Son of Dave

{{short description|Canadian musician}} {{BLP sources|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox musical artist  | name = Son of Dave | image = Son of dave byline.JPG | caption = Benjamin Darvill as Son of Dave in 2017 | image_size = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Benjamin Darvill | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|01|04}} | birth_place = Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | origin = London, England | death_date =  | death_place = | instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|harmonica|mandolin|guitar|percussion}} | genre = {{hlist|Rock|folk rock|blues}} | occupation = {{hlist|Singer-songwriter|musician}} | years_active = 1989{{dash}}present | label = | past_member_of = Crash Test Dummies | website = [https://sonofdave.bandcamp.com/ Official site] }}

'''Benjamin Darvill''' (born January 4, 1967), known by his stage name '''Son of Dave''', is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician, based in Winnipeg. He was a member of the folk rock band Crash Test Dummies in which he played harmonica, mandolin, guitar and percussion before returning to his blues, Beat-Box and harmonica driven solo work in 2000.<ref name=xtreme>{{Cite web |url=http://www.xtrememusician.com/info/artists/profiles/706.html |title=Benjamin Darvill |access-date=10 January 2009 |work=Xtreme Musician }}</ref>

Darvill was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was inspired to learn the harmonica after hearing James Cotton and Sonny Terry play at the Winnipeg Folk Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3672308/Son-of-Dave-a-suitcase-and-a-harmonica.html |title=Son of Dave: a suitcase and a harmonica |access-date=10 January 2009 |author=Thomas H. Green |date=4 April 2008 |work=The Telegraph }}</ref> Darvill's "first claim to blues fame" was as a member of The Detonators.<ref name=sodwpg>{{cite web |last1=Small |first1=Alan |title=Son of Dave… and Winnipeg |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/2022/04/21/son-of-dave-and-winnipeg |website=Winnipeg Free Press |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref>

Darvill lived in London, England, from 1998<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/artists/son-of-dave |title=Son of Dave |access-date=10 January 2009 |work=NME }}</ref> to 2021, when he returned to his hometown.<ref name=sodwpg /> He began playing as Son of Dave while in London, and has recorded 11 albums and performed over 1400 shows across the world, including appearances at Glastonbury and the Montreux Jazz Festival.<ref name=sodwpg />

Son of Dave appeared on BBC television's ''Later...with Jools Holland'' in 2005, performing the song "Hellhound",<ref>{{cite web |title=Later.... with Jools Holland - Series 25 - Episode 4 of 9 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00593ps |website=BBC |access-date=4 April 2026}}</ref> before recording the song a few years later on the album ''O3''.

His 2003 album ''O2'' has been described as a mix of "cotton-pickin' blues, vocalising beat-box, hard-breathing folk, steamy funk and even modern R&B".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://son_of_dave.mondomix.com/en/chronique3773.htm |title=O2 |access-date=10 January 2009 |author=Daniel Brown |date=April 2007 |work=Mondomix }}</ref> The following album ''O3'' was cited as "perhaps the biggest leap forward for the blues since John Lee Hooker bought his first electric guitar."<ref>{{cite web |title=Son of Dave |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/son-of-dave/ |website=Clash Magazine |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref>

Son of Dave's Shake a Bone album was recorded with Steve Albini, and positively reviewed as an album with "strong work ethic and genuine passion enthused on the record" in The Independent,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nur |first1=Yousif |title=Guest Review: Son of Dave, 'Shake a Bone' |url=https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/music-magazine/music-magazine-features/guest-review-son-of-dave-shake-a-bone-1942631.html |website=The Independent |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref> with "something terribly satisfying about the primitive nature of his yelps and purrs and the relentless pounding of the lo-fi drumbeat"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cooper |first1=Leonie |title=Son of Dave Shake a Bone Review |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/dm8r/ |website=BBC |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref> and "some catchy songs."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Doole |first1=Kerry |title=Son Of Dave - Shake A Bone |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/son_of_dave-shake_bone |website=Exclaim! |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref>

Several Son of Dave songs have been included in film and television, including the track "Shake A Bone" from the album of the same title, which was featured on season 3 episode 11 of ''Breaking Bad'',<ref name=imdb>{{cite web |title=Benjamin Darvill |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0201795/ |website=IMDB |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref> and from the O2 album "Devil Take My Soul", which features chorus vocal by Martina Topley-Bird - was featured in the Warner Bros film, ''License to Wed'', starring Robin Williams, and in 2016, the track "Voodoo Doll" from Shake A Bone was featured as the last song in the first episode of ''Preacher'', an AMC series based on the comic book of the same title.<ref name=imdb />

In 2010, Son of Dave and his song "Revolution Town" were featured in a commercial for the search engine Bing.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9TUgqPEaS0 |title=YouTube |website=www.youtube.com |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409110234/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9TUgqPEaS0 |archive-date=9 April 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The commercial, using a first-person perspective, shows Son of Dave using Bing and his Windows-enabled phone to travel to his own concert at the Someday Lounge in Portland, Oregon.

