This is a new compilation I have been working on and I think it is finally ready to be released.
There are numerous solo and full band demos floating around the web. Some are complete and intact. others are spread among multiple distributed “demos” with filler tracks, live cuts, etc interspersed. The purpose of this demo compilation is to combine all the tracks into a single compilation, in the correct order with accurate information.
I take no credit for this. All these tracks are already available thanks to the efforts of traders and others in this great community. All I did was put it all together. I couldn’t even have done that on my own. Many thanks go to Jake over at antsmarching.org for his help in tracking down dates and accurate information and for not banning me for bombarding him with countless PMs and emails. Additionally, a couple individuals provided me with tracks I was missing.
What is included: every publicly-circulating demo that I feel confident can be shared.
What is NOT included: Demos of newer material (such as the Big Whiskey April Demo) and other items of questionable origin.
This is intended to be as definitive as possible.
All errors and/or mistakes are mine alone.
I am going to try to add a .torrent as soon as possible to make downloading easier for those who prefer torrents.
Enjoy!
Zack
Dave Matthews: Mother’s Night Demo // 1989 (approximate)
Name: dm1989.XX.XX-demo-MothersNight
Tracklist:
01. Mother’s Night
Dave Matthews: April 1990 Demo – Not Circulating
Dave Matthews: October 1990 Demo, Greg Howard’s Studio – Not Circulating
DMB: February 1991 Demo, Carter’s Basement
Name: dmb1991.02.XX-demo
Tracklist:
01. Recently (originally distributed as part of the “91 (grannys) demos”)
02. Warehouse (Anytime We Can Stop) (originally distributed as part of the “91 (grannys) demos”)
03. The Best Of What’s Around (originally distributed as part of the “91 (grannys) demos”)
04. I’ll Back You Up (originally distributed as part of the “91 (grannys) demos”)
05. The Song That Jane Likes (originally distributed as part of the “91 (grannys) demos”)
DMB: March 1991 Demo
Name: dmb1991.03.XX-demo
Tracklist:
1. The Song That Jane Likes(originally distributed as part of the “91 (grannys) demos”)
2. Tripping Billies(originally distributed as part of the “91 (grannys) demos”)
3. The Best Of What’s Around (NOT CIRCULATING)
4. All Along The Watchtower (NOT CIRCULATING)
5. I’ll Back You Up (NOT CIRCULATING)
6. Warehouse (Anytime We Can Stop) (NOT CIRCULATING)
Dave Matthews: April 1991 Demo, Rutabaga Studios
Name: dm1991.04.XX-demo
Tracklist:
1. Lover Lay Down (All The Same) (originally distributed as part of “dm1992-01-05.Rutabega.Studio.Sessions”)
2. Warehouse (Anytime We Can Stop) (NOT CIRCULATING)
3. Cry Freedom (originally distributed as part of “dm1992-01-05.Rutabega.Studio.Sessions”)
4. Tripping Billies (originally distributed as part of “dm1992-01-05.Rutabega.Studio.Sessions”)
5. I’ll Back You Up (originally distributed as part of “dm1992-01-05.Rutabega.Studio.Sessions”)
Dave Matthews: June 1991 Demo, Rutabaga Studios
Name: dm1991.06.XX-demo
Tracklist:
1. Satellite (After Her) (originally distributed as part of “dm1992-01-05.Rutabega.Studio.Sessions”)
2. One Sweet World (originally distributed as part of “dm1992-01-05.Rutabega.Studio.Sessions”)
3. Typical Situation (originally distributed as part of “dm1992-01-05.Rutabega.Studio.Sessions”)
4. What Would You Say (originally distributed as part of “dm1992-01-05.Rutabega.Studio.Sessions”)
5. The Best Of What’s Around (originally distributed as part of “dm1992-01-05.Rutabega.Studio.Sessions”)
6. Recently (originally distributed as part of “dm1992-01-05.Rutabega.Studio.Sessions”)
7. The Song That Jane Likes (originally distributed as part of “dm1992-01-05.Rutabega.Studio.Sessions”)
DMB: August 1991 Demo, Unknown
Name: dmb1991.08.XX-demo
Tracklist:
1. The Maker (originally distributed as part of “dmb1990-93demos”)
2. Warehouse (Chicken Lyrics) (originally distributed as part of “dmb1990-93demos”)
3. Two Step (originally distributed as part of “dmb1990-93demos”)
4. One Sweet World (NOT CIRCULATING)
Dave Matthews: December 1991, Quad Demo
Name: dm1991.12.XX-demo
Tracklist:
1. Jimi Thing (originally distributed as part of “dm1991-12-01.QuadDemos”)
2. Dancing Nancies (originally distributed as part of “dmb1991-00-00.Unknown Demo”)
3. Minarets (originally distributed as part of “dmb1991-00-00.Unknown Demo”)
4. Ants Marching (originally distributed as part of “dmb1991-00-00.Unknown Demo”)
Dave Matthews: January 1992 Demo, Greg Howard’s Studio
Note: This is essentially a re-recording of the 10/1990 demo done in January 1991.
