David Kendrick (born March 23, 1955) is an American musician who is currently a member of the experimental pop band

Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name ...

. A former member of Gleaming Spires and

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau ...

, he has recorded and toured with Sparks, Andy Prieboy and Revolushn. He is based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Career

Early years

Kendrick grew up in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. ...

just outside of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. "Neither of my parents were musicians, but my dad was a sculptor and they were both big music people," Kendrick said in 2013. "So I grew up hearing everything around the house. I came of age with the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

, so I was always a bit of an

anglophile An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. Etymology The word is derived from the Latin word '' Anglii'' and Ancient Greek word φίλος ''philos'', meaning "frie ...

in that regard - the Stones, Beatles." Early on, he gravitated towards the drums, with

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

and

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and African rhythms and pio ...

as his role models. He played in several bands in the 1970s and relocated to

in 1977 to play with Venus and the Razorblades, a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band put together by

Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was the American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...

. Through a mutual friend, Fowley got in touch with Kendrick: "He called me up and gave me the shpiel," Kendrick said. "I just packed up my drums and ended up here in California. But that pretty much fell apart." Kendrick then formed the Continental Miniatures, who had a charting single in 1978 ( ''Billboard'' #90) with a cover of

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dra ...

's " Stay Awhile." With pressure to record non-original material, the band broke up. In 1980, he joined the new wave band Bates Motel who had a small deal with

Planet Records Planet Records was an independent American record label founded in 1978 by record producer Richard Perry. It was distributed by Elektra/Asylum Records until 1982, when Perry sold it to RCA Records. Label history Beginnings The label was found ...

. The band's only release was the track "Live Among the Dancers" on Planet Records' various artists compilation album ''Sharp Cuts - New Music from American Bands'' (1980).

Sparks

In 1980, Kendrick and two other members of Bates Motel, bassist Les Bohem and guitarist Bob Haag, were recruited by brothers Ron and

Russell Mael Russell Craig Mael (born October 5, 1948) is an American singer best known as the lead singer for the band Sparks which he formed in 1971 with his elder brother Ron Mael. Mael is known for his wide vocal range, in particular his far-reaching fal ...

of Sparks, with whom they toured and recorded between 1981-1986. Bates Motel and the Mael brothers used to hang out separately at the

Farmers Market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors ...

in Los Angeles. "It was the only place in Los Angeles that you could get

espresso Espresso (, ) is a coffee-brewing method of Italian origin, in which a small amount of nearly boiling water (about ) is forced under of pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso can be made with a wide variety of coffee beans an ...

and we were all coffee fiends ... and we would end up there at the same time," Kendrick said. The two bands got to know each other and soon the Mael brothers, who were without a live band at the time, went to see Bates Motel play and subsequently enlisted most of the band. Kendrick played with Sparks until they temporarily stopped touring in the late 1980's and mostly worked as a duo with an engineer in the studio thereafter.

Gleaming Spires

While playing with Sparks, Kendrick and Bohem formed the side project Gleaming Spires and had a hit with the single "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?" from their 1981 album '' Songs of the Spires''. The song was later featured in the films '' The Last American Virgin'' (1982) and ''

Revenge of the Nerds ''Revenge of the Nerds'' is a 1984 American comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Ted McGinley, and Bernie Casey. The film's plot chronicles a group of nerds at the fictional Adams College trying ...

'' (1984). "When David and I started writing together, the songs were more hard edged, pop, but written for a rock band," Bohem said in 2014. "When we did the first album, I'd been fooling around on piano for the first time and David had given me some lyrics. I had some new songs that weren’t "Batesable," and David and I wrote a bit together." After two more albums and an EP, Gleaming Spires broke up after their final album in 1985. ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' wrote that the band's music went from "catchy,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...

-strewn silliness" to "more arty and serious" with lyrics "more bizarre than ever".

Devo

In 1987, Kendrick joined

, replacing their previous drummer Alan Myers, who had left the band in 1986 due to discontent with the increasing use of drum machines. "I was friends with them," Kendrick said, "and I told them, "if you guys want to play with a real drummer, I would love to do it ... So when they started up it was live drums again so that's the reason I did it." Kendrick's first recordings with Devo was for the soundtrack to '' Slaughterhouse Rock'' (1988), which was followed by two studio albums, '' Total Devo'' (1988) and ''

Smooth Noodle Maps ''Smooth Noodle Maps'' is the eighth studio album by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in June 1990 and would be their last album released through Enigma. The album was recorded over a period of three months between Oct ...

'' (1990), and a live album before the band broke up in 1991. Afterwards, for a period during the early 1990s, Kendrick worked for Mutato Muzika, a commercial music production studio established by Devo's

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 2 ...

. In 1992, along with Mothersbaugh and others, Kendrick was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

for "Outstanding Music Direction and Composition" for the

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

'' Adventures in Wonderland''. When Devo re-formed in 1996, Kendrick chose not to resume working with Devo, and was replaced by

The Vandals The Vandals are an American punk rock band, established in 1980 in Orange County, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums, two live albums, and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped ...

drummer

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American session drummer. He is the son of tuba soloist Stan Freese and the older brother of musician Jason Freese. He is a member of the Vandals (since 1989) and Devo (since 1996), having for ...

