"You'll never have to work a day in your life, if you love what you do for a living." That statement has never rang truer for a band than it does for lead singer Drew Davis and bandmates Loren Ellis and Mo Levone, who together comprise The Drew Davis Band.
"If I can see myself performing these songs in 50 years," says Davis, "then that means it relates to us, and chances are, if it relates to us.our fans
will enjoy it, too."
Ellis adds, "If we haven't lived it, then how can we sing about it, and play it night after night and expect it to come across as real?" Thus, a new
mantra for this band of friends was realized, and although it's something that the three founding members have always known, they had to make a
conscious effort to recreate their path.
"We've created an entire team around us that we trust, and the really unique thing is we are all driven by a desire to ignore industry and outside
pressure to conform to a 'standard'," Davis concludes.
The Drew Davis Band's musical style and recordings have, for once, allowed the band to create their own country music landscape that's unlike anything coming out of music city. With their recent time in the studio with renown
producer Blake Chancey, the Drew Davis Band has gotten back to the basics of not only their music, but of life.
Their journey to this stage in their career ironically mirrors their new path musically, and what better way to describe it than to explain the music.
Drew Davis elaborates in his own words.
The unique thing about being a songwriter is that something as simple as a comment made by an innocent bystander can mean something completely different to a writer.
One of the first songs we recorded with Chancey was "Slide," and it came about in such a natural, fun way. Following a morning writing session with
Jim (aka "Jimbo") Henson, we went out for lunch where [notable songwriter] Kim Tribble was joining us. Two of the top writers in the business.and I walk into Nashville's Broadway Brewhouse and Mojo Grill and ask for a table, the waitress says with a smile and the most Southern drawl, "Well boys, just SLIiiiiide on around the corner." I just couldn't let the idea of "slide" go. As lunch went on, it turned into "slide into me", and by the time we left we had the melody and hook figured out. Two hours later we had transformed that sweet woman's warm greeting into the song you hear on the new EP.
"Heyday Reunion" came about a little differently, but it is what it is--something we all do once a year when we are back in our hometowns! We had just passed through Kansas City, Missouri [Davis' home state] when we came up with this idea. Our longtime friend and colleague Tater had just called, and we were talking about our most recent get-together with all of our classmates. I mentioned the idea to Loren Ellis and he was all over it, so we got back to Nashville and started carving away on this song with Tribble. When he heard the title he said that this one needs to be finished over cigars and beers at his lake house. So that's what we did. "Heyday Reunion" is, in essence, about making time for the people that you've known along the way. Life sometimes takes you away from where you grew up and from your true friends. This is just the reminder that in singing along in a song you can go right back to that tailgate around that fire sitting on [hay] bails, picking on guitars, and wishing on star with all of your favorite memories.
I think one of the great things about country music is that it tells a story and in doing so, can take the average guy-like myself, who's maybe driving to work or on his way to pick up his wife-and transplant him into an exact moment in time when he felt a certain way.
With "Missouri Twang," [Davis co-wrote with Rhett Akins and Dallas Davidson] the writers and I took what we know about being middle-to-low-class hicks (which we're all proud as hell of) and we started thinking about who we are, where we're from, and in a matter of minutes it occurred to me that I was supposed to be 'So Missouri'. Rhett and Dallas had already found a melody for a chorus, so I started singing the first verse which was an idea about my grandpa and his values. By the time we hit the chorus, Rhett had the lyric of 'Sometimes you gotta make your own sunshine, Sometimes you gotta smile through the rain'. All I knew was it was ending with 'My good ol' Missouri Twang'. This song is about not just Missouri, but what everyone has in them--hope and values. Dallas and Rhett are two genuine country dudes that get where I am from and vice versa, and it was really special to create a song that we could all relate to.
Our time in the studio concluded with a tune called "Bad Times Roll", and talks about letting things roll off your back in times like these. If you can relate, let us know, and in the meantime, leave your troubles behind you and enjoy some music we hope you can relate to. They’re jamming into high gear.
It’s clear: The Drew Davis Band is on this ride for the long haul.
Read More About The Drew Davis Band
Musicane
