Bio
“Marine” – an intriguing angle on Dave Dersham's work, courtesy of anti folk / improv slam artist James O’Brien (NYC). His songs unfold as cautionary tales: the submerging archipelagos, the undeniable eco-dystopia; the tragedy of a pigskin hero. Dave spent his formative years within the lowlands of Western Massachusetts, meandered west, and eventually returned. Returned, despite mediocre snowpack, summers alternating between flood and draught, and smoke-infested humidity from the north – the newest of new normals.
Dave completed his first CD, The Burn of Summer (2003) in Somerville, MA, engineered by Jabe Beyer, Tim Kelly, and Tom Eaton (Willam Ackerman). Various crew members synthesized the disparate threads with élan, earning significant airtime on Folk Radio WUMB (UMASS/Boston), WERS (Emerson College), and as a new artist finalist for Mountain Stage, a nationally syndicated, live radio production.
Gilding the Lilies (2011) was recorded by the kaleidoscopically-stringed lloyd Thayer and Jared Fiske: djembe, electric/acoustic guitar, bass, keyboard. Corporate excess, mass-transit, and regrettable camping choices were some of the themes. The sophomore collection was well-received and distributed internationally.
A sly humorist, cultural critic, and melancholy optimist, Dave's third album, Another Interregnum (2024), addressed temporary out-of-body homelessness, relief from a burning planet, and working class bravado. The work was engineered by Andrew Atkin (13 Queen Studios) and recorded, mastered, and co-produced by Mark Alan Miller of Sonlab / Side Track Studio (Jay Mascus, Dar Williams).
Dave's 4th CD, Farce, will emerge in 2027.