Meet DAVIS88 | Songwriter/Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with DAVIS88 and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi DAVIS88, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
A favorite quote of mine is by a musician named Bob Ritchie. It goes “If it looks good, you’ll see it. If it sounds good, you’ll hear it. If its marketed right, you’ll buy it. But… If it’s real… you’ll feel it.”

What that means to me is when something is genuine it comes across in an obvious way. Everything becomes clear. You can see and hear a connection a piece of art or a finished work is having with a people. You just feel it.

When I approach creating and writing my own music, I keep this quote in mind. In a way, it helps me decide when a project is finished. After listening back to a mix and making necessary adjustments, at some point I just get a feeling about a song. Once I get that feeling, I know it’s complete and ready to be mastered.

I use this same idea when rehearsing and putting a live show together. The band reaches a point where we finally lock into a song. The sound is right, the movement is right, and you can just feel that everything about the performance is right where it needs to be.

What I like about this quote is it is a simple concept and I think it can be relatable to more situations than just creating art. I think you can reference it in several aspects of life. It goes along with your instinct and your intuition. With people, places, and things, sometimes you can just feel when something is right and when something is off. If it seems like something is wrong or too good to be true, it probably is. If it’s real, you will recognize it and you will feel it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a songwriter/musician from Rockingham, North Carolina’. Simply put, I make rock music. Growing up I had influences of Rap, Rock, Metal and even Country. So, all of those influences show through in my recordings. I was and still am a big fan of the Nu-Metal era and that’s probably where a lot of my music leans, but I have standard rock songs and some tunes with a little country rock element to them. I blend it all together in my own style. I don’t really restrict myself to writing one way or to one genre. I like what I like and I will make the kind of music I want to make, whether 10 people hear it or 10 million people hear it. I’m not going to hop on the “what’s popular” bandwagon, I’m going to make my music and try to get it to connect with people. If you’re passionate about it and it’s well written music, people will feel that. There is your connection and you can grow from that.

I got to where I am today in music because of the work ethic my parents instilled in me. I just keep going forward finding a way to get songs released and promoted. A big part of this is I am able to go write and record in Nashville, Tennessee. This is all due to friends who’ve helped me along the way. I had to find a way to work a day job in North Carolina while also spending time in Nashville writing and recording either in person or online. My late friend Glenn Fox from Rockingham got me started. Through him, I made friends in Nashville who’ve helped me find ways of getting my music made. These friends have given me a place to stay for the weekend, rides around town, studio connections, industry knowledge and many ways to save money on recording costs. It can be tough to navigate the music business in Nashville, so I am lucky to have made friends who have guided me through.

The music business is not easy. There is no direct path like there is for other careers. It can take longer to find success in music than it does to become a lawyer or medical doctor. At least in those careers there is a clear cut path to follow. In music, you kind of just have to keep going and going until you find your own way. You can’t get accepted into a program, complete it, work an internship or clinical, and start applying for jobs. It’s not set up that way. You have to navigate everything blind at first, until you make connections and learn what may or may not work for you. Even when you figure one thing out you may have to make an adjustment. A good example of that is social media. Just when you get used to promoting your music on one platform, a new one pops up that becomes more popular and you have to adjust. Distribution changes, promotion changes, and how people consume music changes. Sometimes it moves too fast to even keep up. But if you want to get your music heard you have to find a way.

What I would want people to know about my brand and story is that I have always loved music. Especially rock music. I want people to connect and have a great time doing so. A live rock concert is about as much fun as you can have from my perspective. It really is a unique experience. I try to live up to a standard when I write and record but especially when I play a show. You might not love every song I play, but you’re going to have had a good time by the end of the night.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My hometown of Rockingham, NC is a great place for small city vibes. You’ve got some cool spots for music and drinks like Hudson Brothers downtown and the Thursday night concerts the City puts on. We also have a racing drag strip and an old former Nascar track that is being refurbished. That would be worth checking out for car fans and sports history enthusiasts. Rockingham just has great people with that friendly Southern way about them. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find something you like.

However, I have been living in Raleigh, NC for a while now and what I would recommend to friends is to check out one of the arcade bars downtown. There is a lot of fun to be had at those. The best place for live music is Red Hat Amphitheater in downtown. It has a great view to watch a show, as it’s an outdoor venue with the city as it’s backdrop. Lastly, I’d say go to the Raleigh Times Bar and Restaurant. Good food, great beer and it has a cool rooftop bar to hang out and have drinks with your friends.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To those who’ve helped me along the way… Glenn Fox
Kurt Schreiber
Wayne Killius
Logen Christopher
My Family & Friends

Website: www.davis88music.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davis88music/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@davis88music

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@davis88music

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1UozbDf14MO5HO1hMGAoYK

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/davis88/1551823299

Image Credits
Image credits: Logen Christopher & DAVIS88