dave

David C. Lauder is recognized as one of the foremost percussion aficionados in the Northwest. A native of Burlingame, Ca. he was banging on pots and pans in the kitchen by age 2. Greatly encouraged by arts-conscious parents, his earliest musical influences were sculpted by exposure to his father's vast jazz and classical music collection, including an appreciation for Mahler, Bernstein, Tchaikovsky along with the more contemporary soundtracks by John Williams, James Horner, Jerry Goldsmith and others. He began studies in drum set technique with Bob Firpo through the late 70's and concert percussion with Doy Prader and Dr. Dell Fields, later attending Burlingame HS (Burlingame, Ca.), where he was active in the award winning marching, concert and jazz programs under David Kimura. David was a student of phenomenal Bay Area multi-percussionist/composer Jim Munzenrider. He studied advanced rudimental techniques under the legendary Curt Moore of Santa Clara Vanguard fame and timpani with Richard T. Peterson of SJSU. David was active in numerous jazz/rock bands, pit orchestras, wind ensembles and other groups throughout the Bay Area in the 80's and 90's, including the Chabot Panhandlers guided by Munzenrider and the acclaimed Foothill Symphonic Winds under Terry Summa. Dave Weckl and Steve Smith were major drumming Influences at this time, along with developing a life-long love for the drum and bugle corps activity.

A highlight of his career came during membership within the renowned Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps (Concord, Ca.) during the 1991 DCI tour. He was also a performer during the corp's premier European Tour (France/Holland) in 1992. These experiences and others exposed him to several noted specialists in the field such as Paul Rennick, Scott Johnson, Lee Rudnicki, Jim Casella, Kent Cater, Robert Chavira, Murray Gusseck and the late DCI hall of famer Fred Sanford among others. In 1993, David joined the percussion department of the University of Oregon School of Music. There, under the tuition of the eminent Prof. Charles Dowd, he was further mentored by percussionist and northwest composer Jeffrey Peyton. David was a member of the University Percussion Ensemble and the renown Oregon Percussion Ensemble. The OPE, long regarded for their exploration of more cutting edge material under the direction of Dowd, became one of the first ensembles in the Northwest to showcase both versions of Frank Zappa's infamous "The Black Page" along with several of Dowd's premier compositions, many taking top honors during performance at percussion festivals and clinics throughout the northwest. He was active in many areas of the UO music arena including the Jazz Studies program, and the Oregon Symphonic Band under the direction of composer Dr. Roderick Harkins. David is proud alumni of the Oregon Marching Band (OMB), serving 6 consecutive years within the Oregon Drumline ('93-'98). These ensembles, while under command of the great northwest marching percussion guru Alan Keown, later Dr. W. Sean Wagoner and his colleague Micah Brusse, were consistently regarded the elite collegiate-level ensemble of it's kind on the west coast, showcased at numerous festivals and bowl games including the prestigious Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl at Pasadena, Ca in 1994.

During this period David founded an on-site recording company known as Mad Dog Digital Audio, which specialized for several years in the production of "on-field" live audio recordings of the OMB among other musical performances held in Autzen Stadium in Eugene Or. MDDA also assisted the UO school of Music in capturing UO student recitals and professional artists and ensembles, many of which featured on the local Classical station (KWAX 91.1) including the Oregon Mozart Players and select Hult Center classical performances. His extensive recordings of corps drumlines were yet another specialty of this company, contributing to some of the first ever digital-quality "parking lot" audio and video footage in the early 90's. These were featured on several percussive audiophile sites of the day, including Ronnie LaGrone's then infamous“Cool Drummings”among others. After relocating to Portland Or. His expertise was essential during reorganization of the venerable Oregon Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps throughout 2001. He went on to serve as percussion cap/arr. during the corps '01 and '02 seasons, collaborating with the famed composer/producer and original founder/dir. Ron Jones ("Star Trek-TNG" / "The Family Guy") during production of the Crusader's 2002 program "Mysterious Mountain - a tribute to the music of Alan Hovhaness". In 2005 David co-founded the Willamette Falls Percussion Ensemble with OC alum Mark Reagan an Oregon City-based youth percussion organization which performed at numerous venues throughout the Northwest.

Although the primary focus of his career has been performance within the marching and classical percussion idioms, David instructs drum set and rudimental and concert percussion techniques privately. His extensive background has provided opportunities to clinic, adjudicate, arrange for and instruct within a variety of programs throughout the Northwest and beyond. He has served as a percussion adjudicator for both northwest regional music solo/ensemble festivals and the WGI circuit. As a percussionist/timpanist, he has appears with Oregon City's Willamette Falls Symphony and Portland's acclaimed Pacific Crest Wind Symphony. He is also a charter member of the Portland Trailblazer Groove Machine. Dave is owner of Dave's Pro Drums & Percussion in Oregon City (formerly Wally's Drums), which provides a myriad of high quality instruments, repairs clinics and related service to regional music programs. He is also owner and operator of GaragePRO Records, a private digital audio/MIDI recording studio, continuing a specialization in original composition and on-site coverage. Along with producing his own works, his active schedule includes performing with and/or producing albums for various local artists, including the gifted and versatile Leila Cheiko, the eclectic Vancouver band Saratoga Park, and Great Northern Planes among others. In the spring of 2008, David along with his fellow Saratoga Park comrade Paul Howard founded OffWorld Percussion™, an entity which currently creates some of the most cutting-edge percussion practice implements available to anywhere on earth.

David is an avid Volkswagen enthusiast, amateur astronomer, juggler and bigfoot researcher in his limited spare time. He lives in Oregon City with his wife Kelsey and their cats Cindy, Kesia and Toby. He is also the proud owner of a rare 1990 VW Vanagon Syncro Camper.

Phone : 360.921.6988 | EMAIL : offworldpercussion@gmail.com