David Lee Bell
I grew up not too far from Chuck Berry's hometown in Missouri. Spent most of my childhood running through creeks, riding horses and dirt bikes, obsessed with kung fu and Motley Crüe. Moved to Phoenix as a teen, still loved martial arts and metal but more dedicated to skating, punk rock, hip-hop..(and girls.) It was then I started playing drums at a friend's house on one of White Snakes old kits. He happened to be the son of a well known stage manager from the UK who suffered an untimely death and loads of gear was donated to his family from big names in classic rock and metal as a result. It was set up lefty but at least two of the sticks were right handed so i made it work. Bonham, Vinnie Paul (Pantera) and Danny Carey (Tool) were my main influences. Ended up in an apartment at 15 and the drums were axed. So I bought a $50 "Less" Paul and riffed on Zeppelin, RATM, Metallica and Pantera mainly. I've never had formal lessons because I wanted my playing to be uniquely my own. I Joined my first gigging metal band at 20 years old (1999) and played the Chicagoland area for a couple of years before the drummer died in a bizarre gardening accident. Then I went to bass. My inspirations were mainly Primus and Mudvayne. I Played one very successful gig and recorded a demo just before our drummers career ended as a result of being attacked by an alligator while retrieving a golf ball. I then got married and my son was born. After 11 years of not playing much guitar, we took a family trip to lower Broadway in Nashville. The fire was reignited. I started a Psychobilly band mixed with early blues, traditional country, rock and even a little jazz. We primarily played gigs and car shows in the Chicagoland area for a few good years up until our drummer spontaneously combusted on stage during a drum solo. From there, the drummer from Th' Legendary Shack Shakers and I formed a band known as "The Mockingbyrds" with the greatest and most attractive local talent available!