New Things & Things To Come…

So its been a little bit since my last post on here. Lots has been happening. After spending a few months abroad studying, writing, and living, I’ve been back at home and my home away from home doing about the same…studying, writing and playing. Currently though, I am in a different home away from home. I’ve been in Nashville, Tennessee for roughly the past month working with some fantastic people, developing a new project, and learning all that I can…writing, re-writing, polishing and placing words and music and I cannot wait to share with all of you in the next few months!!!

Until then, you should check out a new song I am extremely proud of that will be posted on here and my MySpace pages for the next few weeks…it is unofficially called “Breaker” and its a sneak preview of things to come. Thanks to everyone for your support. I’d love to hear what yall think!

Also, check out my YouTube page for a new video of Time mixed in with a cover!

Check out the new song is in the Music section…and just click on the icons on the right to check out my Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube….yep

Take care and more soon I promise!

Chris

Video times…

Aloha everybody!! I played coffeehouse a few weeks ago with my friend Kevin Mahon. We had a blast playing and ended up debuting a couple of new songs I’ve been working on along with one of the most difficult covers I’ve ever tried (it involved some serious talent-stretching)…heres a video of it…audio is not the best, but I hope you enjoy it anyways!

Chris Davis & Kevin Mahon at Angels Coffeehouse 2010

Oh, and in case you’re wondering…heres the setlist…

- “I Just Found Out” (a work in progress…)

-” The Dynamo of Volition” (an impossible to cover Jason Mraz cover)

- “Breaker” (a yet to be officially named original…)

Peace peace

- CD

Update…

I realized this morning how long its been since I updated this blog, so I figure this morning was as good a time as any to fill you all in on what the music-portion of my life has been up to for the past couple of months.

I dedicated the first part of the summer to really listening to and watching other musicians.  I felt like I was at the point where I needed to switch back into full creative mode and try and move on and improve from Phases.  One way that I’ve realized is a good way to reset and open yourself to developing new ideas is observing and learning from other musicians, whether that is by seeking out and listening to new music, or if it is going to see one of your favorite bands play live.  For me, the beginning of the summer was dedicated to a mixture of both. I got the chance to see some of my favorite bands and artists from Dave Matthews Band, Counting Crows, Third Eye Blind, all of which were amazing experiences.  I also discovered some new music to listen to that soon worked its way to consistent play on my iPod, such as Band of Horses, Fiction Family, & John Patitucci Trio.

Since then, I have been writing more than I ever have and it has been great, but still a constant struggle. The past two summers have really taught me how tough it is to write a good song, but as with any struggle there is something you can learn from it. This time, I have come to see the real value in writing a good song. Once you write something you are kind of satisfied, it fuels the fire just a little more so that you can write something that you are a little more satisfied with next time…etc. It is a musical catch 22, I guess. It is what keeps musicians and songwriters going I think. No matter how frustrated they get, it can always be turned into motivation, just as anything else that we may have a passion for.

So, this summer I have been focusing on trying to perfect the way that I play guitar, write songs, and sing them.  Hopefully it will show on these songs that I have been working on lately. Writing often is truly what is helping me to grow as a musician. These songs come from time alone in a dorm room, at home, time spent on vacation with my family, with friends, and even time spent recording vocals from my car in a Target parking lot.

I still haven’t figured out if they are any good or not, but there will be plenty of time for you all to decide that later.

I also had the opportunity to go to Nashville and work with some great musical minds there (more on that in another post). Long story short, I think there is a lot more to come. In fact, I know there is because I have some songs to prove it

I will keep working to improve. Once again thanks to everyone for the support and please stay tuned

More soon,

- Chris

Music + Heat = Summer Soundtrack Time

With a title like that, I have now that I’ve drained my mind showing off the extent of my math prowess (sorry Mr. Marshall)…so lets take a brief brain-nap.

