Dave Raver: Well, Mark and I have been playing together for about 20 years. The Mark David Group has existed for 10 or 11 years and I have been there from the start.

MDG Webmaster: When you and Mark decided to change genres, what were your feelings at the time? What did you envision for the band?

Dave Raver: It was kind of scary. We all wanted to play the songs we loved and decided to do that and let the chips fall where they may. At that time, playing the blues didn’t get you many gigs. We all loved Stevie Ray Vaughan and brought some of his songs up at a practice session. We thought it would be cool if we could play some SRV tunes. We weren’t sure if we could pull it off, then Mark showed us he could not only play the songs, but play them like they should be played. The rest is history.

MDG Webmaster: Let’s talk a little about your drumming abilities…When did you first take a serious interest in playing the drums?

Dave Raver: Well, I’ve been playing since I was about 5 years old, but I don’t think I got real serious until junior high, around 1969 or so. I was into groups like Hendrix and the Who, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles to name a few.

MDG Webmaster: Who were your biggest influences at that time?

Dave Raver: Well, I mentioned a few of them in the last answer but I was also into Big Band and Swing as well as Rock and Roll. My Grandfather took drum lessons from Gene Krupa, so he was a big influence, along with guys like Buddy Rich, and Ginger Baker.

MDG Webmaster: You’ve met and shared the stage with many successful musicians over the years…If there was one drummer or musician that you would love to meet before you depart this earth, who would it be and why?

Dave Raver: I have met so many of my idols already so it’s hard to pick one, but I guess I’d have to say, even though he’s gone, Stevie Ray Vaughan. I guess I’ll have to wait till I depart this world to meet him though.

MDG Webmaster: Dave, you are also known to be a very powerful vocalist with a knack for holding long notes. In live shows, you often hold a note during “Some Kind of Wonderful”. What is your record time for holding that note?

Dave Raver: (Laughing) That song has a funny story behind it. I started doing that as a joke. One night I was bored so I thought I’d try something different. I believe my record for holding that one note you mentioned is 45 seconds while of course, playing the drums at the same time.

MDG Webmaster: Is there a particular story from the road that you would like to share with us?

Dave Raver: Well, there are many but this is one of my favorites. We were playing at the Waterside fest in Louisville, Kentucky, and while we were on stage playing our set, which included many songs by Stevie Ray Vaughan, We looked over to an area near the back of the main stage and noticed that Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, of Double Trouble, were watching and listening to us. Later on, we were talking to someone who was standing with them while we were playing. This person overheard them and what they were saying. I guess it sounded kind of like the three bears in that, they said, “That one’s too fast, that one’s too slow, that ones just right”.
We had breakfast with them the next morning and both Tommy and Chris told me that they thought we sounded pretty good. I’ve always thought that was very cool.