Published: July 6, 2010 7:05 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight July 2010 Edition
Daveworld
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Daveworld
Are you ready to be entertained? Then, the wait is over. Introducing the super talented artist musically known as Daveworld to our online readers. He brings to the music industry years of heart, experience, and dedication that show through his music. In our spotlight with Daveworld, our Webzine enjoyed learning several new things about the artist. Here is what developed.
Isaac: Let’s get started with this interview. When and how did you first become interested in music? How long have you been playing music?
Daveworld: I cannot remember not being interested in music. When I was growing up, there were always records playing in my parent’s house. Generally, the folk singers who were popular at the time… The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Simon and Garfunkle, The Kingston Trio, and even though they were not folk singers, everyone was playing The Beatles. My family used to take long car trips and I do not remember any of my father’s cars having radios so we would entertain ourselves and each other by singing.
When I was in high school, I realized that if a guy could play guitar he didn’t have to be an athlete to get girls and to someone who was 5’2 with the athletic ability of paste that was all the motivation I needed to learn how to play.
Isaac: Who would you say are your biggest musical influences and why?
Daveworld: Growing up a child of the ‘60s, I started by learning songs by Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and John Denver. Then when I started college someone introduced me to Leonard Cohen and when I heard him I was amazed at his poetry and as to how he found so much beauty and celebration in darkness. I was hooked. That is when I started writing, but truth is that I really sucked at first since I did not have enough faith in my own truth and was trying to emulate someone else’s.
It was a year or two later though that I saw John Prine for the first time and my life changed. The depth of feeling he found in such simple and relatable experiences gave me confidence in myself, in my own life and observations. He provided a direction for me as a writer.
Isaac: What has been the greatest highpoint in your career so far?
Daveworld: I put my guitar under my bed when my first son was born in 1985. While the passion remained, the dream got sidetracked when I realized that being a professional folk singer in the days of hair metal was not going to feed a family. About five years ago I was invited to a small festival and asked by the host (who knew I had been a performer in the past) to do a half hour set. When I accepted, I went into it with the idea of having fun rather than breaking sales records and had the time of my life. I had so much fun that I began playing in public on a regular basis again, but with a different sense of purpose and that is the attitude I have carried with me ever since.
Isaac: What has been the greatest disappointment in your career so far? What did you learn from that experience?
Daveworld: I got a mountain of rejection letters back in the early days of my career as I tried to sell my songs to the big record companies. These days I am not trying to create music for the masses or for that matter for anyone else at all but rather for my own enjoyment. I think that the result is greater truth in what I create and more satisfaction with the finished product because I know what I am doing and why.
Isaac: What draws you to want to play the type of music that you do?
Daveworld: The invention. The music I make is a hybrid of all the music I have loved in my life. On “Moorpark Oasis” (My first CD) there is a sense of Prine and Cohen in the songs with some Beatles, Grateful Dead, and Guy Clark mixed in. Additionally, there is a celebration of music within each of the individual songs. In the opening song, there is a Bach inspired harpsichord solo over a Ringo Starr drum beat, in another a Dick Dale riff that develops into a Dire Straits tribute, and the magical thing is that everything flows organically within the songs.
Isaac: What do you feel it takes to play this type of music that you play?
Daveworld: A sense of fun and a love of music.
Isaac: What do you think you will create that will make your performances and who you are stand out in the music industry?
Daveworld: The greatest entertainer I ever saw was the late Steve Goodman. Even though I could never dream of being the guitar player he was, I do try to find the joy he shared with his audiences. As a result, when I am performing I focus on the fun in the songs and in the relationship I have with the people I am sharing the songs with.
Additionally, there are mixed in observations in many of my songs from perspectives that audiences are not used to seeing. One song, for instance, is a love song of great optimism told from the perspective of someone in a physically abusive relationship. I no longer think that songs will change the world, but they may for a couple minutes change the way people look at and respond to each other.
Isaac: If you had the opportunity to do one cover, what cover would you do and why? How would you put your own spin on this cover?
Daveworld: In my act, I do a few covers. Usually songs from when I was growing up and they are done with stories interspersed that are hopefully funny. Think “The Times They Are A Changing” meets “Alice’s Restaurant”. I also do “Daisy A Day” the old Judd Strunk song minus the strings. Keep it simple and honest letting the story tell itself without the distracting schmaltz. I also love doing “What A Wonderful World”… the Louie Armstrong song. Not saying I do it well, but I love singing it.
Isaac: What does it take to be a good songwriter?
Daveworld: Having a curiosity about people and things, a feeling of wonder in discovery, a sensitivity to that which one does not understand, and whimsy.
Isaac: How difficult is it to juggle music, family and work obligation, and life in general? Explain.
Daveworld: Incredibly, one needs to prioritize what is most important to them. In my case it was always my family. As a result, for 20 years I was working as a sales rep instead of making music. Because of that I will not have the career I dreamed of when I was starting out, but I look at how I am still married to the great love of my life and how proud of my kids I am and I have no regrets. Now I make music for fun, and am having the time of my life in the process.
Isaac: What is your definition of being an Indie artist/band?
Daveworld: For myself, making the music I want to make instead of the music that I am told to make. Making music for myself and letting the market come to me instead of trying to chase an elusive market. Being honest with and to my art.
Isaac: Where can fans access your music online?
Daveworld: My website is www.daveworldonline.com. There one can find samples of all my recorded songs. Additionally, even though with the Internet it is not as difficult to find lyrics and chords as it was when I was first starting out, I have made it even easier for anyone who likes and wants to play my songs on their own guitars by including both lyrics and chords to all the songs on the site. My CD can also be purchased there by anyone in the USA and for international customers it can be found at www.cdbaby.com. My songs are also on Music Alley, but not being a computer wiz I haven't figured out how to find them. Additionally the songs are available on iTunes.
Isaac: In five years…….
Daveworld: Doing what I am doing now. Loving what I am doing. Hopefully weighing a little less.
