Diggin’ on some Nathan Davis–LIVE!

Exclusive Interview – New Release

Copyright 2005 Annette Warner

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He’s still alive, and everybody thought he’d be dead at 25.

He’s 29 now, and Southern Pines, NC’s Nathan Davis can be described in no less than a baker’s dozen of words. Ask Nathan and his bakers dozen goes something like this: Love, Sick, Bitter, Hurt, Rage, High, Numb, Ache, Remorse, Sorrow, Hope, Disappointment, and Apathy.

Those words translate from a self-described personal hell into another baker’s dozen of words for the listeners of his incomparable style. Powerful, Poignant, Compelling, Dynamic, Urgent, Creative, Brilliant, Prolific, Emotional, Insightful, Dangerous, Passionate, and Vivid. 

To some, you’d have to add ‘A**hole’ to that list of words. But, you know what?  It really doesn’t matter if you like him personally. If you are one of those sensitive peeps you’ll learn to hate the fact that you admire his talent - if you don’t already.  Then again you may end up being controlled by the mere wish to be Nathan Davis before it’s all over with - who knows how much therapy you’ve had. You can despise him personally, and still stand at the foot of his stage enslaved by an emotional outpour that lands a little too close to home. That, my friend, makes you a fan of Nathan Davis. Like it or not.

The fact that he has a place within himself to blow up is cause to be thankful. Nathan Davis running loose with no muse is the end of the world - guaranteed.  In spite of Nate’s unique flavor vocally, if you can imagine a darker Paul Simon and Neil Young lyrically, with a hangover, less pressure on their testes, with a bit more ‘Memphian’ resonance and mixed with some intense Joe Cocker gravel – and throw in some new laid back Springsteen at times…you’ve just come as close to hearing Nathan as you can get without being there to witness his soul’s ‘musical exorcism’ in person.

His words are sharp as a knife, anywhere they are laid down. And it’s quite possible that the only thing sharper… is the staples attached to the 11 x 17 poster of Nathan, that a drunken fan wanted punched into his own back at a recent gig in Wilmington, NC.  His bare back, folks.  Yes, it happened.  Nathan rose to the occasion with a grin only Nathan Davis can provide at a time like that.  Pop! 

“You got nothing to lose, when you burn all your bridges away….”

~ Promised Land ~

The recording of this incredible performance captured live at the Six String Café and Music Hall located in Cary, NC, is a superior example of what a good chemistry between artist and producer brings to the table. John Custer, the Grammy nominated Producer of the project states, “Great artists make great music. That doesn't mean they make great neighbors or fathers or husbands or fishing buddies. Nathan's been down a lot of roads that people never return from.”  

And still it may appear to some, that some of the rockiest roads Nathan has chosen have been his favorite roads to date….

AW: It's obvious you experience many motivations for writing your music.  But, what touches you the deepest?

ND: I'm fascinated by death. I always have been. What I think about daily isn't really what I write about. I'll have spurts of emotion that hit me hard and jolt my muse, but most of what I read about or study is the darker side of the human condition. Even though my lyrical fodder is dark, it's a different kind of dark. If I wrote about what was in my head all the time, I’d limit my fan-base considerably.

AW: What makes you cry Nathan? Come on…give me a sensitive side!

ND: Death and George W. Bush.

AW: (Sigh) what makes you laugh?

ND: Tasteless jokes. Dane Cook. The British band "The Darkness".

AW: Describe your favorite audience and venue atmosphere.

ND: Ideally, it's the shows in listening rooms where the focus of the venue isn't the bar, or the pool tables, it's the stage. Some of my favorite shows have been in places where you don't feel like a "buzz salesman". My favorite audience is any audience. Any night I have one is a fortunate one.

“I remember as a kid getting my hands on a Beatles greatest hits album ……and would get goose bumps listening to it.” 

Of all bands to be influenced by (only to end up on the opposite side of the spectrum in style), the Beatles steal that title for being Nathan’s start. Most musicians start out fairly similar, having been influenced early in life somehow by someone, whether family or friends or famous musicians, in a way that was positive. Nathan credits his father with uncovering his first interest in guitar and his first guitar lesson was taken on his mother’s nylon classical guitar, and according to Nathan, “It was a beautiful instrument. Both of my parents taught me the first few chords.”  For Nathan, rendering such an impassioned talent didn’t begin with mimicking Greg Brady, AKA Johnny Bravo, and rocking out in front of the massive family after Sunday dinner. He actually harbored his true fascination as a secret for some time….

