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Dax Wentworth Pierson (August 2, 1970 – December 30, 2024) was an American musician from Oakland, California. He had been a member of Subtle and 13 & God.

Life and career

Pierson was born on August 2, 1970. He worked at Amoeba Music in Berkeley, California for 10 years. He was a member of Subtle and 13 & God.

In 2005, he was seriously injured and left paralyzed from the chest down when the Subtle tour van hit a patch of black ice in Iowa. No one else in the vehicle was seriously injured. His musician friends and promoters subsequently organized a series of tribute shows and benefit albums.

In 2009, he sued Ford Motor Company for faulty design mechanics, arguing that the defective seat contributed to his life-threatening injuries. A federal court jury awarded him $18.3 million ($12.3 million for medical expenses and lost earnings and $6 million for pain and suffering).

He released Live in Oakland on Ratskin Records in 2019.

In 2021, he released Nerve Bumps (A Queer Divine Dissatisfaction); his first solo studio album for fifteen years. The album's title partly inspired by a quote from dancer Martha Graham. Some of the album's themes touch on his recovery from his 2005 accident. The album's track For The Angels was included on The Wire magazine's compilation for April 2021.

Pierson died in Oakland, California on December 30, 2024, at the age of 54.

Discography

Studio albums

• Intro To (2002)
• Pablo Feldman Sun Riley (2006) (with Robert Horton)
• Nerve Bumps (A Queer Divine Dissatisfaction) (Ratskin Records, 2021)

Live albums

• Live in Oakland (2019)

Contributions

• Anticon - "Pitty Party People" from We Ain't Fessin' (Double Quotes) (2002)
• Jel - "14. Dynamic Button" from 10 Seconds (2002)
• Themselves - "Good People Check" and "Hat in the Wind" from The No Music (2002)
• Odd Nosdam - "Untitled" from No More Wig for Ohio (2003)
• Alias - "Unseen Sights" from Muted (2003)
• Odd Nosdam - "Untitled Two" from Burner (2005)
• Alias & Tarsier - "Picking the Same Lock" from Brookland/Oaklyn (2006)
• Odd Nosdam - "Hollow Me" from Pretty Swell Explode (2008)
• Themselves - "You Ain't It" from Crowns Down (2009)
• Alias - "Talk in Technicolor" from Fever Dream (2011)

References

1. "Live In Oakland | Ratskin Records". Bandcamp. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
2. Segal, Dave (April 29, 2007). "Dax Pierson & Robert Horton: Pablo Feldman Sun Riley". XLR8R. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
3. Aguilar-Canabal, Diego (June 19, 2019). "The Musical Reinvention of Dax Pierson". East Bay Express. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
4. "Dax Pierson". San Francisco Electronic Music Festival. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
5. ^ "Dax Wentworth Pierson". Echovita. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
6. "Dax Pierson". AllMusic. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
7. Hix, Lisa (May 8, 2005). "CLUBLAND". SFGate. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
8. "New at the XLR8R Podcast DJ Mix Series: anticon". XLR8R. March 1, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
9. Breihanon, Tom (May 28, 2009). "Subtle's Dax Pierson Awarded $18.3 Million in Injury Lawsuit". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
10. Marston, Jennifer (May 28, 2009). "Dax Pierson Awarded $18.3 Million". XLR8R. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
11. Murray, Robin (May 29, 2019). "Dax Pierson Given Enormous Payment". Clash. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
12. Arnold, Eric (May 28, 2009). "Dax Pierson awarded $18M in Settlement". SF Weekly. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
13. Egelko, Bob (May 28, 2009). "Paralyzed Oakland musician sues Ford, wins". SFGate. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
14. Hughes, Josiah (May 29, 2019). "Subtle Member Wins $18 million Lawsuit". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
15. Voynovskaya, Nastia (July 22, 2019). "Dax Pierson's New Album Confronts a Near-Death Experience and Turbulent Recovery". KQED. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
16. Lydia, Sviatoslavsky (2021-06-18). "Dax Pierson discusses his latest album, 'Nerve Bumps,' released 16 years after his paralyzing injury". Local News Matters. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
17. "Dax Pierson - Nerve Bumps (A Queer Divine Dissatisfaction) · Album Review ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
18. Steehouder, Astrud. "Astrud Steehouder presents Adventures In Sound And Music : Rewire special - The Wire". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
19. "Pablo Feldman Sun Riley, by Dax Pierson & Robert Horton". Dax Pierson. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
20. "Live In Oakland, by Dax Pierson". Dax Pierson. Retrieved 2025-01-02.

External links

• Dax Pierson discography at Discogs

• 1970 births
• 2024 deaths
• American multi-instrumentalists
• Musicians from Oakland, California