Name: dm1992.01.01-demo
Tracklist:
01. Recently
02. The Best Of What’s Around
03. I’ll Back You Up
04. The Song That Jane Likes
DMB: January 1992 Demo, Greg Howard’s Studio – Not Circulating
DMB: June 1992 Demo, Ardent Studios
Name: dmb1992.06.XX-demo(remastered)
Tracklist:
1. Minarets (originally distributed as part of “dmb1992-06-00-StudioRemastered”)
2. Lover Lay Down (originally distributed as part of “dmb1992-06-00-StudioRemastered”)
3. One Sweet World (originally distributed as part of “dmb1992-06-00-StudioRemastered”)
4. Warehouse (originally distributed as part of “dmb1992-06-00-StudioRemastered”)
5. Ants Marching (originally distributed as part of “dmb1992-06-00-StudioRemastered”)
6. Dancing Nancies (originally distributed as part of “dmb1992-06-00-StudioRemastered”)
7. Tripping Billies (originally distributed as part of “dmb1992-06-00-StudioRemastered”)
8. Satellite (originally distributed as part of “dmb1992-06-00-StudioRemastered”)
9. True Reflections (originally distributed as part of “dmb1992-06-00-StudioRemastered”)
10. Spotlight (originally distributed as part of “dmb1992-06-00-StudioRemastered”)
11. True Reflections (originally distributed as part of “dmb1992-06-00-StudioRemastered”)
DMB: February 1993 Demo, Unknown
Name: dmb1993-02.XX.demo
Tracklist:
1. Dancing Nancies
2. Warehouse
3. Pay For What You Get
4. Lie In Our Graves
5. Rhyme And Reason
6. Kind Intentions (#32)
7. Granny (take 1)
8. Granny (take 2)
1994 Under The Table and Dreaming Demo
Name: dmb1994-XX-XX-demo-uttad
Tracklist:
1. What Would You Say (final) (NOT INCLUDED. ON OFFICIAL RELEASE)
2. The Best of What’s Around (final) (NOT INCLUDED. ON OFFICIAL RELEASE)
3. Jimi Thing (no Roi jam at the end) (NOT INCLUDED. ON OFFICIAL RELEASE)
4. Rhyme And Reason (final) (NOT INCLUDED. ON OFFICIAL RELEASE)
5. Warehouse (final) (NOT INCLUDED. ON OFFICIAL RELEASE)
6. Dancing Nancies (final) (NOT INCLUDED. ON OFFICIAL RELEASE)
7. Interview Clip
8. Tripping Billies (live)
DMB: 2000 “The Lillywhite Sessions”
Name: dmb2000.XX.XX-demo-lillywhite (The Lillywhite Sessions)
Tracklist:
1. Busted Stuff
2. Grey Street
3. Digging A Ditch
4. Sweet Up And Down
5. JTR
6. Big Eyed Fish
7. Grace Is Gone
8. Captain
9. Bartender
10. Monkey Man
11. Kit Kat Jam
12. Raven
Note: There is also a “Karmageddon Remaster” of The Lillywhite Sessions. It is NOT an official part of this compilation and should NOT be distributed as part of it. If you want to download that, please go to the main Downloads page.
2000 “The Lillywhite Sessions / Demo #2”
Tracklist:
1. Bartender (6:37.94)
2. JTR (7:52.70)
3. Busted Stuff (3:56.92)
4. Sweet Up And Down (4:32.58)
5. Digging A Ditch (4:15.09)
6. Build You A House (3:58.60)
7. Captain (5:38.37)
8. Untitle Jam (5:48.18)
9. Grace Is Gone (7:33.00)
Download Link (Lillywhite Sessions Demo #2 Miscellaneous Clips)
Full Demo Not publicly circulating
Dave Matthews: 2000 Everyday Demo
Name: dm2000.XX.XX-demo-everyday
Tracklist:
1. Everyday
2. I Did It
3. When The World Ends
Download Link (Note: These are .mp3 as they have been distributed)
DMB: 2000 Everyday Sessions
Tracklist:
