I'm Not Gonna Let My Blues Bring
Me Down
Having spent the last fifteen years performing on stage as a member of Marty Stuart's road band, playing lead acoustic guitar with Earl Scruggs and Friends, and playing lead electric and acoustic guitar with Billy Bob Thornton's rock band, Brad Davis now brings his acoustic guitar and songwriting talent to the forefront with the release of his new solo recording I¹m Not Gonna Let My Blues Bring Me Down. While presenting Brad's unique blend of acoustic blues, rock, country and bluegrass and highlighting his vocal, songwriting, acoustic guitar, mandolin and bass talents, the album's real excitement resides in the interaction between Brad and some of the world's most talented musicians from the bluegrass, newgrass, country and rock genres. Brad's concept on this recording was to write and record the music that he loves with the musical friends and heroes who he knew could help him get the most out of each song.
On the rockin', bluesy, title cut, "I'm Not Gonna Let My Blues Get Me Down," Jon Randall Stewart (of the Sam Bush Band and Emmy Lou Harris's Nash Ramblers) sings harmony vocals and swaps guitar solos with Brad. On cut two, "Old Number Nine," Brad displays his talent for writing, singing and playing bluegrass music while bluegrass and newgrass legend Sam Bush masterfully adds his signature mandolin rhythm chop and clean, fluid mandolin solos. On cut three Brad displays his own mandolin talent on the funky, poetic "Dawg Diddy" and is backed up by David Grier (three-time International Bluegrass Music Association Guitar Player of the Year and voted one of Acoustic Guitar Magazine¹s Guitar Players of the Decade). On cut four Brad moves back to the bluegrass genre and teams with his brother Greg Davis (turbo-charged banjo talent) to show just how fast two bluegrassers can pick on the frighteningly fast "Big Timber."
On cut five we hear film star Billy Bob Thornton sing lead on Brad¹s haunting "Tell Me Son." Brad and rock star Tommy Shaw (of Styx and Damn Yankees) provide the harmony vocals. "Cypress Walls"--a tune Brad co-wrote with Nashville tunesmith Tommy Polk--follows, with Brad singing and playing guitar while bluegrass Dobro master Rob Ickes provides accompaniment. On cut seven blues vocalist Kelly Knolf helps Brad sing a blues-inspired version of the bluegrass classic "Rank Stranger." On cut eight, Brad flies solo, singing and playing guitar, mandolin and bass on his ballad "Black Snake." For cut nine, "Where You Belong" (a song that could easily become a country classic), Brad is joined on mandolin and vocals by super session picker John Jorgenson (of Elton John, the Desert Rose Band and Hellecasters).
On "California," the CD's tenth cut and its only instrumental, Brad highlights his famous double-down-up guitar technique. Guitar players are going to wonder, "how does he do that!?" And cut eleven, the folky "I Love My Guitar," emphasizes Brad's special relationship with the instrument. These are both tunes that all guitar players will appreciate and admire. Brad also goes solo on "The Site of Truth," cut twelve, singing and playing the guitar, mandolin and bass. On cut thirteen Brad sings the waltz-time lament "Journey Through Misery" and is backed-up by bluegrass fiddle great Glen Duncan. On the CD's final cut-which Brad co-wrote with Gary Scruggs-Brad is joined by bluegrass banjo legend Earl Scruggs.
This recording takes the listener on a musical journey through the rock, blues, bluegrass, newgrass and country music genres as interpreted by Brad Davis and a cast of special guests who have helped to define those genres. Fans of Marty Stuart and Earl Scruggs have long known about Brad Davis's talent as an instrumentalist. Here they will find that he is an equally talented songwriter and singer.
In addition to playing lead electric and acoustic guitars on the road with Marty Stuart for over ten years, Brad Davis also played on Marty's gold-selling album This One's Gonna Hurt You, the Marty Stuart Hit Pack,and Marty's latest MCA recording The Pilgrim. Brad played on the soundtrack of Steven Seagal's movie Fire Down Below, and performed music for Billy Bob Thornton's upcoming Miramax releases Daddy And Them and Waking Up In Reno. Brad also recorded two new album projects featuring Billy Bob Thornton on Mercury and has toured both Europe and the United States as the lead guitar player for Billy Bob Thornton's band. Additionally, Brad has worked for, or recorded with, Willie Nelson, Emmy Lou Harris, Pam Tillis, the Forester Sisters, the Sweethearts of the Rodeo, and currently tours with Billy Bob Thornton, and banjo legend Earl Scruggs as the lead guitar player for the band Earl Scruggs & Friends.