David Kendrick

David Kendrick (born March 23, 1955) is an American musician who is currently a member of the experimental pop band Xiu Xiu. A former member of Gleaming Spires and Devo, he has recorded and toured with Sparks, Andy Prieboy, and Revolushn.

Kendrick then formed the Continental Miniatures, who had a charting single in 1978 (Billboard #90) with a cover of Dusty Springfield's "Stay Awhile." With pressure to record non-original material, the band broke up. In 1980, he joined the new wave band Bates Motel who had a small deal with Planet Records. The band's only release was the track "Live Among the Dancers" on Planet Records' various artists compilation album Sharp Cuts - New Music from American Bands (1980).

Sparks In 1980, Kendrick and two other members of Bates Motel, bassist Les Bohem and guitarist Bob Haag, were recruited by brothers Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks, with whom they toured and recorded between 1981-1986. Kendrick played with Sparks until they temporarily stopped touring in the late 1980's and mostly worked as a duo with an engineer in the studio thereafter.

Devo In 1987, Kendrick joined Devo, replacing their previous drummer Alan Myers, who had left the band in 1986 due to discontent with the increasing use of drum machines. "I was friends with them," Kendrick said, "and I told them, 'if you guys want to play with a real drummer, I would love to do it' ... So when they started up it was live drums again so that's the reason I did it." When Devo re-formed in 1996, Kendrick chose not to resume working with Devo, and was replaced by The Vandals drummer Josh Freese, although he played with the band again briefly in the mid-2000s, Another performance at the Zebulon Cafe Concert followed in September 3, this time alongside Carla Bozulich, Mate Tulipan and Father Murphy. David also played drums on the band's cover of The Chameleons' song "Less Than Human". The song was included on their Bandcamp exclusive release XMFX 6, which was released on September 19, 2020.

In 2022, Kendrick became a full member of Xiu Xiu for their thirteenth studio album Ignore Grief.

Other work Since the mid-1980s, Kendrick was involved in the Devo-related project Visiting Kids, featuring Mark Mothersbaugh's then-wife Nancye Ferguson, Devo guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh, and Bob's daughter Alex Mothersbaugh, among others. They released a self-titled EP in 1990, which was produced by Mark Mothersbaugh and Devo keyboardist and guitarist Bob Casale, and included songs written by Kendrick and Mark Mothersbaugh. Visiting Kids appeared on the compilation album Radio Tokyo Tapes Volume 4: Women (1989) with the track "Trilobytes" and on the soundtrack to the film Rockula (1990) with "United State of Beat".

In 2003, Kendrick recorded the album Soundtrack for a Mars Movie with the Extremophiles, a short-lived band consisting of engineers and scientists from the Mars Desert Research Station, including architect, builder and musician Frank Schubert, who guested on guitar on Devo's Smooth Noodle Maps album. Soundtrack for a Mars Movie is a music project on microbes in extreme environments. The trio also performed on March 2, 2014, at the Getty Center.

Since the 2010s, under the name DeKay, Kendrick has been the drummer and lyricist for psychedelic rock band Revolushn, Their 2020 single "Electric" features saxophonist Scott Page (Supertramp, Toto, Pink Floyd). Two Smooth Noodle Maps was an extremely limited release, with only 20 copies being made.

As a songwriter, Kendrick's work has appeared on soundtracks for films like The Last American Virgin (1982), Revenge of the Nerds (1984), School Spirit (1985), The Horror Show (1989), Mannequin Two: On the Move (1991), and Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever (2009).

Personal life Kendrick is married and has a child who is a guitar player.

Outside of music, Kendrick's interests include film noir, psychedelia, hauntology, libraries, trickster mythology, and crime fiction. As an avid collector, he has a collection of over 1,000 film noir films from around the world He also collects odd art and some of his acquisitions have appeared in Diane Keaton's 2002 book Clown Paintings.

Selected discography

The Continental Miniatures The Continental Miniatures (1979)

Gleaming Spires Songs of the Spires (1981) Life Out on the Lawn (EP) (1982) Walk on Well Lighted Streets (1983) Party E.P. (1984) Welcoming a New Ice Age (1985)

Sparks Whomp That Sucker (1981) Angst in My Pants (1982) In Outer Space (1983) Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat (1984) Music That You Can Dance To (1986)

Devo Total Devo (1988) Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace (1989) Smooth Noodle Maps (1990)

Visiting Kids Visiting Kids (1990)

The Extremophiles Soundtrack for a Mars Movie (2003)

The Empire of Fun The Blue Head Classics of Enduring Elegance It Looks Like Today Outside Jeepers! I'm Sorry Mr. Kendrick, There's a Skull Inside Your Head (2006) Crime, Memory and Loss (2015) CANdYPIE 2000

Josie Cotton Invasion of the B-Girls (2007)

Glen Meadmore Hot Horny and Born Again (1998, recorded 1993) Cowboy Songs for Lil Hustlers

Beth Hart Beth Hart and the Ocean of Souls (2009) - Recorded in 1993

Revolushn Dark Matter (2014) The Freshman (2016) Further!! (2017)

Xiu Xiu Ignore Grief (2023) 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips (2024)