If singer Dave Matthews and his talented brethren realize the music they make has become Virginia's second-most addictive export, they're sure not letting on. In the midst of an exhausting tour in support of its first major label relase, the Dave Matthews Band isn't letting the new crowds interfere with the unpretentious, grass-roots approach that has allowed them to parlay their remarkably loyal East Coast following into growing success nationwide.
For the band, these should be the days that ego trips are made of. Its RCA debut, Under the Table and Dreaming opened on the Billboard album charts at number 34- an extraordinary accomplishment given the largely regional appeal the band hsas secured over the last three years. For the first time, the band's current tour has taken them beyond familiar East Coast haunts and into the virgin venues of the West Coast and Eruope. In addition, to match the critical acclaim that has been heaped on the band from all sides, Matthews himself has been singled out as a sex sympol of sorts, possessing a clean-cut allure that may well make the band as popular in the junior high cafeteria as they are in more learned circles. So, how does one deal with such acclaim?
"I just bought this sweater and a new pair of pants, " says Matthews, pointing to a red crewneck and a pair of khaki cords he purchased at a discount clothing store prior to a gig at Delaware's Stone Balloon last October, presumably in celebration of the band's surprising Billboard debut that week. "Nice, huh?"
The group's modest, fan-friendly persona is no mere act and may represent an importantn reason why they've gathered such a rabid following during their brief three years of existence. Prior to he Delaware date, a fan too young to attend the over-21 show was invited by affable drummer Carter Beauford to witness the band's sound check, only to be thwarted by an overzealous bouncer demanding identification. Witnessing the incident, road manager Micheal MacDonald-entrusted with the superhuman task of ensuring that the mammoth tour goes smoothly- overheard the confrontation and intervened on the fan's behalf, ensuring the jowly guard that the young man would be gone long before the doors were opened.
Though unusual in an era of massive stadium gigs and impresonal festivals, the band's unassuming philosophy is nothing new. Following his family to Charlottesville, Virgingia from his native South Africa, Matthews set about the task of assembling an all-star ensemble of "people I'd really like to jam with." Reedman LeRoi Moore and drummer Beauford were Charlottesville jazzmen who'd never played rock music; Beauford's outfit, SEcrets, was occasionally featured on BED television. THe lineup that sould become the DAve Matthews Band -- including Moore, Beauford, bassist Stefan Lessard and violinist Boyd Tinsley -- were more a testament to Matthews' keen sense of talent than a dedication to any particular musical or financial mission.
"Our musical style illustrates our different backgrounds, both musically and non-musically," says Matthews. "We've been influenced not only by pop, but by African music, jazz, just about everything. We incorporate lots of different textures, so we've been able to create a very unique sound - a very American music."
Though the band's innovative blend of seemingly discordant elements seems to have been born on three different continents, the group soon gathered an incongruously rabid following in the bars and fraternities of tobacco country. Beginning with a gig on Earth Day, 1991, the band began polishing its trippy, groove-oriented sound during weekly appearances at Richmond's Flood Zone and Charlottesville's Trax.
"When I first saw them in Richmond, they weren't that big yet," says Stephanie Warnere, 22. "Dave would have to plead with the audience, 'Don't be afraid to dance, it makes us happier when you do.' But after the word got out - it seemed like a span of a few months- the place was constantly filled."
With its regional popularity swelling unmanageably, the band took to the I-95 corridor with a vengeance, crisscrossing the eastern seaboard with growing success. The quintet's 1993 independant label debut, Remember Two Things introduced the band to potential concertgoers and helped feed the symbiotic tour-album relationship the group has tried so hard to cultivate. The album, which features a collection of live tracks and is distributed form the goup's Virginia office, has sold mre than 100,000 copies.

That mark will likely be eclipsed by the success of Under the Table and Dreaming, which sold over 30,000 copies in its first week alone. The album presents a memorable introduction, highlighted by Matthews' stunning vocals and the yin-yang diametrics of Moore's and Tinsley's instrumentations. In pop music, rearely have such instruments been used to such clever ends -- loose, meandering grooves predominate, often segueing into bouncy choruses ("Dancing Nancies", "Typical Situation"), occasionally turning frenetic and caustic ("Rhyme and Reason"). Aided by veteran soundman Steve Lilly white, the band has produced a translucent album -- but one with a fierceness and complexity that belies its often glossy exterior.
"The album captures some of the elements of our live act, but not all of them," says Matthews. "It's clear, simple... not as busy as the band is in concert."
Nothing, of course, could be that busy. This year alone, despite taking two months off to record its album, the band will play more than 250 dates in Canada, Europe and throughout the United States. The constant touring is certainly increasing the group's visibility as they have not yet played to a non-capacity crowd since the current tour began in late September. All this, plus their very own Internet bulletin board, has made them a legitimate critical and commercial phenomenon -- a band complete with bandwagon.
"I think that people are a little bit more intellectual about their music today -- they're looking for a sound that has a little bit more than the usual radio garbage," said fan John Turner. "My son thinks they're the best band in America. I don't think we'll ever see them for eight bucks again."