His 2022 album ''Call Me a Cab'' "appears to be fun-loving, old-school, New Orleans rhythm and blues" that is "all about the rhythm."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alper |first1=Eric |title=Ex Crash Test Dummy Son Of Dave spies the ‘End Of Days’ with his new single |url=https://www.rootsmusic.ca/2021/06/30/ex-crash-test-dummy-son-of-dave-spies-the-end-of-days-with-his-new-single/ |website=Roots Music Canada |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref> That album led to Son of Dave being nominated for Blues Artist of the Year at the 2022 Western Canada Music Awards.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kaufman |first1=Todd |title=Former Crash Test Dummies’ Benjamin Darvill (Son of Dave) brings one man show to Calgary |url=https://calgary.citynews.ca/2022/09/23/crash-test-dummies-calgary/ |website=CityNews |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref>

Son of Dave's 2024 release ''A Flat City'' is a "gritty, bluesy" reflection on his return to Winnipeg.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kendle |first1=John |title=New music: Son of Dave, Megan Moroney, Miles Okazaki and Julian Prégardien, Kristian Bezuidenhout - Reviews of this week’s album releases |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/music/2024/07/20/new-music-565 |website=Winnipeg Free Press |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref>

==Other work==

Darvill has collected 45 rpm vinyl records for many years, and that led to hosting a radio program - '''Son of Dave's Filthy 45s''' - on Radio Soho from 2012 to 2021.<ref name=sodwpg /> Previous to that, he wrote for The Stool Pigeon,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wheeler |first1=Brad |title=10 reasons why you need to know about Son of Dave |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/10-reasons-why-you-need-to-know-about-son-of-dave/article4328181/ |website=Globe and Mail |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref> and a collection of those columns was published as ''We Need You Lazzarro You Lazy Greasy Bastard''.

Back in Winnipeg, he has hosted a series of cabaret events entitled ''The Super Elite''.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Super Elite |url=https://www.meetingswinnipeg.com/conference/conference-events/display,event/13911/the-super-elite |website=Tourism Winnipeg |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref>

==Discography== ===Son of Dave=== * ''B. Darvill's Wild West Show'' (1999) Kartel 019 * ''O1'' (2000) Kartel 002 * ''O2'' (2006) Kartel 003 * ''O3'' (2008) Kartel 013 * ''Shake a Bone'' (2010) Kartel 023 * ''Blues at the Grand'' (2013) Kartel SOD001 * ''Explosive Hits'' (2016) Goddamn Records SOD002 * ''Music for Cop Shows'' (2017) Goddamn Records SOD003 * ''Call Me a Cab'' (2021) Goddamn Records SOD004 * ''Call Me King'' (2022) Goddamn Records SOD005 * ''A Flat City'' (2024) Goddamn Records SOD006

===Crash Test Dummies=== {{Main list|Crash Test Dummies discography}} * ''The Ghosts That Haunt Me'' (1991) * ''God Shuffled His Feet'' (1993) * ''A Worm's Life'' (1996) * ''Give Yourself a Hand'' (1999)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0201795/ Benjamin Darvill IMDB page] * [https://sonofdave.bandcamp.com/ Son Of Dave Bandcamp page] * [http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Reviews/son-of-dave-aint-going-to-niketown-single-review-26042009-1010.aspx Review of 'Ain't Going to Niketown' on the Daily Music Guide] * [http://www.bluesinlondon.com/feat_dave.html 2006 interview with Darvill] at BluesinLondon.com * [https://www.seydel1847.de/epages/Seydel1847.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Seydel/Categories/Artists/Alle_Kuenstler/Benjamin_Darvill Son of Dave's artist page at SEYDEL]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Son of Dave}} Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Winnipeg Category:Canadian rock guitarists Category:Canadian male guitarists Category:Crash Test Dummies members Category:Singers from Manitoba