David Usher facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Usher
Usher in 2012
Background information
Born	(1966-04-24) April 24, 1966 (age 59) Oxford, England
Genres	Rock pop alternative rock
Occupation(s)	musician author speaker
Instruments	vocals guitar keyboards
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Universal Music Capitol Maple

David Usher (born April 24, 1966) is a Canadian musician, author, and speaker. He is most famous as the lead singer for the band Moist. David has also released many solo albums. He started a company called Reimagine AI, which creates things using artificial intelligence.

David Usher's Early Life

David Usher was born in Oxford, England. His mother, Samphan Usher, was a Thai Buddhist artist. His father, Dan Usher, was an economics professor at Queen's University. David lived in many places when he was young, like Malaysia, New York City, California, and Thailand. His family finally settled in Kingston, Ontario.

He went to high school at Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute. Other famous musicians, Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip and Hugh Dillon from the Headstones, also went to that school. David studied at Queen's University for a short time. Then, he moved to Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. There, he studied political science.

David Usher's Music Career

While studying in Vancouver, David Usher helped form the band Moist. David was the singer. Mark Makoway played guitars, Jeff Pearce played bass, Kevin Young played keyboards, and Paul Wilcox played drums. David became the main songwriter for the band.

Moist's First Albums

Moist released their first album, Silver, in 1994. It was very popular and sold 400,000 copies in Canada. This earned it "quadruple-platinum" status. Their second album, Creature, came out in 1996. It sold over 300,000 copies, reaching "triple-platinum" status.

In 1998, David took a year to work on his own music. He released his first solo album, Little Songs. He recorded most of this album in his apartment kitchen.

In 1999, Moist released their third album, Mercedes 5 and Dime. This album also sold very well. In 2001, they released a collection of their best songs called Machine Punch Through: The Singles Collection. After this, the band took a break for twelve years.

David's Solo Music

David continued his solo career. His second solo album, Morning Orbit, sold 90,000 copies. The first song released from it was "Alone in the Universe." Other musicians, including some from Moist, helped him with this album. He even covered the song "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. A special version of the album was released in Thailand, where David sang two songs in Thai.

David's third solo album, Hallucinations, came out in 2003. It included a cover of the Manic Street Preachers song "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next".

After Hallucinations, he released If God Had Curves. This album featured collaborations with Tegan Quin from Tegan and Sara and Bruce Cockburn.

David kept releasing solo albums in the 2000s. These included Strange Birds (2007) and Wake Up and Say Goodbye (2008). Strange Birds was inspired by New York City, where David had moved with his family. Many members of Moist also helped with this album. Wake Up and Say Goodbye had a bonus song with Quebec singer Marie-Mai. This album was nominated for a Juno Award.

In the early 2010s, David released two more solo albums before Moist got back together. The Mile End Sessions came out in 2010. It had mostly older songs re-recorded in a softer, acoustic style. It was David's first song recorded in French. Songs from the Last Day on Earth was released in 2012.

Moist Reunites

In 2013, Moist ended their twelve-year break. They recorded their fourth studio album, Glory Under Dangerous Skies, which came out in 2014.

In 2016, David Usher released his ninth solo album, Let It Play. This album featured English versions of French-Canadian songs. It also had new recordings of his own songs and collaborations with many artists like Marie-Mai and Alex Nevsky.

Throughout his music career, David Usher has sold over 1.4 million albums. He has won four Juno Awards and had several songs reach number one. He has sung in English, French, and Thai.

Other Projects

David Usher is also the founder of Reimagine AI. This company is an artificial intelligence creative studio located in Montreal. Reimagine AI uses AI technology to create virtual characters.

David also helped create the Climate Clock with Damon Matthews. You can find it at Climateclock.net.

In 2012, David gave a speech about how people create new ideas at a conference in Toronto. In 2015, he wrote a book about creativity called Let the Elephants Run • Unlock Your Creativity and Change Everything.

David Usher's Personal Life

In 2001, David was part of a TV special called Musicians in the WarZone. This show was about helping people. David traveled to the border of Thailand to visit a large community of refugees from Burma.

As of 2018, David lives in Montreal, Quebec, with his family.

David Usher's Music Albums

Studio Albums

EPs (Extended Plays)

Singles (Songs)

Albums with Moist

Other Music Appearances

• "Watching the Wheels" (a John Lennon cover song) (from Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, 2007)

DVDs

• walk.don't.run (2005)