, although he played with the band again briefly in the mid-2000s, serving as backup drummer for shows when Freese was unavailable.

Xiu Xiu

In 2018, David Kendrick began working with

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band

. He first performed with the band as a separate act in August 5 that year at the

Zebulon Cafe Concert Zebulon Café Concert, also known as Zebulon, is a music venue, bar, and restaurant located in Los Angeles, California. Zebulon was originally located in Brooklyn, New York, where it operated as a combined café/bar and hosted live music until clos ...

, along with Dynasty Handbag (the alter ego of

Jibz Cameron Jibz Cameron is a performance, recording and video artist as well as an actor. Cameron also produces work as Dynasty Handbag, an alter ego created in 2001. Her performance art has been called "Outrageously smart, grotesque and innovative" by ''The ...

), Lizzy Cooperman, and Elliot Reed. Another performance at the Zebulon Cafe Concert followed in September 3, this time alongside

Carla Bozulich Carla Ragin Bozulich (born December 24, 1965) is an American musician based in Los Angeles, known as the lead singer, lyricist and founder of The Geraldine Fibbers and Evangelista as well as a founding member of Ethyl Meatplow and Scarnella. The ...

, Mate Tulipan and Father Murphy. David also played drums on the band's cover of

The Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of lead vocalist and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever. Th ...

' song "Less Than Human". The song was included on their

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

exclusive release ''XMFX 6'', which was released on September 19, 2020. In 2022, Kendrick became a full member of Xiu Xiu for their thirteenth studio album '' Ignore Grief''.

Other work

Since the mid-1980s, Kendrick was involved in the Devo-related project Visiting Kids, featuring Mark Mothersbaugh's then-wife Nancye Ferguson, Devo guitarist

Bob Mothersbaugh Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh, Jr. (; born August 11, 1952), or by his stage name "Bob 1", is an American songwriter, composer, musician and singer. Mothersbaugh's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as lead ...

, and Bob's daughter Alex Mothersbaugh, among others. They released a self-titled EP in 1990, which was produced by Mark Mothersbaugh and Devo keyboardist and guitarist

Bob Casale Robert Edward Casale Jr. (born Robert Edward Pizzute Jr.; July 14, 1952 – February 17, 2014), or "Bob 2", was an American musician, composer and record producer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the keyboardist and rhythm guitari ...

, and included songs written by Kendrick and Mark Mothersbaugh. Visiting Kids appeared on the compilation album ''Radio Tokyo Tapes Volume 4: Women'' (1989) with the track "Trilobytes" and on the soundtrack to the film '' Rockula'' (1990) with "United State of Beat". In 2003, Kendrick recorded the album ''Soundtrack for a Mars Movie'' with the Extremophiles, a short-lived band consisting of engineers and scientists from the

Mars Desert Research Station The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is the largest and longest-running Mars surface research facility in the world and is one of two simulated Mars analog habitats owned and operated by the Mars Society. The MDRS station was built in the e ...

, including architect, builder and musician Frank Schubert, who guested on guitar on Devo's ''Smooth Noodle Maps'' album. ''Soundtrack for a Mars Movie'' is a music project on microbes in extreme environments. Kendrick founded the long running musical collective the Empire of Fun, a studio project which records self-described "concept projects". With a core of Kendrick and singer Steve Summers, along with many other involved musicians, the project has recorded several albums with guests such as Russell Mael (Sparks),

Lisa Germano Lisa Ruth Germano (born June 27, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Indiana. Her album ''Geek the Girl'' (1994) was chosen as a top album of the 1990s by '' Spin'' magazine. She began her career as a violinist ...

(

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumen ...

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for " Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United S ...

James Mankey James Andrew Mankey (born May 23, 1952 in Washington) is an American rock guitarist, most widely known as the co-founder and longtime guitarist of the band Concrete Blonde. Mankey was also the bassist with the band Sparks for their first two a ...

(Sparks,

Concrete Blonde Concrete Blonde was an American alternative rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloo ...

), and former

Wall of Voodoo Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence, the band came to prominence when its 1982 single " Mexican Radio" became a hit on MTV ...

singer Andy Prieboy, the latter with whom Kendrick also recorded and performed with in the late 1990s on the musical ''White Trash Wins Lotto'', which was inspired by

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...

frontman

Axl Rose W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its ince ...

. Kendrick also appeared on Prieboy's 2008 single "Shine (Red Bead Follows Blue)". In 2012, Kendrick, along with The Dils bassist Tony Kinman, appeared on Prieboy's four-song EP ''Every Lady Gets a Song''. The trio also performed on March 2, 2014 at the

Getty Center The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overl ...