AW: What are your earliest memories of realizing you were 'stuck on music'?

ND: When I was young, I wasn't allowed to listen to anything but some country music and gospel. I'd hide my records from my parents and listen to them at night when they would go to sleep. I remember getting my hands on a Beatles greatest hits album that had "I Saw Her Standing There" on it, and would get goose bumps listening to it. I had always been interested in music, deeply, but didn't really have a focus until that point. I wore that tape out.

“…for once in my life I am working with a producer that I don't hate.”

 If one can say anything about Nathan’s live performances….they record very well. Of course, like any good productions potential…it can be screwed up.  Just not with Grammy nominated and award-winning Producer John Custer’s name going on the credits. And, according to Custer, as long as Nathan is the artist - it's a win-win. Chad Stites takes credit for rounding up the ‘nekkid’ live tracks that John Custer worked his mixing magic on and the resulting ear candy is definitely a disc worth buying, and willing to your best friend. When asked to describe a couple of the most difficult moments in the project’s process John replied,”Difficulties in recording only arise when artists' weaknesses appear and have to be camouflaged.”

AW: Any weaknesses?

JC: Nathan has no weaknesses, so there were no difficulties.  Nathan's performances are untouched and recorded exactly as they were performed……The live disc is a compelling showcase of Nathan's music in its raw state which shows the strength of his songwriting and his vocals and his playing. 

AW: Nathan, How do you feel about your work with John Custer?

ND: John's just a brilliant man. His vision was the same as mine, and for once in my life I am working with a producer that I don't hate. He lets me be insane when I need to be, and somehow funnels all of my dark emotion into my music, and that's the best thing he could do.

AW: Do you have a particular favorite song that is included on the project?

ND:  ‘Long Way Home’. We really whipped that crowd into frenzy during that one....it's usually the ones that the audience get into that are my favorites.

“Tear out my eyes…and give them to a nice guy going blind…. just tell him they’ve forgotten how to cry...”

~Blow~

Davis is not just one of those average, bitter dudes with a guitar, bitching about politics and pick-up trucks or the partying all night in spite of their tired-of-toting-gear girlfriends. Nathan ditches the walls in this recording. The entire CD is packed full of some of the most unbridled and diversely talented songwriting imaginable. You can visualize his feet, then guts erupting as Nathan’s intense vocal desperation rips straight up from his toes at the end of one of the most memorable songs on the project; Too Long in the Wasteland. Nathan’s weathered and tan pipes share with the audience an urgency, that’s as captivating as his endowed and percussive style guitar work. Transporting his audience into the ‘Nabyss’ known as ‘anywhere Nathan Davis is playing live’, Nate reminds you, gently, for being Nate, that he’s ‘fresh out the wasteland’ with this one.

“.. it's part of my history. It isn't who I am now, just where I was then….”

 Another supreme track is Long Way Home. Nathan’s memoirs of that songs creation are a bit deep and personal. ”That song is about a few people, one was a girl I dated for a while that I left behind to join a band, …….Second verse is about a friend of mine, Russell White, that died in a car accident when I was about 15. Third verse is about my friend Marlon.......We used to deal dope together and I chose to take the music road later on….He chose to stay a hustler.”  Package those memories up, and, with Nate, his instrument and the skillful Keyboard work of Nathan’s guest, John Henry Trinko of the SpencerAcuff band, you‘ve got yourself one heck of a timeless masterpiece for a tune. Nathan comments “John really does add a pro-flair to whatever he touches”. 

What I love in particular about this track is that Jeff Crawford started the song playing his double-bass with a bow, which added an almost cello-like quality to the intro.”

AW: Cover Bands?

ND: Cover Bands take themselves too seriously.

AW: Racism?

ND: Racism pisses me off. Any kind, in any situation.  

AW: Food or Starvation?

ND: Starvation. Too much food makes you take food for granted and you appreciate it less when you get it. If you're starving, the worst thing in the world tastes like a slab of prime rib. I always side with the path of most resistance because the taste of arriving at your destination always seems sweeter when you've worked harder for it.

AW: Good point Nathan. But, are you really as unbridled as you seem? 

