Dave Pomeroy (born April 26, 1956) is an American musician, known as a

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

vocalist, songwriter, and producer (Earwave Productions) but is best known as a bassist. He has played electric and

acoustic bass The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than, a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar an ...

for many artists, both in the studio and in concert. As a solo artist and producer, he has released 12 albums and 2 DVDs on his own label, Earwave Music. He has written numerous articles and columns for ''Bass Player'', a magazine, and other music publications in addition to contributing as a writer to many books about the music business. In December 2008, Pomeroy was elected as president of the Nashville Musicians Association, AFM Local 257 of the

American Federation of Musicians The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) trade union, labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in N ...

(AFM) and in June 2010, he was also elected to the AFM's International Executive Board and was re-elected in 2013, 2016, and 2019. Pomeroy has been re-elected without opposition to four more 3-year terms as Local 257 president in November 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2020.

Youth and career

Pomeroy was born in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the son of an American soldier, and lived in various places in Europe. He credits a four-year-long stay in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the early 1960s as an early musical influence and returned to the country in the mid-70s, living in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to play in many local bands. In 1977, Pomeroy moved to Nashville. He was hired by

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

musician

Sleepy LaBeef Thomas Paulsley LaBeff (July 20, 1935 – December 26, 2019), known professionally as Sleepy LaBeef, was an American singer and musician. Early life LaBeef was born in Smackover, Arkansas, the youngest of 10 children. The family name was origin ...

within a couple of weeks and went on tour with him for a year. In 1980 he joined

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...

' touring band and stayed with him until 1994, when he stopped touring to concentrate on studio work, writing, and producing in Nashville. He founded his own record label Earwave Music in 1989 and has released 12 CDs and 2 DVDs, available a
davepomeroy.com
He returned to Williams' band for Williams' comeback tour in September/October 2010 and occasionally filled in with Williams through the end of 2014 . As a session musician Pomeroy contributed to albums not only by Williams and LaBeef, but also by diverse artists including

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, and

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...

. He is a featured artist on the "Nashville Acoustic Sessions" CD project, with

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, and Pat Flynn, released by CMH Records in 2004. In addition to his long tenure with Don Williams, Pomeroy has performed in concert with

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...

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, Ricky Skaggs,

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, Frampton,

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, Duane Eddy, and many more artists. Pomeroy's record label, Earwave Music, has released 12 albums and 2 DVDs of his various projects as solo artist, bandleader, and producer. In the 1990s, he created The All-Bass Orchestra, with personnel ranging from 12 to 22 bassists playing the roles of an entire ensemble. The concert video "The Day The Bass Players Took Over The World", (originally released in 1996 on VHS on Earwave, and re-released on DVD in 2014 with bonus material) featuring special guests

Victor Wooten Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...

;

Steve Bailey Steve Bailey is an American bassist. He is the chair of the bass department at Berklee College of Music. Career Bailey began playing bass guitar at age 12 and started playing fretless bass after he ran over his fretted Stuart Spector with his ...

Oteil Burbridge Oteil Burbridge (born August 24, 1964) is an American multi-instrumentalist, specializing on the bass guitar, trained in playing jazz and classical music from an early age. He has achieved fame primarily on bass guitar during the resurgence of t ...

, and

Bill Dickens Bill "The Buddha" Dickens is an American electric bass guitar player. Though he has recorded and performed a variety of musical styles, Dickens is best known for playing funk. He has played with Pat Metheny, George Michael, Joe Zawinul, Janet Ja ...

. The unique multi-bass player live project brought attention to Pomeroy's concept of "all-bass music" as demonstrated on his three all-bass and vocal solo projects "Basses Loaded" (1997), "Tomorrow Never Knows" (2003), and "Angel in the Ashes" (2017). He has written more than 50 articles for ''Bass Player'' and has contributed to a number of books about music, including writing the forward for Jim Robert's book "American Basses". Among his most recent projects are Three Ring Circle, an "acoustic jam band powergrass trio" with Rob Ickes and Andy Leftwich, a violinist, and ''The Taproom Tapes'', a live recording of collective improvisations featuring 14 Nashville musicians including

Jeff Coffin Jeff Stanley Coffin (born August 5, 1965) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. He is a three-time Grammy Award winner as a member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, with whom he performed from 1997 until 2010. In July 2008, Coffin ...

