Sebastopol, CA native Dave Elitch grew up listening predominantly to Jazz and Big Band music – he lists Buddy Rich, Max Roach and Art Blakey as some of his very-early influences. At the age of 10 he began playing drums and started listening to more mainstream music, bands like Nirvana, Foo Fighters and Metallica.

Dave Elitch first gained notice when he moved to Los Angeles and joined Virgin/Capitol artists Daughters of Mara. In 2007 the popular hard rock band recorded a highly-anticipated debut album with producer Garth Richardson.

After EMI’s Capitol Music Group restructuring, a number of acts were dropped, and the record got shelved. A cult following around that album continues to grow, as does its influence in the Metal community.

Elitch’s incredible versatility as a player became very evident on the best-selling Gospel Chops drum DVD, “Shed Sessionz Vol. 2” - see Drummerworld Video - where he was featured alongside top Gospel and R&B drummers – players like Ron Bruner Jr, Eric Moore, Justin Brown and Nikki Glaspie.

In 2010, Elitch was invited to join legendary progressive rock band The Mars Volta.

He toured Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Chile with the Grammy Award winning band, sharing the stage with bands like Mastodon, Muse and Rage Against The Machine. His huge-pocket and restrained approach to playing with TMV soon gained him a significant following in the drum community, and Elitch finished out the year touring Canada and the US with Juliette Lewis.

Dave Elitch has since worked with Miley Cyrus, M83, Justin Timberlake, Susanne Sundfør, Big Sir, Juliette Lewis, Crash Kings and Vicky Cryer as well as many others Currently, Elitch is a highly-in-demand teacher in the LA area and remains busy with clinics and masterclasses for Guitar Center, Musicians Institute and The Collective NYC.

Dave also conducts masterclass lectures and teaches privately in Los Angeles.