Dave Lovett

In Austin, Texas where he has lived for 23 of his 24 years on this planet, Dave Lovett has always been asked "any relation to Lyle?" The response has always been "I wish!" Although a big fan of the Texas bluesy-folk-rocky-country singer the only things that Dave and Lyle share are last names and a passion for great music.

Dave Lovett was born in Detroit Michigan on September 26th, 1985 but his family moved the next year to Austin. His mother was a teacher at the Austin Waldorf School. This is where he spent all of his childhood and adolescence. Originally drawn to sports Lovett had no outlet through the Austin Waldorf School and soon turned to music, playing Violin and French Horn in the school ensemble. When he was twelve his mother taught him 6 chords on the guitar and he hasn't put it down since. Discovering the amazing therapeutic power music has he wrote his way through the trauma and drama of being a teenager in a very small school.

In 2000 Dave released his debut album, Something To Listen To, promoting it around Austin. In 2001 he recorded Foolproof with his band, Proteus Rising, selling it in Waterloo Records and continuing to play around town.

In 2002, on a flight home from Ireland after visiting his brother, Lovett heard Elton John for the first time and was blown away. He locked himself in his room for the following 3 months and learned how to play piano by playing along with Elton John. In 2004, after making some connections to Sony Germany, at a music conference, Lovett flew to Munich to pursue his options. in 2005 he returned to Austin when many of his connections at Sony were downsized. In 2006 he met fellow piano singer/songwriter Joel Mercado-See who was playing in Austin. That summer Lovett joined Joel on tour playing bass and guitar and piano as necessary. On their return they decided to create a project and called it Turnstile Vertigo. After a one year stint with a local label Turnstile Vertigo was disbanded and reborn as The Banters.

The Banters are melodic modern rock with classic influences like The Who, The Beatles, CSN&Y, ELO and Led Zeppelin. They have been playing steadily in Austin and have shared the stage with local favorites Bob Schneider, Guy Forsythe and Johnny Gouttie. In 2008 The Banters released their debut EP, Tad Ghetto.

In the spring of 2009 Lovett unintentionally rekindled his solo project when he began writing a slew of songs that were more Pop-Rock oriented. He began experimenting with more synthesized orchestration which didn't mesh with The Banters' organic approach to music. But after playing around with this new sound Dave felt like the songs needed to be heard. He is planning on recording his debut EP in Spring of 2010 and will work with JJ Johnson (Drummer for John Mayer) and is trying to get local singer/songwriter Ben Kweller to make a cameo.