We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful DAVIS88. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with DAVIS88 below.

DAVIS88, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My most meaningful project is a song and music video I released called “Get Up.” The song is a shout out to the Carolinas. All my time growing up was spent in North and South Carolina. So there are references to what I feel people who live here and live in other southern states seem to value. The importance of a handshake and eye contact. The ambition and drive I see in myself and people around me. The cliche, but still true, “work hard, play hard” mentality. Showing confidence in who you are and being proud of where you’re from. Add in a little love for rocknroll and that’s what the song and video try to honor.

I was especially proud of the music video we shot for this song. For the video treatment, I chose to showcase my hometown of Rockingham, NC. I have a shot performing the first verse on a corner downtown. This is a part of the sidewalk where my buddies and I used to ride our bikes as kids. I have a clip outside Hudson Brothers, the bar I played the first full show of my music career. I have a shot of the burned down Old Falls Mill where Hootie and the Blowfish filmed a music video in the mid 90s. I even have some clips of the Rockingham Speedway and Rockingham Dragway complex, where we used to have Nascar races and still host drag car events. There are a lot of cool hometown visuals we captured and I was proud to display them in my video.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a songwriter and musician from Rockingham, NC. I got into music when I went off to college. I had always played sports in school, so when that came to an end, I had to find something else to channel that energy into. I learned how to play guitar and piano from youtube videos. Through a family friend’s encouragement, I started trying to sing and write songs. Eventually I went and recorded an EP at a local studio near my school. It wasn’t the best piece of music, but it gave me a taste of the creative and recording process. I was hooked from there. Through friends and contacts, I eventually started driving out to Nashville on weekends while I was attending grad school. I learned more about the business side of things. I enjoyed learning more about the craft of songwriting and what it takes to produce and put sessions together. I learned how to put a band together and perform. I’m still learning new things every chance I get from pros of the industry. Whether that be engineers, session players, or other songwriters I absorb as much as I can. There is always a little knowledge left to be acquired from those that have been doing it successfully and have so many years in the bank.

I grew up listening to all types of music. My parents introduced me to country and classic rock. The radio was playing pop rock and alternative. MTV and TRL were soon playing Kid Rock, Limp Bikzit, Korn, and Eminem among many other similar projects when I was at my most impressionable ages. That nu-metal, hip hop crowd seemed to pull me in the most. This is all reflected in my music. I loved the attitude of these rock and rap metal bands. The confidence, the swagger, the dark subject matter somehow blended together with some party songs. It even had the occasional “tongue in cheek” humor when appropriate. Nu-metal seems to be making a resurgence and I will surely be a part of that in my next project. I’ve got an albums’s worth of material I plan to release over the next year so it will surely honor all of my influences.

What I believe sets me apart from other artists is that I don’t care what’s “popular.” I am going to make the kind of music I want to make, whether 10 people hear it or 10 million. I write songs I like and can relate with. Music based on what I think sounds really cool to my ear. I would hope some of my material can motivate or inspire. I feel I’m a good fit for a lot of people’s “Gym Playlists.” I work out in the gym daily and incorporate that mindset of working hard and building something. I record music that I think I would want to listen to when I’m working out or need to just hangout and blow off steam. I have a line in one of my songs that references the music and culture of the late 90s, it goes “I’m bringing back the attitude era.” I would like to see a little more grit and grind in music today. So I’m incorporating those concepts and that “attitude” into my sound and lyrics.

Everyone today says you are a “brand” online and that brand is defined in your work. So my brand is attitude. My brand is Carolina. My brand is rocknroll. My brand is… me.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The process. I absolutely love the creative process. Listening to music and other sources for inspiration. Chatting through ideas with my friend and producer, Wayne Killius. Walking into a studio with 4 chords and random lyrics… then coming back out with a fully completed studio track. Or, entering a studio with absolutely nothing and coming up with riffs and lyrics for potential projects. Through this method, it’s as if we are putting them together like pieces to a puzzle. It is a thrilling process for me. The challenge of being put on the spot to write something clever and memorable, then delivering something great. It is so satisfying.

The same goes for putting together performances and live shows. Getting the right band of music players together like I’m drafting an all star sports team. Coming up with a setlist and transitions to make the best flow. Deciding what the stage performance itself will be and what we can do to stand out among other bands. The creativity is what drives all of this.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

To kind of expand on the previous question…. Something non-creatives may struggle to understand is that for many of us, this is something we HAVE TO do. Creating music, or other art, is something we need to be able to do to feel a certain level of fulfillment in life. We crave it. For me personally, who I am when I am writing music is the best representation of myself. I feel most authentic and most complete when I am creating something. I would write music even if it would never be released or be heard by anyone. It’s just the process of finding something I like in a riff or lyric that excites. It inspires and leaves a burning desire to take that one thing and use it to design something incredible.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.davis88music.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davis88music/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DAVIS88MUSIC/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPW03nRb9CMKDKO8ihsH0tA
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@davis88music
• Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/davis88/1551823299
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1UozbDf14MO5HO1hMGAoYK

Image Credits
Photo Credits: Logen Christopher & DAVIS88