David Usher (born April 24, 1966) is a Canadian musician, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and activist best known as the front man for the band Moist. He has also released a number of solo albums. He is the founder of Reimagine AI, an artificial intelligence creative studio.

Early life

David Usher was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

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 ...

to Thai Buddhist artist Samphan Usher and Queen's University economics professor Dan Usher. He has lived in various places such as

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

since early childhood, before his family settled in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. He attended high school at Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute at the same time that Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip and Hugh Dillon of the

Headstones A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

attended the school. Usher attended Queen's University for one semester before transferring to

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, majoring in political science.

Career

While studying in Vancouver, Usher helped form the band Moist, composed of Usher on vocals, Mark Makoway on guitars, Jeff Pearce on bass, Kevin Young, who, like Usher, had moved to Vancouver from Kingston, on keyboards, and Paul Wilcox on drums. Usher became the principal songwriter for the band. Moist's debut album ''

Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

'' was released in 1994 and went on to achieve quadruple-platinum status, selling 400,000 copies in Canada. Their sophomore album, titled '' Creature'', was released in 1996 and reached triple-platinum status, selling over 300,000 copies. In 1998, Usher took a year to work on his own recordings. He released his first solo album, '' Little Songs''. Most of the album was recorded in the kitchen of David's apartment. The album contains a track titled "Baby Skin Tattoo", which bears no relation to the song of the same name on the Moist album ''Creature.'' In 1999, Moist released their third album, titled '' Mercedes 5 and Dime'', once again achieving multi-platinum status. They followed this with a compilation album and DVD in 2001, titled '' Machine Punch Through: The Singles Collection'', and thereafter entered a hiatus period that would last twelve years. Usher continued with his solo career, releasing his second solo album, '' Morning Orbit'', which sold 90,000 copies. The song "Alone in the Universe" was released as the first single, and the album featured collaborations with some members of Moist and with several figures of the Canadian music scene including Jagori Tanna and Bruce Gordon of I Mother Earth, Gord Sinclair of The Tragically Hip, and the rapper

Snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

. The album also included a cover of the

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, widely known for her hit singles " Fast Car" (1988) and " Give Me One Reason" (1995). She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she rel ...

song " Fast Car". A Thai version of the record was released, and included Usher singing in Thai on two of the tracks. Usher's third solo album, ''

Hallucinations A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the compelling sense of reality. They are distinguishable from several related phenomena, such as dreaming ( REM sleep), which does not involve wakefulness; pse ...

'', came out in 2003, and includes a cover of the

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

song " If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next". ''Hallucinations'' was followed by '' If God Had Curves'', which includes collaborations with Tegan Quin of Tegan and Sara, and

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to folk- and jazz-influenced rock to soundscapes accompanying spoken stories. His lyrics reflect interests in spirit ...

. Usher continued to release solo albums throughout the first decade of the 2000s, with '' Strange Birds'' (2007) and '' Wake Up and Say Goodbye'' (2008). ''Strange Birds'' contains themes inspired by

, where Usher had moved with his family. It also includes extensive collaborations with other members of Moist. ''Wake Up and Say Goodbye'' includes a bonus track featuring Quebec-based singer Marie-Mai, and the album was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

. In the early 2010s, David Usher released two more solo albums before reforming the band Moist. '' The Mile End Sessions'' came out in 2010, and '' Songs from the Last Day on Earth'' in 2012. ''The Mile End Sessions'' is composed mostly of previously released songs re-recorded in acoustic arrangements, is produced by Moist member Jonathan Gallivan, contains Usher's first French-language recording, and features contributions from Marie-Mai and Cœur de pirate. ''Songs from the Last Day on Earth'' is also produced by Jonathan Gallivan. In 2013, Moist returned from a twelve-year hiatus and recorded their fourth studio album, '' Glory Under Dangerous Skies'', the following year. In 2016, Usher released his ninth solo studio album, titled '' Let It Play''. The album features English translations of French-Canadian songs, re-recorded originals from Usher's repertoire, as well as high-profile collaborations with artists such as Marie-Mai, Alex Nevsky, Monogrenade,

Karim Ouellet Karim Ouellet (December 8, 1984 – November 15, 2021) was a Senegalese-born Canadian pop singer-songwriter. He released three albums between 2011 and 2016; his second album ''Fox'' won a Juno Award in Juno Awards of 2014, 2014. Early life Ouel ...

, Dumas, Ingrid St-Pierre, Caracol, Daniel Lavoie, Dominique A, and Baden Baden. Throughout his musical career, Usher has sold more than 1.4 million albums, won four Juno Awards and had several #1 singles singing in English, French, and Thai. Usher is also the founder of Reimagine AI, an artificial intelligence creative studio based out of Montreal. Reimagine AI integrates interactive and AI technology to build virtual beings. Usher is the co-creator (with Damon Matthews) of the Climate Clock. Climateclock.net In 2012 Usher made a presentation about the creative process at the Mesh Marketing conference in Toronto. In 2015 he published a book on creativity and the creative process, titled ''Let the Elephants Run • Unlock Your Creativity and Change Everything''."David Usher helps you unleash your inner artist"
''Montreal Gazette'', Ian McGillis, March 9, 2015

Personal life

He is featured in the 2001 MuchMusic special ''Musicians in the WarZone'', a humanitarian documentary directed by filmmaker Liz Marshall, in which he journeys to the northern border of Thailand to visit a large Burmese refugee community. As of 2018, he lives in Montreal, Quebec, with his family.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

with Moist

Other appearances

* "Watching the Wheels" (John Lennon cover) (''Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur'', 2007)

DVDs

* ''walk.don't.run'' (2005)

References

External links

*
Reimagine.ai
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Usher, David 1966 births Canadian alternative rock singers Anglophone Quebec people Canadian humanists Canadian people of Jewish descent Canadian people of Thai descent Canadian rock singers Canadian male singer-songwriters 20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters English emigrants to Canada English people of Thai descent English people of Jewish descent Living people MapleMusic Recordings artists Singers from Montreal Musicians from Oxford Simon Fraser University alumni Juno Award for Pop Album of the Year winners 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters