Dave Tough

Dave Tough (born Springfield, Missouri) is an American multi-instrumentalist, producer, engineer, songwriter and music industry educator. He is also a member of the band Xavier & Ophelia who released their debut album X&O in 2011. Tough released two solo albums, one in 1999 and one in 2005, and he won the grand prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest twice, in 2009 in the country category, and in 2013 in the electronica category. He has also written and produced songs for shows including Hart of Dixie, Nashville, Hemlock Grove, and the Seth Rogen film Observe and Report. Tough has won two GMA Covenant Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Dove Awards) for his work producing, engineering, and writing songs with instrumental guitarist Sean Spicer.

Early life, education Dave Tough was born in Springfield and grew up there. He attended the same high school as Brad Pitt, Kickapoo High. Tough developed an early interest in music and in his youth started playing saxophone, later transitioning to drums, bass, piano, and guitar. While attending the University of North Texas in Denton northwest of Dallas in the mid-1990s, he performed with several bands in the Dallas area including serving as drummer for the R&B ensemble of Al "TNT" Bragg, and he worked as a disc jockey for jazz from May to August 1997 at KNTU 88.1 FM, the college station. He graduated from UNT in August 1998 with a BA degree in music and a focus on jazz and the jazz drum set.

Music career

1998–99: Music business career, I'm Right Here Tough worked at Capitol Records/EMI from July 1998 to June 1999. After five years in Texas, he moved to Los Angeles to work for a variety of music and entertainment companies. He worked at BMG Music Publishing and in technology consulting for Warner Music Group. He attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California from 1999 to 2001 on a scholarship, graduating with a Master of Business Administration in April 2001. He also has an ADR certificate from Pepperdine School of Law.

After a recommendation from Warner-Elektra-Atlantic (WEA) CEO Dave Mount, he worked as a copyright coordinator at Warner/Chappell Music Publishing in Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles he also studied under music engineers including Bruce Swedien, Allen Sides (who began Ocean Way Recording), and Neil Citron (additionally a guitarist from Toronto). Tough has been a voting member of The Recording Academy.

2002–14:Teaching Career Tough has served as a music business, recording, producing and songwriting professor since 2002. He was on the list of "15 Outstanding Professors Every Audio Enthusiast Should Know at #11. He first began teaching music technology at a number of institutions in California, including UCLA. He was an assistant professor in music technology and business at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona west of Fontana from August 2002 to August 2004.

Tough accepted a job offer in January 2005 to teach at Belmont University in Nashville. From August 2005 to August 2006 he was teaching music technology at the University of North Alabama in Florence west of Huntsville, before beginning to work exclusively at Belmont's Mike Curb College full-time. He was on the executive committee of the Audio Engineering Society in Nashville from 2005 to 2007.

2005–11: Gravity Always Wins, compilations His second solo album, Gravity Always Wins, was self-released in 2005. The album was recorded in 2004 at Steve Vai's Mothership Studios, with a focus on the sounds of 1980s new wave and art rock. Los Angeles producer and keyboardist Steven Leavitt co-produced the album along with Tough, and arranged the strings. Other contributing musicians included guitarist Neil Citron (Steve Vai, Johnny Hiland), drummer Mitch Marine (has played with Smash Mouth, Jack Ingram, and Dwight Yoakam) as well as recording engineer and musician Jim Demain (Josh Rouse, Keith Urban). Indie-Music.com called the album "down-to-earth," and in a positive review said, "Tough's music doesn't sound too much like the stuff you hear all the time on the radio these days. Instead, tracks such as 'Photograph' and 'Never Gonna Change' borrow chunks of inspiration from 80s New Wave guitar rock. It's not all rock & roll from beginning to end, however, as this CD's title track utilizes a classical arrangement."

After Gravity Always Wins, Tough released many digital compilations on iTunes, including a 2006–2007 Songs CD in March 2008. He won the country category in the 2009 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for a song he co-wrote titled "Beatles Without John". He released his album Dave Tough – 2008–2010 in 2011. In the 2011 International Songwriting Competition, he was a finalist with the song "Nothing Sweet About Alabama," and a semi-finalist with the song "Six Billion Lonely People." He co-wrote both songs.

2008–14: Dave Tough Productions Tough is owner and operator of Dave Tough Productions, a company which provides a recording studio and music production services to national and international clients.

Tough has produced, engineered and written songs for hundreds of both signed and independent artists in a variety of genres at his studio and in other places. Much of his production and mastering work is done over the internet. He was featured in Music Connection magazine in the summer of 2009 as producer and engineer for the Frog Eye Jug Band. Some of the clients he has produced under Dave Tough Productions include The Lost Trailers, Cindy Alter from the band Clout, and Danny Gottlieb, a drummer. Tough has had several recordings of his songs made by independent artists.

2009–14: Xavier & Ophelia

In 2009 Tough founded the pop, rock, and electronica group Xavier & Ophelia with vocalist and songwriter DeAnna Moore. The duo first met in 2009 on Myspace, when Tough was searching for vocalists for a demo. After meeting in person they discovered a shared fascination with older jazz standards and artists including Fiona Apple, Edie Brickell, and the English duo, Goldfrapp. They soon formed Xavier & Ophelia, also going by the moniker X&O. Moore contributes vocals while Tough handles production and instrumentals. Both members contribute to the songwriting process, and they began writing songs which variously integrated the genres of synth-pop, electronica, pop, alternative rock, and indie rock. Early on the band was based in Cane Ridge (an area in Antioch, Tennessee) and other parts of Antioch.

The duo released their first album, Xavier & Ophelia, on April 1, 2011. The album met with a largely positive reception among critics. Music News Nashville praised Tough's production, saying "techno beats, computerized sounds, live instruments and lovely, layered vocals mixed together put a unique stamp on their clean productions." For a time the album's track "Six Billion Lonely People" was in rotation on the BBS Radio 24-hour music station. At the 2011 International Songwriting Competition, the band was a semi-finalist with "Six Billion Lonely People, and the song was a finalist in the 2012 Songdoor Songwriting Competition as well. "Last Recorded Summer," a pop song on the album, was nominated in the Indie International Songwriting Contest and was also a finalist in the UK Songwriting Competition.

Their second album, I Hate Birds, was self-released on December 18, 2012, and several tracks went on to win or be nominated for awards. "Falling Down" won the Grand Prize at the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the electronic category, and two more songs placed in the Indie International Songwriting Contest in spring 2013: "I Hate Birds" in the rock category and "Made of Stars" in the pop category.

The band's music has been placed in movies, television, and commercials. "Passing Train" was featured in multiple episodes of Alaska Gold Diggers, and in late 2013 their song "Heartbeat" was featured on the television show Twisted. Xavier & Ophelia periodically performs live as a duo or with a backing band, with Tough switching between instruments such as guitar and keyboards. They regularly perform at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.

2010–18: Film placements Tough has had a number of his songs placed in television shows on major networks. In August 2010 his song "Vegas" was featured in The CW series Plain Jane, and later that year his song "Constantly Falling" was featured in Seth Rogen's feature film Observe and Report. In January 2012, his songs " Let's Get Crazy," "Vegas," and "Pretty Mama" placed in episodes 102–107 of The CW reality television series Remodel. The show ended up using ten of his songs that year. Later in 2012, the CBS Sports Network featured his song "Brownsville," co-written with Bill Dilugi, in a bull riding scene, and in late 2012 he produced, engineered, wrote, and co-wrote nine songs for the television series Hart of Dixie. The episodes include "Pilot," "Padres and Pariahs," "In Havoc and Heat," "The Pirate & The Practice," "Aliens and Alias," and "The Big Day."

In 2012–2013 he produced a song for the ABC series This Moment, a song he produced and co-wrote with Justin Busch, was then used as the theme song for a cycling DVD by Endurance Films in February 2013. In late 2013 his song "Hillbilly Hollywood" was used on the show Nashville, his song "Pretty Mama" appeared in the ABC movie Christmas Bounty, and his songs "Nothing Sweet About Alabama" and "Passing Train" appeared in Alaska Gold Diggers. Also, a song he co-wrote and produced titled "Pretty Mama (So Many Girls)" was used in episode 102 of the Netflix show Hemlock Grove. In the summer of 2014, he produced and engineered an original track titled "Close" for the documentary Cuddle, directed by Jason O'Brien.