. Since the 2010s, under the name DeKay, Kendrick has been the drummer and lyricist for

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band Revolushn, who released their first album ''Dark Matter'' in 2014. The band also features Frank Schubert on vocals and guitar, going by the name No Mansfield, along with

Antiseen Antiseen (often stylized as ANTiSEEN) is an American punk rock band formed in Charlotte, North Carolina, by Jeff Clayton and Joe Young in 1983. The name "Antiseen" serves as a deliberate deviation of the phrase "anti-scene" - the group not wi ...

bassist Malcolm Tent. Their 2020 single "Electric" features saxophonist

Scott Page Scott Page is an American musician, technologist, and entrepreneur known for his saxophone and rhythm guitar work with Pink Floyd, Supertramp, and Toto. Career Page is CEO of Think:EXP, a Los Angeles-based media company focused on live imme ...

(

Supertramp Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending ...

Toto Toto may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Pets * Toto (Oz), Toto (''Oz''), a dog in the novel and film ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' * Toto, in Japanese ''The Cat Returns#Plot, The Cat Returns'' Characters of agency * a ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

). In July 2018, Kendrick and Tent, under the name "The Malcolm Tent Power Duo", released the album ''Two Smooth Noodle Maps'' (an obvious reference to Kendrick's second and final studio album with Devo). In keeping with its title, the album consists of covers of two ''Smooth Noodle Maps'' songs - "Spin That Wheel" and "Devo Has Feelings Too". ''Two Smooth Noodle Maps'' was an extremely limited release, with only 20 copies being made. As a songwriter, Kendrick's work has appeared on soundtracks for films like '' The Last American Virgin'' (1982), ''

'' (1984), ''

School Spirit School spirit is the sense of identity and community shared by members of an educational institution. This can apply to any type of school, from elementary schools to universities. Members of a school can manifest spirit in the exhibition of s ...

'' (1985), '' The Horror Show'' (1989), '' Mannequin Two: On the Move'' (1991), and '' Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever'' (2009).

Personal life

Kendrick is married and has a child who is a guitar player. Outside of music, Kendrick's interests include

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic dr ...

hauntology Hauntology (a portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words

libraries A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

trickster In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwise ...

mythology, and

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

. As an avid collector, he has a collection of over 1,000 film noir films from around the world and a huge collection of condoms acquired while touring worldwide with Devo. He also collects odd art and some of his acquisitions have appeared in

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (''née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Glo ...

's 2002 book ''Clown Paintings''.

Selected discography

The Continental Miniatures

*''The Continental Miniatures'' (1979)

Gleaming Spires

*'' Songs of the Spires'' (1981) *''Life Out on the Lawn'' (EP) (1982) *''

Walk on Well Lighted Streets ''Walk on Well Lighted Streets'' is the second studio album by American new wave pop group Gleaming Spires. Like their debut, ''Songs of the Spires,'' the album was produced by Stephen Hague. History In addition to the core duo of bassist/lead ...

'' (1983) *''Party E.P.'' (1984) *'' Welcoming a New Ice Age'' (1985)

Sparks

* '' Whomp That Sucker'' (1981) * ''

Angst in My Pants ''Angst in My Pants'' is the eleventh studio album by American pop and rock band Sparks. The album was released in 1982 by Atlantic Records in both the US and UK, and this was the 6th overall label that the band was signed to in the US, and, for ...

'' (1982) * ''

In Outer Space ''In Outer Space'' is the twelfth studio album by American pop band Sparks, released in April 1983 by Atlantic Records. Brothers Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks self-produced the album. Release ''In Outer Space'' became one of Sparks' most success ...

'' (1983) * ''

Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat ''Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat'' is the thirteenth studio album by American Pop music, pop and Rock music, rock band Sparks (band), Sparks, released in June 1984 by Atlantic Records. It was not very well received and failed to capitalise on the c ...

'' (1984) * ''

Music That You Can Dance To ''Music That You Can Dance To'' is the fourteenth studio album by American Pop music, pop band Sparks (band), Sparks, released in September 1986 by MCA Records in the US and Consolidated Allied Records in the UK, two years after their previous st ...

'' (1986)

Devo

*'' Total Devo'' (1988) *'' Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace'' (1989) *''

'' (1990)

Visiting Kids

*''Visiting Kids'' (1990)

The Extremophiles

*''Soundtrack for a Mars Movie'' (2003)

The Empire of Fun

*''The Blue Head'' *''Classics of Enduring Elegance'' *''It Looks Like Today Outside'' *''Jeepers!'' *''I'm Sorry Mr. Kendrick, There's a Skull Inside Your Head'' (2006) *''Crime, Memory and Loss'' (2015) *''CANdYPIE 2000''

Josie Cotton

*'' Invasion of the B-Girls'' (2007)

Beth Hart

*'' Beth Hart and the Ocean of Souls'' (2009) ''- Recorded in 1993''

Revolushn

*''Dark Matter'' (2014) *''The Freshman'' (2016) *''Further!!'' (2017)

Xiu Xiu

* '' Ignore Grief'' (2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendrick, David American rock drummers American new wave musicians Sparks (band) members Devo members New wave drummers 20th-century American drummers 21st-century American drummers 1955 births Living people