He hates these things. They call attention to him, and to his sheer musical genius (by the way, I'm obviously also a fan.) If there's one thing music robots hate, it's attention. It's not about me, he says. It's about the MUSIC.

Well, it is. And the music is great.

Why robot? Because one of the easiest ways of explaining to people about my best friend's Asperger's is by telling them to think of him as a thinking, feeling, robot—one who is able to be social, able to be emotional, but really, really needs to operate by his own inner operating system to live happily.

So, let me tell you about my best friend. He's quiet, he's a little shy. He's astonishingly smart and knows everything about the Apollo moon landings. And he's been making music his whole life, from when he was little and playing cardboard box drums (which he and his brother would then kick over at the end of the set, of course.) He's intensely creative: if it's not music, it's photography, or web design, or something else.

We like candy—we're sitting on the couch, a pile of CD covers to be stamped waiting patiently nearby. We've got candy necklaces and laptops and are very, very happy.

He likes beautiful music, but his background includes a central part in the early hardcore straight edge movement. Straightedge? Oh. It was a reaction to the punk movement, really- people pledging never to drink alcohol, take drugs. Things like that. The idea was (and is) that life is life, and you don't need to impair your ability to experience it. Dave took to it early and has tattoos reflecting his beliefs. He's also vegetarian, since he was a child.

He comes from a normal family who were supportive of his music. He almost failed out of college because he was sleeping in bathtubs and vans playing shows with Oversight and recording with Autumn Leaf Dance. He managed to get his grades salvaged, graduated from Syracuse with a degree in Public Relations. After that, he went on to graphic design, and computer programming. (He's getting a masters CS degree from Harvard Extension, soon!!)

He moved up to Boston in '05, and loves it because it's beautiful and quirky and real. I'm thrilled, because that puts him in the city I picked as a hometown. He really hit his “voice” when he started recording with Dirty Water Studios. Mark there is a genius. Dave's sound has continued to develop, and he's continued to try more instruments, like the guitar bow and even (recently) a return to the cardboard box drum. He plays most of the instruments involved, except for the strings, like the violin and cello.

I'm lucky to know him. He's the most loyal, sweet person I've ever met, and getting to paint a painting to be used as his album cover was the highlight of my year. So Dave, there's your bio, life story and music and more.