PROJECTS

The Pierce Family Players - circa 1967 to present

Victor Pierce - Pierce family patriarch(!) on keys. My brother Jeff Pierce - crown prince of percussion (and vocals). I've been very fortunate to be making music with these guys for over half a century. You could say that this has been my most enduring "project".

We'd get get together a couple times a year to put on a show at The Hollenbeck Palms - the residential facility in Los Angeles where my parents now reside. This tradition was interrupted for four years, due to COVID-19 restrictions. As of December, 2022, we have resumed our performances.

Jazz Rescue - September 2014 to November 2018

So much music. So little time! There is so much wonderful music to bring out, and musical interests may differ within a band. Although Bluegrass constitutes my friend Mikki's musical roots, her musical interests extend beyond that form. My (David's) musical upbringing was decidedly eclectic, and there are many forms I am drawn to explore. Untethered (see below) allowed us to express quite a range of styles, but Mikki also wanted to branch out into vintage jazz too. Our lead singer, Ed Stopper didn't seem inclined in that direction, so in September of 2014 Mikki and I decided to develop an act as vintage jazz duo, performing jazz from the 1920's & 30's, as well as originals and contemporary songs that are in that style. In early 2015 we recruited bassist/vocalist Mark Springer, and things really began to bounce!

Sadly, the Camp Fire, and my subsequent relocation, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has put Jazz Rescue into the deep freeze. I still get together for a jam with Mikki once in a while.

Untethered - 2011 to 2018

While working the front office at Enloe Cancer Centers acupuncture clinic in the winter of 2011, I met bluegrass musician, Mikki Feeney, while she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. We got to talking about our mutual love of music. Mikki was interested in expressing music outside of the Bluegrass form, and when she learned that I could pull up a vocal harmony on the fly, she suggested that we play some music together. A few subsequent afternoons, Mikki hauled her double bass, guitar, and fiddle into the cancer center library. I'd clock out (no music-making on company time) and we would jam. It was another instant fit. I invited Ed to join in, and after a couple of missed sessions, he finally made it to a jam. Thus "Untethered" was born, - a folk trio that gets toes tapping with a delightfully eclectic mix of acoustic music and sparkling vocal harmonies. Our repertoire spaned the folk, country, popular, and folk-rock genres from the 1950s to the present, with a sprinkling of originals as well. In addition to public performances and music-for-hire, the trio also provided volunteer music service almost every week somewhere at Enloe Medical Center.

I am very happy to report that in March 2014, Mikki was declared cancer-free, and until the COVID Shelter-In-Place orders took effect she was making music full time with a number of projects of her own, including the Mill Creek Rising Bluegrass Band.

Below are some songs from our repertior, recorded live at a private party. All songs are presented here for demonstration and educational purposes only.

Enloe Medical Center - Volunteer Musicians Program "Music for Healing" - 2006 to 2018

In 2006, while working at the Enloe Regional Cancer as a Patient Support Clerk, I encountered Celtic harpist, Janice Williams, providing music for patients and their families in the waiting room of the Radiation Oncology wing. Janice's music inspired me to put together a solo CD of covers of a variety of popular songs and submit it to the support program's coordinator, Rebecca Senoglu, for consideration. I was invited to provide music in the infusion suite on a regular basis and appeared weekly.

Two years later, in 2008, I was approached by Enloe Medical Center’s, Planetree Coordinator, Traci Hunt RN, and Enloe Community Outreach Coordinator, Trudy Duisenberg, to bring a more formal structure to volunteer music service at Enloe, and to facilitate a partnership with the Music Department at California State University, Chico School of Arts, and Chico Performances. The result of this collaboration was the Music for Healing, Volunteer Musicians Program, at Enloe Medical Center.

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The DavEd Duo - 2007 to 2018

Performing solo all the time can get lonely. It is also limiting in that it does not afford me the opportunity to participate in the vocal harmony that I so love, nor experience the magic that happens when musicians share in the "Groove" together. In 2007 I invited former coworker, FlightCare Dispatcher, Ed Stopper, to join me in my musical volunteer efforts. The blend of my finger-style 12-string guitar work with Ed's flat-pick rhythm guitar, and the pairing of my vocal harmonies with Ed's lead vocals was an immediate fit. We began appearing as a duo in the infusion suite every other week as Ed's work schedule in dispatch permitted. We also played out from time to time as "The DavEd Duo". Here's a link to a fun project we collaborated on in late 2012: The Ballad of FlightCare, written by Ed.

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Outside Edge

In the fall of 2013 I performed with David "Dragonboy" Sutherland, as "Outside Edge" for an art show at the Avenue 9 Gallery in Chico, California. Here's a brief vid of us someone posted on YouTube.

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Free Self-Hypnosis mp3s

From August 1998 through December 2013 I maintained a part-time practice as a hypnotherapist. During that time I produced several Self-Hypnosis mp3's (each about 14 minutes long) which I made freely available on the web. You can still download them for free via the following links:

• Candle Meditation (great for relaxation and stress reduction)
• The Gift of Relaxation (just as the title suggests)
• The Gift of Relaxation - 2020 17 years after publishing The Gift of Relaxation, I received an appreciative email from a visitor. This inspired me to revisit the piece. I decided it was time for a rewrite. The words are the same, and the guitar improvisation is similar, but the feel of the piece is, to my ear, sweeter, gentler, and more effective. If you would be so kind, drop me a line and let me know what you think.
• Releasing Your Hold On Cigarettes (smoking cessation self-hypnosis)
• Self-Hypnosis for Weight Management (just as the title suggests)

In 2011 I collaborated with Lepeng Li and his company, iMobLife, specializing in Health and Fitness apps for handheld mobile devices, to produce a number of hypnotherapy apps for iPhone and iPad. With luck, they may still be available (things are always changing).

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