Dave Matthews Vocalist and Acoustic Guitarist New York, from Johannesburg, South Afr

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Musician. Born David John Matthews on January 9, 1967 in Johannesburg, South Africa. A self-taught musician, he and his family moved around the world throughout his childhood. When he was two years old, they moved to the New York suburb of Yorktown Heights, where Matthews' father, a physicist, worked for IBM. In 1977, Matthews' father died of lung cancer, and the family returned to Johannesburg to be with relatives.
To avoid South Africa's compulsory military service, Matthews moved back to the United States after high school, where he became a bartender at a jazz club in Charlottesville, Virginia called Miller's. It was there that he began to dream about starting his own band.

In 1990, Matthews decided to put together a demo tape and approached his favorite jazz musicians to accompany him: sax player Leroi Moore and drummer Carter Beauford. For bass, he signed on Stefan Lessard, a 16-year-old local prodigy. Violinist Boyd Tinsley was recruited just weeks after the band formed. Early local gigs were an immediate success, and the band quickly developed a devoted following. The band's manager, Coran Capshaw, utilized grassroots marketing to move the band to the national stage.
The Dave Matthews Band was soon playing at frat houses and beach clubs around the country. People began to make bootlegs of their shows and word of the band spread quickly among the college crowd. In 1994, the band released its major label debut, Under The Table And Dreaming, which went to No. 11 in the Billboard 200. The band's second album, Crash, was released two years later, debuting at No. 2. Though the album didn't receive as much critical praise, the band's follow-up concert sold out New York's Madison Square Garden in three hours.

In October 1997, the band put out an official double-disc live album entitled Live at Red Rocks. Without any marketing or promotion, it debuted at No. 3, providing a high-quality and reasonably priced alternative to illegal live CDs that were beginning to flood the black market.

After taking some time off in 1997, the Dave Matthews Band went back into the studio to record Before These Crowded Streets, which debuted at No. 1. The next album was repeatedly delayed before the band announced, in 2000, that they would be scrapping it and parting ways with producer Steve Lillywhite. Though an amicable break-up, Matthews felt that the music sounded tired and the band needed fresh input. They hired Glen Ballard, who had worked with Alanis Morissette and Aerosmith, a few months later. Their next album, Everyday, released in 2001, lived up to its promise. The following year, Busted Stuff delivered a smoother, jazzier sound and a similarly successful debut. Their 2005 album, Stand Up, topped the Billboard charts in its first week.

Matthews made his big-screen debut in 2005's Because of Winn-Dixie with Jeff Daniels and Eva Marie Saint.
 
After an eight-year courtship, Matthews married wife Ashley in August, 2000. Their twin daughters, Stella Busina and Grace Anne, were born one year later. They had a son August Oliver, born in June 2007.

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Jonathan Butler,Singer-Songwriter and Guitarist, Los Angeles, USA, from Capetown, South Africa

JONATHAN BUTLER
Every now and then, an artist creates a special project so rich in content, so joyous in
emotion, so fresh and inspired, that it becomes almost impossible to find a title that fully
embraces the range and heart of the project. Such was the challenge when the gifted singer,
two-time Grammy nominated songwriter, guitarist, and producer, Jonathan Butler, delivered
his latest CD to his new label, Rendezvous Entertainment.

After numerous creative meetings between artist, managers, and the label, to find just the
right title to convey the essence of the music, it became evident that the challenge was so
difficult because Mr. Butler is such a truly unique talent. So, the album is simply titled
Jonathan, reflecting exactly what this album is: pure Jonathan Butler.

And that says it all. Jonathan is the product of South Africa. Born and raised in Cape Town,
Jonathan Butler spent his youth under the shroud of apartheid, an official government policy
of political, legal, and economic discrimination against non-whites.

His escape was music. The youngest of twelve children, he began singing publicly in South
African townships at the tender age of seven. Not even in his teens, Butler's talents as a
singer and guitarist were recognized and he soon found himself touring his poverty-stricken
country in a traveling variety show.

Though his musical abilities would soon take him away from the world he grew up in,
Jonathan would neither forget the plight of his fellow South Africans nor the man who
ultimately led them to freedom. "Mandela Bay," the second track on Jonathan, is a lively
instrumental tribute to the legacy of Nelson Mandela. The song exudes optimism - the joy of
liberation, the celebration of life. Akin to a musical sunny day, "Mandela Bay" will raise spirits
and stamp a smile on faces, guaranteed to last at least four minutes and eleven seconds,
though no one will be blamed for putting it on repeat.

Jonathan is the product of the Western World.
At thirteen, Jonathan's talents caught the ears and eyes of British record producer Clive
Calder. He was signed to Calder's Jive Records and as the old cliche goes, the rest is history.
Jonathan's first single broke down racial barriers, becoming the first song by a black artist to
be played by white radio stations in South Africa.

Because Jive was headquartered in England, Jonathan decided to move there to focus on his
recording career. His commitment to his craft paid off with his self-titled debut album, which
received a Grammy nomination for the pop hit "Lies." Jonathan's ability to blend his roots in
African music with western pop sensibilities would be a trademark of many albums to follow,
though never more refined than in his latest release. For example, the first single from
Jonathan is a rendition of the folk-rock classic "Fire and Rain." Butler breathes new life into
this classic, infusing the vocals with intensity, as subtle as it is powerful.

The musical arrangement is lively and soulful, indicative of his roots in World music. "Fire and
Rain" is already garnering accolades from top radio programmers. Lori Lewis, program
director for WSMJ in Baltimore states, "It literally gave me a lump in my throat. I walked into
the studio and introduced it live on air. Vocals this great are really rare."
British record producer Clive Calder signed Butler as a teenager to Jive Records. His first
single was the first by a black artist played by white radio stations in South Africa and earned
a Sarie Award, South Africa's equivalent to the Grammy’s.

Jive was headquartered in England, so Butler moved there and called it home for seventeen
years. His self-titled debut album introduced him internationally and scored a Grammy
nomination for the pop hit "Lies." An instrumental, "Going Home," earned a Grammy
nomination and the mid-tempo ballad, "Sarah, Sarah," confirmed Butler's place in popular
music. A collection of diverse albums followed.

Through them and extensive concert tours, Butler solidified his presence in the 1990s with a
body of music that crossed color and age lines.
Was he a jazz instrumentalist that sang soulfully or a passionate R&B singer that played a
cool jazz guitar? "I came to the West seeking artistic freedom to express myself," he recalled.
"While my albums have always offered vocal cuts and instrumentals, for me it was never
about creating music for a particular format or type of audience.
That's too narrow and restrictive. For me, it's about surrendering to the will of the music and
just letting it flow through me, whichever direction it may go."






http://www.jonathanbutler.com/