Alright, brain nap over…digressing…
So summer is upon us and one thing i have learned over the past few years is how much most of us relate past times, especially summers back to the music that we were listening to at the time…we all have our summer soundtracks, am I right? Well, if this is not how it works for you, just humor me for a moment because I am about to dish some serious musical suggestion action to help you form your SS ’09….
Here we go. Artist first, the the album…

- PARACHUTE, “LOSING SLEEP”: This is a solid pop/rock band from VA that have been making a lot of noise on iTunes lately, and oh boy, do they have hooks! And they are not shy about scoreboarding you with them. Bottomline, really enjoyable, solid pop/rock.

- AIR REVIEW -…..still waiting on an album (word on the street is that it will be dropping June 5th) but I just saw them live a few weeks back and they killed it!  Hints of both indie rock and Muse are sprinkled within this band’s unique sound.

- THIRD EYE BLIND – BLUE:  Ok, ok  so this is not a new one but I have been obsessed with this album lately.  Musically, Stephen Jenkins and Kevin Cadogen and the rest of the 3EB crafted this album so well.  If you were around in 1999 but still missed out on this album, be sure to check it out, its a jam.

- BLAKE & KATE – LETTER AND WORDS EP:  If you like any acoustic music, check these guys out. Vocally amazing, just trust me on this.

Enjoy!

More soon,

Chris

Phases EP Now Available!

Hey everyone!
Finally….its completely finished! You can now get your hands on the Phases EP in a physical format simply by clicking on the little “buy now” button on your right. Or, if your still not convinced its worth the money, you can click on “music” on the top of the page and listen to the tracks as much as you want, until you’ve convinced yourself that it is worth it
I am very excited to get this out there and get some feedback!
Keep checking back, I am getting some shows lined up very soon!

Chris

FINISHED!

Helllloooo!

FINALLY sent in the final album artwork today, the last step in this process, and the album is done!

Look out over the next couple of weeks and it will be up on iTunes, CD Baby, and a bunch of other great places for you to pick it up!

Can’t wait for yall to hear it!

More soon…

Chris

Staying In Touch…

Just wanted to let you all know that you can now follow me on Twitter!

www.twitter.com/ChrisMarkDavis

And also don’t forget to check out some music at purevolume.com/chrisdavis

There’s been a couple more delays with the EP, but hopefully everything will be ready to go and out there in the next couple of weeks!

- Chris

Introducing the Phases EP…on extreme delay

I recall a day last year that i claimed that i would have finished my first set of recordings by last fall…I guess i should have said i would be “finish the writing process and begin recording”…

…needless to say this is a long time coming.

I am extremely excited to announce the release of my first set of recordings!  It’s is a 5 song EP/demo entitled Phases.  This project was something I began working on last summer and now coming to a close. I had the great pleasure of working with a fantastic musician guiding me through the recording process in the ever-talented John Dufilho best known for his time with the band, The Deathray Davies, as well as his own self-titled solo project, and his current gig with indie pioneers, The Apples in Stereo. John was also gracious enough to lend his instrumental talent to the album by helping out with the bass and drums on several of the tracks.  Mixing master, and master of mastering, David Rosenblad and myself (to a much lesser extent) co-produced each of the songs.  Both of these men made the studio a fantastic place to learn and grow musically. A truly great experience!

The track list is something like this…

1. Time,  

2. Phases

3. Stay Awhile

4. Rise

5. No Importance

All of the tracks are now available for free download on www.purevolume.com/chrisdavis, for the next few weeks. After that, they will make their way over to iTunes, CD-Baby, Rhapsody, etc. The actual release of the EP will be sometime this March, with a tentative date of March 20th and will be available through chrisdavislive.com.  Don’t forget to sign-up for web updates so that you can keep up with the latest.

I am really excited about this project and cannot wait to see what you all think, so please go check out and download the songs! Thanks to everyone who have supported me so far! Hopefully there is much more where all of this came from!

More soon,

Chris