Pat Bergeson Patrick Bergeson (born March 11, 1961) is an American guitarist, harmonica player and occasional songwriter. Based in Nashville, he is best known for his live and session work with Chet Atkins, Lyle Lovett, Suzy Bogguss and Les Brers. Biography ...

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from the

Allman Brothers Band Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Gregg Allman Band People *Allman (surnam ...

and others. Three Ring Circle's second CD, ''Brothership'', was released on ResoRevolution Records in April 2011. He produced ''Restless'', the first album of new material by Sweethearts of the Rodeo in over ten years, released in 2012. His third solo album, ''Angel in the Ashes'', was released in 2017 to positive reviews. Pomeroy has been active in the Nashville community, raising over $495,000 for Nashville's Room in the Inn Homeless program with his annual "Nashville Unlimited

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

" concerts over the past 22 years. Over the years, Pomeroy has become more involved in the musicians union as an advocate for working musicians. In December 2008, he was elected president of the Nashville-based Local 257 of the American Federation of Musicians, succeeding longtime president

Harold Bradley Harold Bradley may refer to: Others * Harold Bradley (guitarist) (1926–2019), American country and pop guitarist * Harold Bradley (pianist) (1906–1984), Canadian pianist * Harold Bradley (trade unionist) (1895–1979), British trade union leade ...

. In June 2010, he was also elected to the international executive board of the AFM for a three-year term and re-elected in 2013 and 2016. In November 2011, Pomeroy was re-elected without opposition to a second three-year term as the president of Local 257 and again in 2014, 2017, and 2020. He was one of the AFM leaders in the forefront of the effort to reform airline carry on policies for musical instruments, a process completed in December 2014. In addition to his AFM responsibilities, Pomeroy records, writes, and performs in a variety of musical settings. His latest release is the single "World Peace" co-written and performed with

Regina McCrary The McCrary Sisters are an American gospel music group from Nashville, Tennessee, formed in 2010 by sisters Ann McCrary, Deborah McCrary, Regina McCrary, and Alfreda McCrary. They have released four studio albums and one live album: ''Our Journe ...

Discography

Recordings under his name or as part of a group: *Dave Pomeroy "Angel in the Ashes" released May 2017 *Dave Pomeroy and the All-Bass Orchestra: "The Day The Bass Players Took Over The World" concert DVD with guests Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, Oteil Burbridge, Bill Dickens, Duane Eddy, and

Bob Babbitt Robert Andrew Kreinar (November 26, 1937 – July 16, 2012), known as Bob Babbitt, was an American bassist, most famous for his work as a member of Motown Records' studio band, the Funk Brothers, from 1966 to 1972, as well as his tenure as ...

(Earwave) *Tone Patrol: ''Thin Air'' (Earwave), with guests

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

, Bill Miller, and Wayne Roland Brown *Dave Pomeroy: ''Basses Loaded'' (Earwave) *Dave Pomeroy: ''Tomorrow Never Knows'' (Earwave) *Three Ring Circle: ''Three Ring Circle'' (Earwave), with Rob Ickes and Andy Leftwich (Earwave) *Dave Pomeroy And Friends: ''The Taproom Tapes'' (Earwave) *Three Ring Circle: "Brothership" with Rob Ickes and Andy Leftwich (ResoRevolution) Pomeroy's producer credits include: *Don Williams – Best of Live (co-producer) *Sleepy LaBeef – "Rides Again" DVD and CD (Earwave) *Sweethearts of The Rodeo – "Restless" *Jamie Hartford Band - "Stuff That Works" (Earwave) *Supercool – "Greatest Hits, Vol. 1" (Earwave) For a comprehensive list of session contributions see Pomeroy's credits at Allmusic

References

External links

*
Three Ring Circle

AFM Local 257
* Dave Pomeroyat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Dave Pomeroy
NAMM Oral History Program Interview (2015) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pomeroy, Dave Living people American country bass guitarists American country songwriters American male songwriters 1956 births Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Songwriters from Tennessee Guitarists from Tennessee American male bass guitarists 20th-century American bass guitarists Country musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American male musicians