Dave "The Beast" Spitz is a musician best known for having played bass guitar

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

 for the heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 group Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

 from 1985 to 1987, appearing on the albums Seventh Star

Seventh Star

Seventh Star is the twelfth studio album by Black Sabbath, released in January 1986.It was originally written, recorded, and intended to be the first solo album by guitarist Tony Iommi, but due to label pressures and the prompting of band manager Don Arden, the record was billed as Black Sabbath...

and being credited for (but not playing on) The Eternal Idol

The Eternal Idol

The Eternal Idol is the thirteenth studio album by Black Sabbath, released in December 1987. It is the first of several Black Sabbath albums to feature longtime vocalist Tony Martin. It spent six weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at 168. It was also the last full album of new material by...

. Dave also helped discover the late Ray Gillen

Ray Gillen

Raymond A. "Ray" Gillen was an American rock singer, best known for his work with Badlands, in addition to his stint with Black Sabbath in the mid-1980s and recording most of the vocals on Phenomena's classic Dreamrunner album....

, the vocalist who joined Black Sabbath mid-tour in 1986, following the sudden exit of Glenn Hughes.

He is the brother of musician Dan Spitz

Dan Spitz

Dan Spitz is a musician best known for his work as the lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Anthrax from 1983–1995 and from 2005 to 2007. He is the brother of former White Lion and Black Sabbath bassist Dave Spitz.-Personal life:...

, a co-founder and original lead guitarist of the American thrash metal

Thrash metal

Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 band Anthrax

Anthrax (band)

Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...

.

Spitz has also been a member of Great White

Great White

Great White is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1978. The band gained popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s. The band released several albums in the late 1980s and gained airplay on MTV with music videos for songs like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"...

, having recorded the albums Psycho City

Psycho City

Psycho City is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band Great White, released in 1992. It was the last studio album produced for Capitol Records, with the exception of the 1993 compilation The Best of Great White: 1986–1992...

and Let it Rock

Let It Rock (Great White album)

Let it Rock is the eighth studio album by the American hard rock band Great White, released in 1996. It was recorded after their split with long-time manager and co-writer Alan Niven...

with the Californian hard rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 band during the 1990s. He played in albums of the bands White Lion

White Lion

White Lion is an American/Danish hard rock/heavy metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, the band achieved double platinum status with their #8 hit "Wait" and #3 hit "When the...

, Impellitteri

Impellitteri

Impellitteri is a heavy metal band from USA formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri. Since inception, the band has released numerous albums to critical praise, mainly due to Chris Impellitteri's speed/shred style of playing....

, Americade, Slamnation

SlamNation

SlamNation is a documentary film by director Paul Devlin. The film follows the National Poetry Slam in Portland, Oregon.It follows the 1996 Nuyorican Poetry Slam team as they competed at the 1996 National Poetry Slam held in Portland, OR...

, Insomnia

Insomnia

Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...

, Nuclear Assault

Nuclear Assault

Nuclear Assault is an American thrash metal/crossover thrash band formed in 1984.-History:After the release of Anthrax's debut album Fistful of Metal, bass player Danny Lilker, a founding member of the group, was fired by the band...

, Purple Heart

Purple Heart

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

, Kuni

Kuni

-People:* Kuni-no-miya ōke , second oldest branch of the Japanese Imperial Family created from branches of the Fushimi-no-miya house* Kuni Nagako* Kuni, an alias of the music artist, DJ, and music producer Kuniyuki Takahashi....

, Deepset, War Pigs

War Pigs

"War Pigs" is a song by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath from their 1970 album Paranoid. It is generally believed that the band wrote the song as a protest against the Vietnam War; however, when Sabbath played "War Pigs" in the mid-'70s, they projected scenes from World War II.As explained in...

 and others. He is also a member of McBrain Damage, featuring Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...

 drummer Nicko McBrain

Nicko McBrain

Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain is an English musician, best known as the drummer for Iron Maiden, which he joined in 1982, prior to which he had played for Streetwalkers, Pat Travers, and the French political band, Trust.-Biography:...

 and tours with this band when Nicko has time off.

Dave Spitz graduated from SUNY Geneseo in upstate New York in 1979, and during his college years he played in bands around that area, including Freeway and Buzzoleo.

In addition to being a musician and performing artist, Spitz has been practicing law full-time since 1999 as a Civil Trial Attorney in South Florida, and has his own law firm.

Beyond this, Dave is a second degree black belt (Nidan) in traditional Okinawan Gōjū-ryū Karate-dō. Beginning his karate training at the age of 14 in New York, Dave initially studied under the U.S.A. Kata champion sensei

Sensei

' is a Japanese word that basically means "person born before another." In general usage, it means "master" or "teacher," and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority...

 Chuck Merriman

Chuck Merriman

Chuck Merriman has served as Head Coach of the AAU National Karate Team and member of the AAU national karate Coaches Committee. He is also a member of the AAU National Karate Program Technical Committee and has acted as Chief Arbitrator for AAU Region One Karate and for the AAU National Karate...

, and fought in numerous karate tournaments. Following his Black Sabbath years, he continued his martial arts training in California, undertaking training with the highest ranking practitioner of Gōjū-ryū in the world, sensei Morio Higaonna

Morio Higaonna

is a prominent Okinawan karate practitioner who is the founder and Chief Instructor of the International Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do Federation . He is a holder of the highest rank in Goju-ryu karate, 10th dan. Higaonna has written several books on Goju-ryu karate, including Traditional Karate-do:...

, President of the International Okinawan Gōjū-ryū Karate-dō Federation

International Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do Federation

International Okinawan Gōjū-ryū Karate-dō Federation , also known as the International Federation of Karate-do Goju-ryu Okinawa, is an international martial art organization covering Gōjū-ryū karate. It was founded by Morio Higaonna in July 1979. Higaonna is the current Chief Instructor and...

. Spitz also studied and trained with sensei Mel Pralgo, sensei Rodney Hu, sensei Stan O'Hara, and sensei Miko Peled, and had the distinct honor of being Dai Sempai (highest ranking student and assistant instructor) for many years at sensei Pralgo's dojo

Dojo

A is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...

 in Thousand Oaks, California

Thousand Oaks, California

Thousand Oaks is a city in southeastern Ventura County, California, in the United States. It was named after the many oak trees that grace the area, and the city seal is adorned with an oak....

, before moving to Florida in 1996 to attend law school.