Garrick Davis is an independent music artist from the San Francisco Bay Area, U.S.A. whose authentic "Roots Music" blends American and World genres to create a guitar-driven style that is both transcendent and timeless. Davis' lyrics express an inspirational philosophy relating to common experience expressed through his wonderful vocal instrument. “Songs of wisdom, songs of dues paying, songs of experience, and ultimately, songs of winning the struggle." ~Suzanne Glass of Indie-Music.com.
Garrick's 3rd CD release, “Expose Your Self”, is available through our preferred distribution channel, Bandcamp.com as well as at CD Baby and iTunes. The 13-track "concept album" contains lyric and instrumental tracks that weave themes of redemption, gratitude and love with music exhibiting Rock, Psychedelia, Blues, Funk and Folk influences. Expose Your Self was self-produced and engineered over years of focused effort in DIY fashion in collaboration with his steady crew "The Fabulous FunkyBand”, guest musicians and family members to complete the roster that inject an expansive human vibe to the Rock and Blues project. Expose Your Self began as a process of self-healing and introspection in a time of deep personal conflict for the natural artist. The completed work marks a personal and shared triumph for an excellent group of skilled veteran musicians from San Francisco.
Beginnings- Garrick Davis was born in Casper, Wyoming to musically talented, nurturing parents, Ernest and Marie, as the third of four siblings. His first live performance took place before reaching the age of 3 when during a Sunday service in response to the church pastor asking for someone to come up and sing a hymn. Garrick, the youngest candidate, walked up unescorted and unhesitatingly sang to the congregation. Between ages 3 and 5 his developing fascination with music grew by the day in listening to the instruments representing the animal characters found in the Academy of London & Richard Stamp's LP of Prokofiev's "Peter and The Wolf" and played to very young child by his mother. This led to Garrick's 'first life dream' of wanting to become a symphony conductor.
Davis' interest in music continued throughout his childhood, stimulated by watching the British Invasion era bands and the Soul Music performed on The Ed Sullivan Show as well as music played on 45 RPM records by older siblings. Garrick took piano lessons beginning at age 4 until the family moved to Denver, Colorado two years later. Davis played string bass in the school orchestra at ages 9 to 10, during which time he performed in the Denver All-City Orchestra and received private instruction from an Austrian master bassist. Garrick won a spot in a prestigious children's choir at age 11, which performed at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Encouraged by his brother Ernie, who introduced the music of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Sly & The Family Stone and other guitar-driven bands and artists of the era, a 12 year old “Gary”(as he was known by most until 18) received an electric bass at Christmas and traded it one month later for an electric guitar. The lure of the guitar was too strong to deny, having been deeply affected by his favorite guitarist's ability to express so much on the six-stringed instrument. Like the instruments of Peter & The Wolf, the guitar inspired something deep within him.
Davis taught himself to play “by ear”, initially wearing out Hendrix LP’s like the Band Of Gypsies and "Electric Ladyland" albums and ‘hypnotized’ by "Hey Joe" from "Are You Experienced". As he learned chords from a Rolling Stones songbook the young guitarist’s muse began to blossom when urged by an older "mentor" to get an acoustic guitar and write original music as did the artists Garrick sought to emulate. This proved an empowering idea as Garrick had had music from an 'unknown source' pouring through his mind since he was seven years old. Throughout his teens Davis would write two to three songs per week and perform them for his friends when finished. He began developing a style of writing that, while echoing his favorite bands of the period, were defined by rhythmic character. From age 14 to 18 Gary had grown to “Garrick” and had written more than fifty songs and learned many covers, had performed at open mics, his parent’s church and played professionally.
The Adult Years- After graduating from San Mateo High School in 1976 Garrick attended the College of San Mateo as a music major from which he opted out for lack of connection with the Classical and Jazz programs offered. He and two friends from high school formed "Earrush", a trio with two guitars and a harmonica that performed originals and covers with a strong Blues underpinning. They eventually expanded into a full electric band with which their most 'notorious' performance took place in 1978 at the notable punk rock venue Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco on a Tuesday night with the venerable emcee Dirk Dirksen cutting the band's power before the set was finished. During this period Garrick also discovered the Jazz Fusion movement first by Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow""Wired" mid-seventies albums and then swept up by Jazz guitarist John McLaughlin's electric and acoustic work with The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti. Mesmerized by the complex, aggressive yet soulful modal style atop odd meters McLaughlin employed, Davis began to expand his musical vocabulary resulting in a series of instrumentals and odd-meter songs, which he performed with his next band, a very loud, progressive power trio called "Calico" which included FunkyBand drummer Grant "Slam" Walthall and cul de sac neighbor James Sitchell. Calico later changed their band name to "Spectrum" performed at parties and on the local college radio station KFJC as well as recording a 3-song demo. Spectrum disbanded after Grant was recruited into a local popular band Red Vette.
