David Kendrick (born March 23, 1955) is an American musician who is currently a member of the experimental pop band Xiu Xiu. A former member of Gleaming Spires and Devo, he has recorded and toured with Sparks, Andy Prieboy and Revolushn. He is based in Los Angeles, California.
Kendrick grew up in the Midwest just outside of Chicago. "Neither of my parents were musicians, but my dad was a sculptor and they were both big music people," Kendrick said in 2013. "So I grew up hearing everything around the house. I came of age with the British Invasion, so I was always a bit of an anglophile in that regard - the Stones, Beatles." Early on, he gravitated towards the drums, with Keith Moon and Ginger Baker as his role models. He played in several bands in the 1970s and relocated to Los Angeles in 1977 to play with Venus and the Razorblades, a punk band put together by Kim Fowley. Through a mutual friend, Fowley got in touch with Kendrick: "He called me up and gave me the shpiel," Kendrick said. "I just packed up my drums and ended up here in California. But that pretty much fell apart."
Kendrick then formed the Continental Miniatures, who had a charting single in 1978 (Billboard #90) with a cover of Dusty Springfield's "Stay Awhile." With pressure to record non-original material, the band broke up. In 1980, he joined the new wave band Bates Motel who had a small deal with Planet Records. The band's only release was the track "Live Among the Dancers" on Planet Records' various artist…