Davide Biale (IPA: [ˈdaːvide ˈbjaːle], born 5 April 1994),[2][3] better known by his online alias Davie504, is an Italian musician and YouTuber. He is best known for playing bass guitar, primarily with a slapping technique, and creating several covers and viral videos.[4]

Davie504
Biale in 2013
Personal information
Born
Davide Biale

(1994-04-05) 5 April 1994 (age 30)
Occupations
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2011-present
Genres
Subscribers13.4 million[1]
Total views2.94 billion[1]
100,000 subscribers2014
1,000,000 subscribers2017
10,000,000 subscribers2021

Last updated: 3 July 2023

Career

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Biale began playing bass in high school after being influenced by Kiss bassist Gene Simmons.[5][6] In 2011, he created a channel named Davie504, and began to upload unconventional cover performances of songs in 2012.[7] Examples of these videos include him using M&M's to cover songs by Eminem,[8] a Korn medley played with corn cobs,[9][10] and a Red Hot Chili Peppers medley played with actual chili peppers.[11] He also performs musical challenges, which are often suggested to him by comments on his videos, such as playing an uninterrupted slap bass solo for 5 hours,[12] and playing a bassline which Deadmau5 claimed to be "technically impossible".[13]

Biale is also known for uploading meme-related videos and covers. Most notably, he contributed to the PewDiePie vs T-Series competition, where he played a bass cover of "Bitch Lasagna" outside of the T-Series headquarters as well as a video series where he reacts to posts made on his subreddit page.[14][15] He also participated in a competition with Jared Dines and Steve Terreberry to play the guitar with the most strings.[16][17]

In 2017, Chowny Bass released the Davie504 signature bass guitar.[18] In May 2019, Biale was listed as number two on MusicRadar's list of "the 20 hottest bassists in the world today".[19] He received his YouTube Gold Play Button later that year, which he turned into a custom bass alongside Amnesia Guitars.[20]

In 2021, Biale was featured on the cover of Bass Player.[21]

In February 2023, Biale performed in a music battle against YouTubers TwoSet Violin at The Star Performing Arts Centre in Singapore, continuing an on-screen feud with the duo since 2020. It was his first-ever live performance.[22]

Personal life

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Biale grew up in Albisola Superiore of Savona, Italy. The number '504' in his nickname is a reference to his day and month of birth, 5 April.[3] He attended the University of Genoa before dropping out to focus on his YouTube career. He later studied music production at a college in London. He moved to Brighton in 2017.[23]

Biale's wife, who is also a bassist, is indigenous Taiwanese.[24] They met after she viewed Biale’s content online and connected with him. They got married in October 2022.[25] He lived in Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic before relocating to Italy in 2022.[26][27]

In a 2013 Q&A video, Biale cited Flea, Gene Simmons, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten as some of his favorite bass players.[28]

Discography

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Studio albums

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  • Let's Funk! (2014)
  • Funkalicious (2015)
  • Very Impressive (2016)

Singles

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  • "Lighter" (2014)
  • "Bass Bass Bass" (2020)
  • "S L A P P" (2020)
  • "Plastic Bass"[a] (2021)
  • "Bassless Whisper"[b] (2024)

Notes

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  1. ^ A cover of Mariya Takeuchi's "Plastic Love". "Bass" is stylized in all caps: "Plastic BASS".
  2. ^ A cover of George Michael's "Careless Whisper".

References

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  1. ^ a b "About Davie504". YouTube.
  2. ^ Biale, Davide (19 July 2021). Davie504 vs Davide Biale EPIC Bass Battle (YouTube video). Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Davie504: "Slap bass is still the best for making videos on YouTube, because it's very easy to hear, on any kind of speaker"". Guitar World. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  4. ^ Beedham, Matthew (13 March 2020). "A love letter to Rocksmith, the *real* Guitar Hero". Plugged | The Next Web. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  5. ^ Jovanović, Marko. "Davie504 Reveals Why He Started Playing Bass & Why He's Called Davie504". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  6. ^ Pro Bassist Plays Guitar Hero For The First Time Ever, retrieved 19 May 2022
  7. ^ Pellone, Stefano (16 July 2019). "Davie504, il bassista italiano tra i nuovi fenomeni di YouTube". MelodicaMente (in Italian). Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  8. ^ "A bassist has made an Eminem cover using M&Ms and it's actually pretty exceptional". The Irish News. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Watch: YouTuber covers Korn songs with corn". Mixdown. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  10. ^ Kaufman, Spencer (24 July 2018). "Watch a Korn medley played with a cob of corn and popcorn". Consequence. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Youtube: Toca una canción de los Red Hot Chili Peppers con un "red hot chili pepper"". AS (in Spanish). 23 May 2017.
  12. ^ "WATCH: A FIVE HOUR STRAIGHT SLAP BASS SOLO". Mixdown. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  13. ^ Katzowitz, Josh (23 February 2018). "Deadmau5 said this bassline was 'technically impossible' to play—a YouTuber proved him wrong". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  14. ^ Verma, Anurag (22 January 2019). "This YouTuber Flew Down From Hong Kong to Play PewDiePie's Diss Track Outside T-Series HQ in Noida". News18. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  15. ^ "This PewDiePie supporter flies down to India to play outside T-Series's office". Zee News. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  16. ^ Kennelty, Greg (4 November 2017). "This 15 String Bass Song Is Pretty Funky, Does Not Djent". Metal Injection. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  17. ^ Bienstock, Richard (21 October 2019). "Witness the complete and utter insanity of a 36-string bass solo". Guitar World. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  18. ^ Astley-Brown, Michael (5 September 2017). "Is Davie504's Chowny signature model "the best bass ever"?". MusicRadar. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  19. ^ Brooks, Mike (29 May 2019). "The 20 hottest bassists in the world today". MusicRadar. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  20. ^ Bienstock, Richard (12 November 2019). "Davie504 built a bass out of his YouTube Gold Play Button". Guitar World. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Bass Player 411 is out!". Bass Player. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021. The new Bass Player is out, a special, four-cover issue in which we meet Davie504, April Kae, Blu DeTiger and Darrell Freeman, YouTubers, TikTokers and social media behemoths known to millions as the future of our instrument.
  22. ^ Articles concerning the music battle between TwoSet Violin and Davie504:
  23. ^ Biale, Davide. "I Draw My Life... (Childhood Reveal)". YouTube. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  24. ^ "女友真面目首度曝光!義大利貝斯鬼才證實:女友正是台灣原住民 - 國際 - 自由時報電子報". Liberty Times (in Chinese). 19 April 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Davie504 on Instagram: "We're married 💐"". Instagram. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  26. ^ Bienstock, Richard (14 April 2020). "Davie504 just bought every bass he can find and is giving them all away on YouTube". Guitar World. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  27. ^ "狂買台灣貝斯送粉絲!全球知名YouTuber在台灣報平安 - 國際". Liberty Times (in Chinese). 11 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  28. ^ "QnA with Davie!". YouTube.