In 2016, two of Tough's songs "Because of You" and "Sweet Remedy" received prominent features in the movie Return of the Prodigal Son. Also, his song "Gonna Find My Way to You" was placed in the introduction of the Hallmark Channel movie Summer Love. In 2017 Tough's song "I Love Em All" was placed in the film Thumper which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in Manhattan, New York. He is a member of The College Music Society, National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and has served on the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association Board. A song he co-wrote titled "Tell Ya That I Love Ya" was chosen as a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition of 2013.

In 2017 Tough won his second Dove/GMA award for producing/engineering the Instrumental Song of the Year "Rise Again." He also started his own YouTube show entitled The Producer's Room with Dave Tough.

As of May 2018, Dave Tough is based in Nashville where he continues to work on new music in his Nashville studio. Tough simultaneously is a music industry educator at Belmont University, and continues to produce/write other projects as well. He continues to publish scholarly material on the music industry. Tough is known to use Pro Tools, Cubase, Nuendo, Digital Performer, Sibelius, and the scorewriting program Finale.

Personal life In 2007 he successfully finished a round of cancer treatment.

Publishing history Tough, D. (Fall 1997). "Show & Tell" in Process Magazine Tough, D. (2005) "Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMILE" in Journal of the Music & Entertainment Educators Association (Vol. 5, No. 1) Tough, D. (2010). "Shaping Audio Engineering Curriculum: An Expert Panel's View of the Future." AES Convention Tough, D. (2010). "Shaping Future Audio Engineering Curricula: An Expert Panel's View;" Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA) Journal Tough, D. (2010). Play it Again: Cover Songs in Popular Music (April 1, 2010, Ashgate, ) – authored chapter Tough, D. (2012). "A Focus on Robert Gagne's Instruction Theories: Application to Teaching Audio Engineering." Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA) Journal Tough, D. (2013). "Teaching Modern Production and Songwriting Techniques: What Makes a Hit Song?" Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA) Journal

Discography Solo Material Albums + Solo Albums by Dave Tough Year Album title Release details Released: January 1, 1999 Label: Self-released Format: digital Released: February 3, 2005 Label: Real Life Music Format: digital Released: March 21, 2008 Real Life Music Format:CD, digital Released: September 20, 2011 Label:Self-released Format: digital Released: November 1, 2011 Label: Blue Pie Format: digital Released: November 1, 2011 Label: Blue Pie Format: digital

Singles

+ Selected songs by Dave Tough YearTitle Album Certifications2006–2007 Songs Won: John Lennon Songwriting Contestn/aUsed in CW series Plain Janen/aUsed in Observe and Reportn/aFinalist: 2011 International Songwriting Competition"Tell Ya That I Love Ya (ft. Tre Houston and Solo Jones)"n/aSemi-finalist: 2013 Int. Songwriting Competition"Brownsville"n/aUsed by CBS Sports Network"This Moment"n/aUsed by Endurance Films"Pretty Mama (So Many Girls)"n/aUsed in ep. 102 of Hemlock Grove

With X and O

Albums + Albums by Xavier and Ophelia Year Album title Release details2011 Released: April 1, 2011 Label: Real Life Music, Blue Pie Format: CD, digital2012 Released: December 18, 2012 Label: Self-released Format: CD, digital

Singles

+Selected songs by Xavier and OpheliaYearTitleAlbumCertifications 2011"Six Billion Lonely People" Xavier and OpheliaFinalist: Int/ Songwriting Competition"Last Recorded Summer"Finalist: UK Songwriting Competition 2012"Made of Stars" "I Hate Birds"2nd: Indie Int. Songwriting Contest"I Hate Birds"2nd Indie Int. Songwriting ContestFalling DownWon: John Lennon Songwriting Contest

Production credits

Awards and nominations