“Well, I didn’t mean to say it..but, I damn sure meant what I said.”

~ Too Long in the Wasteland ~

MaybMaybe I'm a little unbridled, but is that a bad thing, really? I can still reign myself in if I need to, but I'm a little notorious for not having a filter between my brain and my mouth. What I say is what I'm probably thinking. I pride myself on honesty and not making any apologies. Everything I've done, I have learned something from. Pain inspires me. Death inspires me. A few times happiness has inspired me.”

ND:   “Man…I had a damn good time.”  ~Long Way Home~

AW: Nate, what are your aspirations for the future as a songwriter?  Performing, writing for others, etc?

ND: My aspirations are to keep writing, to broaden my horizons as a songwriter, and to tackle issues that are deeper than the ones I’ve faced so far. I set no limits. Writing for others would be great. I'd love to collaborate with or write for some other artists.

AW: Nathan, a lot of personal energy goes into your stage presence, but I know that’s not where you live and breathe….describe a typical day in the life of Nathan Davis off stage.

ND:  I write a lot, so I'm usually on the computer doing that. I go to a lot of shows...usually local bands, and try to hear some new music.

AW: If you died tomorrow...what would you want people to remember about you 10 years from now when all the details about Nathan are fuzzy....?

ND: I'd want people to remember that I had a damn good time living. I'd want people to remember me for helping other artists I knew that I believed in. I'd want them to remember all the crazy shit I did.

AW: John, do you have some words of ‘Custer Wisdom’ you’d like to share for those musicians hoping to come anywhere near your expertise in capturing a live performance so flawlessly?

JC:  Tips for live recording: Record everything virgin-no comp/limiting, no EQ, no gate, no anything. Preserve dynamics. The key when mixing is putting the listener in the room ...doing the performance justice, sonically.....conveying size and emotion. Usually that can be achieved by recreating the correct room ambiance and using only small amounts of compression to maintain the natural performance dynamics.

AW:  What's up next in the studio for you John?

JC: I'm producing COC doing a cover of Lynrd Skynrd's "On The Hunt" that will be released on an upcoming Lynrd Skynrd Tribute CD that will also include tracks by Kid Rock and Metallica. I'm doing a project for the Make A Wish Foundation in May that will include members of The Maestro Column. The Nathan Davis studio record (tentatively titled Revolution Lane) is going to be finished in June-July. It will be ten new Nathan tracks featuring the legendary Ivan Hampden playing drums. 

“The artist drags the truth out into the light of day.  Normal people consume and die.”

~ John Custer

AW:  Any other parting words?

JC: To be honest, Nathan and I have ….. never been at odds in the studio or anywhere else. I just know how artists can be and don't judge them for it, I admire them. The artist drags the truth out into the light of day. Normal people consume and die…. it is all artists... all of us who are told that what we do is "weird"... He's this guy who somehow lived through his own private holocaust and wrote damn incredible songs about a lot of it.

AW:  How about you Nathan? Any last words?  Actually, give me three words….that describe your core.

ND:  Hope. Hate. Music.

AW: Thanks for the time, the talent and energy Nathan. You can go back to breaking some furniture now…..

In any situation, Nathan delivers perfect performances and it’s just one of the reasons he won’t be around long to be jealous of because Nathan Davis is inarguably headed for Memphis, with all the means.  His fascinatingly deep & dark, and painfully honest artistry, richly passionate singing and generous storytelling imagery….leave you no choice but agree…that Nathan Davis is, quite simply, a songwriter’s songwriter.

For more on Nathan Davis:  www.Nathan-Davis.com 

For more on John Custer: www.JohnCuster.com

You may reach Annette Warner at www.AWarnerEntertainment.com

Support Local Music! www.WilmingtonNCMusic.com

Articles are available for free reprint.  Please write to let me know you are using it and please use the following BIO and linkage for credit. 
 

  ABOUT ANNETTE WARNER
Annette Warner is the Editor for GoGirlsMusic.com, Founder of AcousticGoGirls.com; Publisher of several music related resource sites and a Wilmington, NC based Sales Copywriter, Web Designer, Singer-Songwriter, Event Planner and DIY Promotions consultant and resource bank for local and regional artists. She can be reached at awarnerentertainment@ec.rr.com and www.awarnerentertainment.com