DRH in ATL Journal-Constitution, 1994

CONCERT PREVIEW: David Ryan Harris

Breakup, breaking rules easy for Harris

By Sonia Murray STAFF WRITER

David Ryan Harris veered from the usual rap/R&B route to form the Atlanta rock band Follow for Now, even though the number of current, visible black rock acts was less than the fingers on his hand. ("There was Living Colour, Fishbone and uhhh . . .") He is happy being rid of his big-label record contract. And he's ecstatic about being part of a new band he doubts will be well-received.

Harris is a rarity in the music biz "and it's a good thing," he says in his hotel room in Los Angeles. "Because the music business, man, I don't know. What's being accepted by the masses, what's being played on the radio, what's coming out now. . . . Let's just say I'm happy not being part of the norm."

On this day, Harris and fellow Atlantan Dionne Farris are spending time on the other coast completing a track called "People" for the Japan-only release of Farris' touted debut, "Wild Seed-Wild Flower." And they're also reworking Nina Simone's "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" for the soundtrack of the upcoming TV movie, "Promise Land."

Harris, an accomplished vocalist, guitarist and songwriter in his own right, worked alongside former Arrested Development vocalist Farris in creating the "Wild Seed" songs "Don't Ever Touch Me (Again)" and "Food for Thought." The 28-year-old had time to spare as his local band of eight years, Follow for Now, had just played its last gig.

"What happened with Follow for Now, hmmm," ponders Harris, referring to the breakup seven months ago. "I've heard different things. Even people that were there have different stories. But for me, we just got to be too restricted. We got into a rut of what a Follow for Now song should be. People came to expect us to do certain things. I didn't want people to expect. I felt like a novelty. And it got to the point where we played into that whole thing, so I quit. We quit."

Harris is back in his breaking-the-rules mode as a part of Farris' band. Her music doesn't easily fall into one category, which could spell problems in an industry hinging on labels. Blues, R&B, folk and rock could all claim it as its own. "If what's on radio now is any indication [of how we'll be received], than we are going to have a hard time," says Harris. "But we won't let that deter us. Dionne's going to do her thing. I'm going to do my solo thing. If I wanted to, I [could] turn out some Babyface [for radio]. It's not bad necessarily. But it's not what I'm about.

"Playing now is like when Follow for Now first started," he adds. "We're just getting in a room and playing music that tickles us."


***Thanks to Furious Rose for submitting this interview.