DM Stith

DM Stith is the stage name of David Michael Stith, an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Buffalo and Rochester, born in 1980. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works in folk, indie, experimental and modern folk contexts.

Background

Stith comes from a musical family. His father directs a college wind ensemble and formerly directs a church choir, his grandfather is professor emeritus in the music department at Cornell University, his mother is a pianist, and his sisters sing opera, play piano, tap dance, play timpani and are skilled softball players. As a child, he prefers drawing mazes on church bulletins during services to taking part in the family’s church performances.

At school, a performance of Phantom of the Opera accompanied by his mother on piano almost turns him away from music. In high school, he starts a noise band called Starchild, Starchildren or The Pool, although the group never settles on a final name and spends more time painting guitars than playing them. He also writes a lot of bad poetry during this period.

Early artistic work

In college, Stith tries writing a novel and a children’s book and illustrates them with original woodcut prints. That work in writing and illustration brings him from Rochester to Brooklyn, where he begins working as a graphic designer. While living in Brooklyn, he becomes friends with Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond and helps in small technical ways with recording her album Bring Me The Workhorse. That experience leads him to start writing and recording his own songs.

He records privately in his bedroom, combining folk song writing with electronic textures. He also completes an early set of songs for an album titled Ichabod and Apple, written and recorded during the first month of his songwriting experiments.

Albums and collaboration

His first full-length album is Heavy Ghost, released on Asthmatic Kitty Records in 2009. His second studio album, Pigeonheart, follows in 2016.

Stith also collaborates with John-Mark Lapham, formerly of The Earlies, in the project The Revival Hour.