In the early 1970s, as Cotton joined the band Poco as its lead guitarist, David decided to leave the West Coast for the East and moved to Woodstock, the small-town/rural New York area, in the vicinity of previous year's iconic Festival.

Friends advised him to visit a club in Woodstock and it was there that he met his future wife, vocalist Lauri Bono, who subsequently accompanied him back to Los Angeles for the next phase of their career, doing sidework for Etta James and Johnny Rivers.

At Hollywood's China Club, the Kal David Band headed up the weekly Pro-Jam which drew celebrity performers such as Johnny Rivers, Stevie Wonder, Bobby Brown, John Entwistle, Larry Carlton, Brian Wilson, Stephen Stills, Joe Walsh and Paul Young, as well as blues musicians Sam "The Man" Taylor and Floyd Dixon.

This group featured both David and Bono on vocals, along with former Chaka Khan musical director Tony Patler on Hammond B-3 organ and drummer Alan Diaz, formerly with Sérgio Mendes.

David is the voice of 'Sonny Eclipse', a singing alien audio-animatronic, who resides at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.