1. Christmas Song (NOT INCLUDED / OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE ON “PLATINUM CHRISTMAS.”)
2002 Some Devil Sessions (Dave Matthews)
Name: dm2002-11-XX-sessions-somedevil
Tracklist:
1. Cigarette Lit
2. Everyday
3. One Sweet Wolrd
4. Litho Blitho (NOT INCLUDED. AVAILABLE ON SOUNDS OF WOOD & STEEL, VOL. 3)
TEXT FILE (right click and save)
Additionally, there is “The April Demo” of Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King that is floating around. I am NOT making that available here, as it is a demo/early version of a commercially-available album. I made an exception for The Lillywhite Sessions, because they are so widely and openly shared among the DMB community. There is also a rough cut of “Break Free” that was recorded against the band’s taping policy when it was played over their monitor system during a 2006 soundcheck. That is also not being made available for download here.
#1 by Simply Agrestic on July 22, 2009 - 8:48 am
Quote
Awesome! Thrilled to have these all in one place — and I never knew there were so many tracks still missing! Wonder how each of these got leaked in the first place. BTW, along with “Break Free,” there are also rough studio versions of “The Idea of You” and “Break For It (Run While We Can)” floating around, but I’m pretty sure they were recorded via IEM as well.
#2 by Simply Agrestic on July 22, 2009 - 8:52 am
Quote
Also — there’s a note on Ants for the IBYU 3/91 demo indicating it is circulating? See the note about Carter’s intro. Or maybe it was mislabeled?
http://antsmarching.org/tour/ViewShow.php?ShowID=3789
#3 by Zack on July 22, 2009 - 9:54 am
Quote
Do you have or have you heard those cuts of “The Idea of You” and “Break For It?” I’ve heard a version of “Break for It” but it’s an IEM from a soundcheck.
The “Break Free” that’s out there is definitely an IEM recording of a rough studio cut being played through the band’s monitors at a soundcheck or something like that.
I’ve asked Jake about that 3/91 IBYU. I’m under the impression that it isn’t out there openly circulating. If that’s not the case, I’ll track it down and update the compilation. Thanks very much for the feedback.
#4 by Burto1945 on July 24, 2009 - 10:12 am
Quote
Thanks Zack for all the effort you put into getting these great songs out to the public. If I have one nit to pick, it would be that it is the ‘Rutabaga Studios,’ not Rutabega. Great work, and much thanks, as always.
#5 by Zack on July 24, 2009 - 10:18 am
Quote
Nice catch. I’ve corrected it, though kept the misspelling in the “originally distributed as part of” information section because the original files I received were titled with the incorrect spelling.
Thanks for the feedback and correction. 🙂
Pingback: Dave Matthews Band: STUDIO Break Free Recording Found! | Dave Matthews Band: Music
#6 by beezneezy on December 16, 2013 - 10:51 am
Quote
This may be answered elsewhere, but why is the pitch on the Granny demos so high? (6ish% too fast)
#7 by Kaz on September 17, 2014 - 1:28 pm
Quote
I have to agree with Beezneezy. I slowed all the tracks down by 6% in the Granny demos and it sounds much more like what it’s supposed to.
#8 by Frank on May 10, 2021 - 3:43 am
Quote
Thanks for this site! Lots of old chestnuts collected. Amazing it’s still going.
#9 by office icarus on July 11, 2021 - 2:11 am
Quote
Pretty certain you mean ‘Break for It’ (aka Run While We Can) and not “Break Free”; esp since it was in fact ‘Break For It’ that was soundchecked/circulated in ’06.
dmbalmanac [song history]:
“This song was soundchecked several times, beginning in 2006, but it had yet to be played at a show until the Summer Tour tour opener in 2010”
#10 by Luke on January 31, 2024 - 6:38 pm
Quote
Hey Zack! Great website. Thank you so much for all the work you’ve done here.
It seems that Dave Matthews: January 1992 Demo, Greg Howard’s Studio are the same recordings as tracks #1, 3, 4 & 5 from DMB: February 1991 Demo, Carter’s Basement.
If Jake Vigliotti researched the demos and determined they are correctly Dave recording at Greg Howard’s studio (along with Greg, John D’Earth and others) and NOT in fact DMB…it also sounds very much like track #2 (Warehouse) from the February 1991 Demo, Carter’s Basement recording is also from Greg’s studio. The drums especially sound like the programmed drums from the other 4 tracks.
Thoughts?