Døvydas

Dovydas Maščinskas was born in Kaunas, the second-largest city of Lithuania. His father is a painter, and his mother stayed at home to raise him. Døvydas began playing guitar at age 13, and after taking private lessons from older guitar-playing friends, he enrolled at the Kaunas Children Music School. Later, he studied classical guitar at Naujalis Music Gymnasium. In 2010, he transferred to Kaunas Juozas Gruodis Music Conservatory.{{cn|date=July 2021}}

Døvydas started playing guitar at the age of thirteen in Lithuania, learning the drums, bass, piano, xylophone and harmonica shortly after. He was heavily inspired by a blues CD that his father bought in Germany, entitled Blues Giants Vol. 2, a compilation of blues songs by artists such as John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, BB King, Etta James, and Memphis Slim. Døvydas says, "It was magic. That CD with those songs was like having an invitation letter to Hogwarts. Not only the music was captivating and enchanting, they were singing in this amazing language, and they lived in this distant part of the world that I've only seen on television."{{cite news |last1=David |first1=Beaton |title=David Smash Send Off Celebration |url=https://www.sarasotapost.com/music/1015-david-smash-send-off-celebration |accessdate=November 6, 2019 |newspaper=The Sarasota Post |date=January 18, 2016}}

During school he formed his first band, "David Smash and the Smash Band", which was later shortened to simply "David Smash Band".{{citation needed|date=March 2018}} The group began playing local competitions and festivals and after their appearances on national television, they received invitations to headline major music festivals in Lithuania and Poland.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}} He linked up with local blues musician Steve Arvey and moved to Florida at the age of 19.

In his first two years in Sarasota, Døvydas expanded his musical repertoire and integrated himself into the local music scene.

After signing a contract with the Del Couch Music Education Foundation and Howling Dog Studios, Døvydas released two CDs in the United States, one of them titled State Of Sunshine.{{cite web|last=Tatangelo |first=Wade |url=http://ticket.heraldtribune.com/2013/05/28/david-smash-cd-release-party-at-fogartyville-sarasota/ |title=David Smash CD release party at Fogartyville in Sarasota |website=Ticket.heraldtribune.com |date= |accessdate=February 7, 2016}}{{cite web|author= |url=http://sarasotapost.com/sarasota-art/118-david-smash-new-cd-state-of-sunshine |title=David Smash- New CD, State of Sunshine |website=Sarasotapost.com |date=May 27, 2013 |accessdate=February 7, 2016}} In 2017 Døvydas formed his own independent record label, Revelstar Stellonaut Records, through which he releases his original music.{{Cite web |title=Revelstar Stellonaut Records - MusicBrainz |url=https://musicbrainz.org/label/c2951142-14f5-4060-8182-2d83c9b8812d |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=musicbrainz.org}}

In August 2017, he uploaded a video from one of his performances, in which someone requests a song by Steve Vai.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sKcF8bWBZM |title=When Someone Requests A Steve Vai Song |language=en |access-date=2024-04-16 |via=www.youtube.com}} This video went viral and has accumulated 10 million views. Døvydas has credited this video with launching his career as a content creator.

Døvydas has performed in many locations around Florida, most notably St. Armands Circle in Sarasota. He has filmed many of his performances and posted them on YouTube, where he has over 1.7 million subscribers.{{Cite web |title=DØVYDAS - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/dovydasmusic |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=www.youtube.com}} One of his most popular videos is "Tennessee Whiskey", sung by Vere Hill.{{cite web |date=March 28, 2022 |title=Street Artist Invites Man to Sing "Tennessee Whiskey" and he Completely Steals the Show |url=https://www.themusicman.uk/dovydas-vere-hill/}}

In October 2022, Døvydas moved to Los Angeles, California.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfHjzWEuLjs |title=I'm Moving to California |language=en |access-date=2024-04-16 |via=www.youtube.com}}

Døvydas was influenced by American music recordings owned by his parents. Among his most notable influences, he lists Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Nat King Cole and Dean Martin. Døvydas references Steve Vai as one of his favorite guitarists. Døvydas' impromptu rendition of the song "Tender Surrender" by Vai gained him significant success within the YouTube community, and his viewership has steadily increased since.{{Cite news |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170925/sarasota-musician-david-smashs-steve-vai-cover-goes-viral |title=Sarasota musician David Smash's Steve Vai cover goes viral |first=Jimmy |last=Geurts |newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |location=Bradenton |date=September 25, 2017 |access-date=May 5, 2020}}

Døvydas is a multi-instrumentalist, and can play guitar, piano, drums, bass, harmonica, and xylophone. He uses a Boss RC505 Tabletop Loop Station in many of his solo performances, enabling him to create "live looped" songs with various instruments. Guitar brands such as C. F. Martin & Company, Gibson Brands, and Fender have sent him guitars to unbox and review.{{Cite web |title=They Sent Me Free Guitars Because I Make YouTube Videos - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbpxsoddqq5qwUUcpDnlcq4b-Q4H7Yp2y |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=www.youtube.com}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Lithuanian musicians

Category:1992 births

Category:Living people