The ride started for Dave in an 8th grade guitar class. After that he was hooked, and by the time he got through high school, Dave was playing rhythm guitar and singing for a variety of projects with styles ranging from rock, to country, to rhythm and blues.
After high school, Dave settled into the roll of lead singer/rhythm guitarist for a rock and roll oldies band called Johnny Ouzo and the Spartans. When the group disbanded approximately 3 years later, Dave began performing solo under the stage name Johnny Ouzo.
A few years later, Dave changed his stage name to Dave Ouzo and started an acoustic duo, called The Ouzo Brothers, with former TRAK lead guitarist Todd Derita, which lasted approximately 2 1/2 years. After the "brothers" parted company, Dave returned to the solo circuit until 1993 when he would release his first album, Outlaws and Outsiders, under the Ouzo Brothers name. After a lukewarm response, Dave once again returned to the solo circuit under his real name, Dave Land, but the nickname "Ouzo" took on a life of it's own and follows him to this day.
In 2001, Dave opened a music store called Downtown Music in Martinez, CA. Through the store, he would meet his current bass player, Tsunami Russio, and a number of other musicians he would unite to form his band, The Downtowners, in 2003. Dave recorded his second and third albums with the Downtowners, Pirate Eyes in 2005, and America Rocks in 2006. During the same time period he started a spinoff project called Big Wave Dave and the Breakers, a party band specializing in rock and roll oldies for hours of mindless fun. Thanks to the popularity of both bands, he was able to shift his professional focus entirely to music.
In 2008, Dave decided to leave the music retail business and concentrate on performances and songwriting. He recorded his live album, Just Another Bad Guy, in 2014 and the follow-up studio album, Here We Go Again, in 2015, on the Tays International record label. Dave's current release, My Friends Call Me Ouzo, debuted in July 2018 on the Blue Tree Records label. Along the way, Dave (with the Downtowners), has filmed and released three videos, "Pirate Eyes", "(San Francisco Giants) San Francisco Style" and "Rock and Roll Cowboy". Dave is currently working on his new CD, Don't Take Candy From A Cowboy, which is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2019.
And the ride continues....