became ill when Dave was 15 and Dave covered many of his gigs that summer. Soon enough Dae was playing 6 nights a week and was one of the most desired drummers in the area. His escapades on stage in this early part of his career put him on stage backing up noted names like Ella Fitzgerald and Dean Martin-even earning him the opportunity to perform at Radio City Music Hall. In addition to becoming a highly respected pararescue specialist in the U.S. Air Force as well as becoming one of the most noted minds on brain injury research in the world (no, really…..) Dave also forged a career playing and recording with bands in every genre you could imagine from his teen years to the present. Dave's playing is fierce and relentless on stage and always cuts through with surgical precision-not too much, not too little-and this band couldn't exist with anyone but him as the foundation.