"I'm going to think of a good quote to put here soon." ~ David Weston
Born and raised in Rome, New York, David started playing bass guitar at the age of 12. As a child, he was mesmerized by the melodic pulse and rhythmic syncopation of R&B and soul music. Listening to just about every kind of music, he learned to play anything he heard. During junior high and high school, he earned lots of pocket change playing rock and roll, soul, country and jazz with a variety of bands.
When David was performing in Augusta, James Brown and his bandleader heard him, and he was recruited into their band. David traveled with the JB's for seven years, playing bass guitar with Brown on six continents. He recorded at least 12 albums and many single releases, including one called "Today" which landed Brown a Grammy nomination for best instrumental, and another that David wrote called "Smokin' & Drinkin'." David appeared on many different television shows with James Brown, including Saturday Night Live, and also appeared in the classic Blues Brothers movie.
From 1992 to 1998, David owned and operated the "Word of Mouth Cafe" in downtown Augusta, where his six member band performed a variety of music, packing the house most nights. Celebrities who came to town would almost always end up hanging out and doing special performances. These included James Brown, Jamie Foxx, Bernie Mac and Grover Washington, Jr.
Today, David's a driving force behind the group, playing keyboard (right hand), keyboard bass (left hand) percussion and drum programs (left foot) and vocals, all working simultaneously. In 2004, Preston and Weston were voted "Best Jazz Band" by readers of Augusta Magazine and "Best Band" by Easy Street Magazine, an Aiken publication. He can also be seen playing acoustic/upright bass at many of the Jazz venues in Augusta, as well as Dr. Rudy Volkman's Augusta Jazz Project seminars, and teaching jazz education at elementary schools. He also plays keyboards and electric bass with an Augusta group called "Cold Sweat," and has played electric bass on recording projects headed by Wycliff Gordon.
Most Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings you can find David rehearsing with the choir and playing keyboards at Universal Ministries Christian Fellowship. In addition to playing bass, guitar, keyboards, drums, percussions, his many roles also include songwriter, producer, recording engineer, husband, father and friend.
