I don't think Dave is shit, he is just WAY WAY over rated. He does nothing that you can't go to your local college dy jour and see on open mic night. Nothing that special to his music at all. More power to him for getting on that wave and taking it for the ride though.
actually I think Dave created that wave.. maybe you don't realize but in the early 90s he was playing small clubs .. every week he'd play one or two nights in c-ville, one night where JMU is I want to say and one nght in Richmond (Flood Zone) and not sure where else.. it was $5 to see him... he very slowly and the hard way built his audience...
I'm not into his music...not my thing.
he's not my cup of tea either, but I certainly don't think he's shit.
and you're right, definitely put in his time. I remember seeing him at a high school prom in Richmond in maybe 1993 (it wasn't my prom, so I'm really not sure of the year).
On another note, I was given tickets to the Jane Goodall Institute fund raiser he played at DAR a few years back and he was really good solo.