Dax Wentworth Pierson (August 2, 1970 – December 30, 2024) was an American musician from Oakland, California.[3] He had been a member of Subtle and 13 & God.[4]
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.[9][10] His musician friends and promoters subsequently organized a series of tribute shows and benefit albums.[11]
In 2009, he sued Ford Motor Company for faulty design mechanics, arguing that the defective seat contributed to his life-threatening injuries.[12] 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).[13][14]
He released Live in Oakland on Ratskin Records in 2019.[15]
In 2021, he released Nerve Bumps (A Queer Divine Dissatisfaction); his first solo studio album for fifteen years.[16] 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.[17] The album's track For The Angels was included on The Wire magazine's compilation for April 2021.[18]
Pierson died in Oakland, California on December 30, 2024, at the age of 54.[5]
