home bios mp3 shows email discography mailing list links	David J. Carpenter is the melodic, grounding bass sound of SPEAK. A native of southern California, he is equally comfortable on both electric and acoustic basses, drawing influences from jazz, punk and funk. " I was attracted to punk music at a young age because of its raw energy. I felt like that movement was about being real and finding a way to channel my aggression, as well as my desire to just let go of my inhibitions. Punk music is about putting yourself out in full view of the world, this is me - beautiful and flawed just like everyone else. I think it has a connection to jazz too - the desire to create your own musical voice, creating music of the future and using your instrument to send a message are a part of both styles. In a strange way, I think the Dead Kennedy's and John Coltrane have a lot in common." Creating an outlet for your voice is a large part of Dave's philosophy for himself and SPEAK, "Being an independent band is very empowering, it's given us the chance to find our own style of music; our own sound. I feel very confident that our music is full of personality, actually, four very strong and talented personalities working together. We've learned how to produce and fine tune our music in a way that can communicate to a lot of people, and we created that opportunity for ourselves. Of course it means taking a risk, but that is the essence of being an artist." Among his many influences are Fishbone, Weather Report, Prince, Parliament, Led Zeppelin, and Me'shell NdegeOcello. David has the power to create hard, driving riffs, deep layers of low, and bass lines that are melodies within themselves. He is committed to the concept of working as a group, and appreciates the individual qualities of his band mates. "What we are trying to do is communicate songs while maintaining our sound. People are looking for music that can stretch beyond musical categories, and I think SPEAK may be able to fill that void. I'm very interested in taking my experience, musical and personal, and relaying that through performance with every fiber of my body and soul."