Dave Kushner (born November 16, 1966) is an American musician best known as the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver. Kushner has also been a member of Wasted Youth, Electric Love Hogs, while he has also recorded with Infectious Grooves, releasing songs under the pseudonym of DKFXP, a combination of the initials of Perez and Kushner, as well as working with Indian singer and actress Shruti Haasan.
Kushner has also been writing and composing music for films and television, most notable the theme for FX series Sons of Anarchy, titled "This Life", where he received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music in 2009 while in 2010 he received an ASCAP Award for the theme. He collaborated with composer John O'Brien on the music for the movies Four Christmases, Couples Retreat while he was also asked to develop a spin-off of How I Met Your Mother entitled "The Bro Code" by Fox creative director Dave Warren and The Simpsons segment director Ralph Sosa. and began playing in bands at the age of 16. He attended Musicians Institute in Hollywood at the age of 18 before signing his first record deal when he was 20. Kushner left the group over a year later. by friends John Feldmann, Kelly LeMieux and Bobby Hewitt The album was produced by Mark Dodson Percussion for the album was handled by Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins.
Robert Trujillo, then of Suicidal Tendencies and Infectious Grooves, contributed to the record while Kushner was asked to make a guest appearance on the song "Punk It Up" from the Infectious Grooves debut album The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move...It's the Infectious Grooves, also produced by Dodson, released in 1991 and L.A. Guns The group disbanded in 1993.
Other bands and contributions (1993–2001)
After the breakup of Electric Love Hogs in 1993, Kushner, Kelly LeMieux, also of Electric Love Hogs, and Kushner's former Wasted Youth bandmate Joey Castillo formed a new group called Lit. however this tour was soon canceled after McKagan began collaborating with his former Guns N' Roses bandmates on a new project.
After performing at a benefit gig for Randy Castillo in 2002, former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum decided to form a new band after recognizing that their musical relationship was still very much intact. Initially they began rehearsing with Buckcherry duo Josh Todd During a Loaded show at Hollywood's Viper Room, McKagan introduced Kushner to Slash, after Kushner said they had known each other previously, who confirmed they were friends at Junior High and High School. eventually suggesting that "Duff and I will sing and we will just do a club tour in a van." Slash states in his autobiography that it was hard to tell if Stradlin was serious or kidding. After auditioning Kelly Shaefer (of Atheist/Neurotica), (formerly of Age of Electric), Miljenko Matijevic (of Steelheart), Sebastian Bach (formerly of Skid Row), Shawn Albro (of U.P.O.), and Travis Meeks (of Days of the New). Myles Kennedy (of Alter Bridge and formerly of The Mayfield Four) declined an invitation, from Sorum, to audition, because he wanted to focus more on other projects. Scott Weiland had become friends with McKagan (via their respective wives) and had once played on the same bill as Kushner, when Electric Love Hogs supported Mighty Joe Young. Originally Weiland was wanted by the band but due to STP still touring he declined. After the band heard about STP's split in 2003, they were quick to get Weiland involved. Once he heard the material and offered his services as the lead singer, the band was formed.
Weiland stated on March 20, 2008, at Velvet Revolver's show in Glasgow that this would be the band's final tour. At the time Slash hinted in an interview with Classic Rock magazine that, contrary to Weiland's assertions, Velvet Revolver will continue beyond its current tour. When asked "Will Scott be singing?", Slash replied "I have no comment on that", and laughed.
It was announced on April 1 that Weiland had officially parted ways with Velvet Revolver. Later that month, Weiland performed with Stone Temple Pilots for the first time since 2002, kicking off their reunion tour.
The release of Slash's solo album, Slash, and Duff McKagan's addition to the Jane's Addiction lineup, both in 2010, seemed to put future of the band in doubt. However they remained optimistic about the future, with new songs written and planned to reconvene in 2011 while in September 2010, McKagan departed Jane's Addiction. Ultimately Slash and McKagan officially returned to Guns N' Roses in 2016 for the Not In This Lifetime... Tour.
Post-Velvet Revolver (2009–present)
On June 20, 2009, Scars on Broadway guitarist and solo artist Franky Perez announced via his official MySpace that he was in the studio collaborating with Kushner. under the pseudonym of DKFXP, a combination of the initials of Perez and Kushner.
In October 2009, Franky Perez said on his Twitter account that he and Kushner were jamming with Weezer bassist Scott Shriner and his Scars on Broadway bandmate, drummer John Dolmayan.
In 2009, he played rhythm guitar with rock band Weezer
Soundtracking career (2008–present)
Alongside Bob Thiele Jr., Curtis Stigers Four tracks by both Perez and Kushner were to appear in the film Hamill.
Kushner mostly uses Bogner amplifiers during live performances, specifically an Ecstasy 101B amplifier that runs Bogner straight cabs fitted with Vintage Celestion 30 watt and Celestion Greenbacks 25 watt speakers. He has used Mesa Boogie Stilletto Ace and Fender Super Sonic amplifiers.
Discography
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Title !! Release !! Label !! Band
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|Black Daze || 1988 || Medusa || Wasted Youth
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|The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move...It's the Infectious Grooves || 1991 || Epic || Infectious Grooves
|-
|Electric Love Hogs || 1992 || London || Electric Love Hogs
|-
|Lost My Brain! || 1996 || Epic || Cyco Miko
|-
|Friends & Family, Vol. 1 || 1997 || Suicidal || Various Artists <small>(Cyco Miko)</small>
|-
|Skyjin || 2001 || Avex Trax || Zilch
|-
|Sons of Anarchy: North Country – EP ||rowspan="2" | 2009 ||rowspan="3"| 20th Century Fox TV Records ||rowspan="3" | Various Artists <small>(The Forest Rangers)</small>
|-
|Sons of Anarchy: Shelter – EP
|-
|Sons of Anarchy: The King is Gone ||rowspan="2" | 2010
|-
|Hisss Soundtrack || Venus || Shruti Haasan <small>(featuring DKFXP)</small>
|-
|Sons of Anarchy: Songs of Anarchy Vol. 2 ||rowspan="2" | 2012
|-
|Avengers Assemble: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture || Hollywood / Marvel Music || Various Artists <small>(PusherJones)</small>
|-
|PusherJones || 2013 || Self-released || PusherJones
|-
|}
Awards and nominations
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2004 || Velvet Revolver || Kerrang! Award for Best International Newcomer ||
|-
| rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| 2005 || Velvet Revolver || Billboard Music Award for Rock Artist of the Year ||
|-
| "Slither" || Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance ||
|-
| "Fall to Pieces" || Grammy Award for Best Rock Song ||
|-
| "Contraband" || Grammy Award for Best Rock Album ||
|-
| "Fall to Pieces" || Radio Music Award for Song of the Year/Rock Radio ||
|-
|align="center"| 2009 || "This Life" || Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music ||
|-
|align="center"| 2010 || "This Life" || ASCAP Award ||
|-
References
External links
- Dave Kushner fan site
- Official Velvet Revolver web site