Carter Beauford Biography

Carter Beauford (born November 2, 1957 in Charlottesville, Virginia) is a drummer and founding member of the Dave Matthews Band (DMB). He is known for his abilities to mix together countless percussion styles, and highly regarded for his open hand drumming style, where his left hand leads on the hi-hat and ride cymbal in a conventional right-handed drumset set-up. Image:Http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/9123/carterbeauford/thumbs/carter9.jpg

Beauford was exposed to drumming at the age of three. At the time, his father had bought tickets to a Buddy Rich concert and could not find someone to watch his son, so he took young Carter along to the show. After that show, Carter's father bought his son a tin set with paper heads since Carter showed much interest in learning the instrument. He began playing his first professional gigs when he was nine.

Beauford has also contributed to other artists on side projects including work with Carlos Santana, John Popper (Blues Traveler), and bass virtuoso Victor Wooten (Bela Fleck and the Flecktones).