David B. Seitz, AKA Shorty, was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota in 1959. His family moved to Panama in 1968. He grew up in Gamboa, playing in the jungle with an older sister and two younger brothers.

Shorty went to Gamboa elementary school, Curundu Junior High and graduated from Balboa High School in 1977. "I remember my 5th grade teacher telling me she would often get startled after school when my desk top would open and slam closed by itself. I would always forget my Rhinocerus beetle or my turtles or some other creature in there." He attended Panama Canal College before receiving a BS in Microbiology from Montana State University in 1982. He later received another BS in Medical Technology from CZC and his Masters in Science Education from the University of Southern Mississippi. He and his wife Mayra (Linares) both teach science for DODDS in Germany.

Some of Shorty's fondest memories of growing up Zonian are jumping off the top of the Gamboa bridge trestle at night, snorkeling in the Chagres, back when the river was clean, and hitchhiking to Gamboa (“try that at midnight. Once I walked to Summit Y by 4:00 AM and could have been home by sunrise but for that one car. Thanks Jackie”). For him Panama means home, warmth, and living things.

Shorty enjoys fishing, woodworking, snorkeling, gardening, rugby - until the knee went out, playing and building guitars and writing music. His grandmother, who attended Julliard School of music, was always playing something on the piano when he was a kid. At age 11 he started taking guitar lessons from Mrs. “Mona” Schmidt, who taught him some guitar chords for a quarter a lesson. Mr. Carl Chapman, his Junior High music teacher, taught him to sing, read music, and harmonize. He was surprised to win the Junior High Music award in 9th grade! While the other guys were on the high school football team, he was playing guitar with best friend Robby White, under Robby's house. He played bass in his first band, Zephyr II, with Dave Asman, Donald Bloemer and Gerry Welsch. Some of the first music Shorty listened to was his Mom's 78s of Harry Belafonte. Some of his other influences were Cat Stevens, The Beatles, CSNY, Harry Chapin, Simon & Garfunkel, and John Prine on the calmer side of things, and Nazareth, Deep Purple and Steppenwolf on the heavier side.

p> For Shorty, writing songs is fun, but not easy. His inspiration is knowing that if he has enough songs, the next time he sees Alex they can record another CD so he “can have something new to listen to in the car.” No, really he does it because "it makes people feel." He plays guitar every day if he can. “I try to play scales in the morning for 5-10 minutes while I think of what I have to do each day. At least 2 times a week I sit alone for a few hours playing chord patterns or trying new chords, or trying to write lyrics.” It might take him an hour to write a song, or it might take him a year, and since he writes on scraps of paper, many of them disappear over time. He has a small new mp3 voice recorder handy to help him remember melodies because “if I don't have words to a melody I lose it quickly as it morphs into something else.”

His favorite Shorty & Slim song (today) is “Until We Meet Again” from the Gone Platano CD. “I didn't hear it until Alex played it in the studio. We did it in two takes with just Alex on guitar and vocals at the same time. I was in the control room teary eyed.” He still listens to all the songs. At times they make him feel melancholy, but they also make him laugh out loud. “My fadda dug Culebra cut by himself……mosquitos feast on them rass like filet mignon. What was that?!”

"I would like to say Thank you, Thank you, and Thank you to all the people who bought our CD's. We basically break even and dump any profit into the next CD. It has been fun for us and I sincerely hope we have touched your life in some way."