Next UP...Garrick spent much of his early to mid-twenties jamming free form for hours on end at a loud volume with workmate and drummer Mike Foley during the day and working nights on little sleep. Garrick met Meg Highcastle at age 23 with whom he started a relationship, married three years later and had son Zach with eight years later. With Foley on drums, Meg on keyboards and supporting vocals and a revolving door of bass players formed the band "Orion". Rehearsing throughout the week in a legendarily musty, dank studio called AML Studios in East Palo Alto Garrick wrote new material constantly and performed with the band at the Keystone Palo Alto, in the South Bay at "The Cabaret" and at a club in the North Beach area of San Francisco called the Chi Chi Club. This band was not destined to last as the musicianship was not up to the standards Garrick was seeking. Also drug use, prevalent in the '80's and '90's took it's toll on the chemistry within the band.
Garrick attended numerous "New Wave and "Punk" music shows performed by bands in their earliest stages including a "Talking Heads" noon performance at UC Berkeley, The Cars (1st club tour), Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and many more. These experiences seeded a desire to balance the pure energy and showmanship of rock with the technical skill required to perform complex improvisational pieces. It was during this time beginning at age 19 Garrick began working in the grocery industry in order pay for the music equipment, studio time and transportation necessary to establish a career in the music industry. Initially the plan was to work the job for two to three years. He chose to work the graveyard shift after one year which would allow day or evening rehearsals and performances. Davis financed a series of demo recording sessions over 3 years, first to prove it was possible and then to hopefully acquire a record deal. These session proved fruitless toward the latter purpose, for entry into the industry required more connection from within, as well as songwriting that, perhaps, followed the trends of the day - a practice Garrick continues to avoid.
After
Garrick has toured the past 10 years by and large on the West Coast. He looks forward to building an expansive solo tour schedule in 2012 in various regions of the U.S. and Canada and to add FunkyBand members as prospects improve and allow more players. Davis performed in Western Europe and The U.K. January and February of 2011 and looks to return in the coming year and beyond. Davis performs regularly as a soloist, particularly at The Union Room at Biscuits and Blues in downtown San Francisco where for the last 3 years he taken full advantage of the opportunity to hone his performing skills and command the stage in front of internationalaudiences who readily purchase merchandise and stay in touch beyond the initial encounter. He takes particular delight performing with his band with whom he shares an insatiable love and respect for but is happiest with any configuration that includes his son Zach on piano and supporting vocals.
Davis is a private guitar instructor in the San Francisco Peninsula area with a roster that include both children and adults, some of who have begun to write their own music. Garrick has given public group classes for the City of San Mateo, Oakland Feather River Camp and Oracle Corporation. Garrick carries respect for his student's pursuit at whatever level. At the root of it Garrick enjoys the magic of creating music and the end result, which is to share something beautiful, worthwhile and bring people together.
“The Good Road”, is an intimate acoustic solo album to be released early 2012 and covers Davis’ 40 years as a guitarist and songwriter and contains song tracks written throughout his career (the title track was written at 15). Some song covers by Hendrix, one by Robert Johnson along with a jovial, free-spirited improvisational bent and banter between songs which includes Davis’ trademark laughter display a remarkable performance of dexterity, power, ease and confidence forged from a lifetime of experience. A regional CD Release Tour for Expose Your Self with the full band is in the works for Spring 2012 with a goal to recreate Expose Your Self as a live show with the extra vocalists and musicians and accompanying visuals it will require.
The Fabulous FunkyBand includes Grant “Slam” Walthall (drums), Julia Harrell (percussion), Artis Joyce (bass) and Zachary Davis (piano, synth, electric piano, vocals). Zachary (Garrick’s son) also contributed the instrumental track “Zinterlude” as a prelude to the title track. The veteran musicians of FFB are dedicated lifetime musicians who perform with other acts live and in-studio and teach their disciplines in the Bay Area. Garrick is also currently producing the debut release by the young band “Tribal Suns” which includes Zachary and singer/songwriter/guitarist Victor Cooper. Laughing Man Records LLC functions as a center of business for Garrick Davis, Garrick Davis/The Fabulous FunkyBand, and Tribal Suns. Laughing Man Records has released three albums to-date: Glass Half Full (2001, The Show (live DVD/CD, 2005), Expose Your Self (2011) and will launch the fourth GD album "The Good Road" in 2012.
With two brand new albums that expose a rocking heart and an insightful soul by way of a natural gift Garrick continues on the good road, a path he has known for a half century he was destined to walk and, while on that path bring people together in rhythm and communion that has no bounds.