DRH is Awesome!

Recently one of DRH's fans was crossing the street and got hit by someone that ran a red light. She's hurt pretty badly from what I've gathered.

DRH is her favorite musician, and I guess somebody got word to him and he recorded this video for her:




***Thanks to Erika for submitting this info.

DRH Incase Blog - 05/10/07

Home Base

Okay so, you’re on this scavenger hunt right? But everytime you get a new clue it directs you to a new place and a new page in a new book. After about 20 new clues and pages and books, you’re lost. Scary.

Now imagine that this “scavenger hunt” I speak of is really a metaphor for how you start clicking links on a web page until you forget where you started in the first place. (Still creepy, but at least you can do it in your pajamas.)

You know what I’m talking about. Don’t front Mom.

Well, I can’t help you with the real life scavenger hunt, but if you’re afraid of getting lost in the internet jungle, start doing the apple-click (Mac) or the control-click (people that haven’t bought a Mac yet) when you’re opening a link.

That way you open your links in a new page without losing home base

Bread crumbs on the keyboard and mouse void most warranties.
Posted by gillsans· May 10, 2007 apple, mouse, tip, web

Source: http://goincase.com/blog/2007/05/10/home-base/#comments

DRH Incase Blog - 05/07/07

Warm Merrymaking In The Months After Spring

I hate that I have to give Apple more props than they already have, but one of my new years resolutions was to try NOT to hate on folks so much. (Don’t worry, next year’s resolution will be to make hating on things and people that suck a new Olympic Sport. I’m just saving up).

Because of the iPod and the iTunes store, people don’t really say that music is from a particular generation like they used to. It’s all just music. There’s not so much of that “you’re listening to the oldies?!” crap.
If its good, then just say so. “I don’t care when it came out, that rocks!” or not. (see Achy Breaky Heart all the way to The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald.
Those of you who are taking note, and wondering why I’m hating on Billy Ray and Gordon Lightfoot, I’m not hating.

FACT: Those songs suck.

But back to Apple…..

Initially I was just gonna write a blog to let you know that Sly & The Family Stone’s Hot Fun In The Summertime is my favorite song of all time. That’s right……ALL TIME. Then I got all self-conscious like “is that new and hip enough? That song came out when I was like 1. Should I name some newer hipper song? I hope people don’t think I like old people music”. THEN I realized that because of how accessible and “right now” Apple has made music, there’s no such thing as old music. So, there, I said it.

In your face, kid.

“HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME”.

You can search all day and you’ll never find another song like it.
Try to resist the urge to sway back and forth like you’re in the Partridge Family.
Do It.

Can’t can ya?

Rock that shit like its 1969.

p.s. “Hot Fun In The Summertime” was a single only release. The Greatest ALBUM of all time also goes to Sly even though it doesn’t include that song.
Posted by gillsans· May 07, 2007 fun, riot, sly

Source: http://goincase.com/blog/2007/05/07/warm-merrymaking-in-the-months-after-spring/#comments

DRH Incase Blog - 4/29/07

File Under: More Uses For Useful Products

You could do 2 Strats
or 2 Teles
or one of each
or 2 Les Pauls
or a Les Paul and a Strat
or a Les Paul and a Tele.
Hell, if you got all 1985 with it, you could even do one of those pointy headstock guitars and a Hohner Tele like the one that somebody stole from my rehearsal space when I was 16.
Maybe a BC Rich Bich and a Kramer Pacer.
A Hamer and a Charvel San Dimas, maybe?
Point is, its all up to you my man (I use “man”, much like “dude”, not meaning to exclude the female shredders, i.e. Jennifer Batten see live version of Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana”).

But when you really wanna handle some #$^% like I do, when you step up to the plate your Dub Bag will be full with your keyboard controller, Lacie Hard Drive, and the American guitar of your choosing. NOTE: room service menu added for drama and high class flair. That’s just how I do things.

And I hope you’re not in the room next door to me ’cause I will be rocking (like a hurricane)
Posted by gillsans· Apr 29, 2007 Dirty Diana, guitar, Jennifer Batten, Lita Ford


Source: http://goincase.com/blog/2007/04/29/file-under-more-uses-for-useful-products/#comments

DRH Incase Blog - 4/26/07

4 Is Better Than Infinity

Back in the day (when I was a teenager, before I had status and before I had a pager) I bought a 4-Track Tascam Portastudio because I wanted to be able to demo the songs that I had in my head. In order for me to figure out how to operate the machine, I decided that I would record versions of other people’s songs so that I didn’t waste valuable time screwing my songs up until I got the hang of it. I did The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows” and “Baby, You’re A Rich Man”, Prince’s “Let’s Work”, Sly & The Family Stone’s “Just Like A Baby” and some others. I figured out how to do my thing by re-doing their thing and lets just say that the rest is Mystory. I loved you so Mr. Tascam.

Eventually, I got tired of all that track bouncing just so that I could get my Beach Boys background vocal thing on, and I just wanted more tracks… I bought an 8 Track (by then I wanted to get my Freddy Mercury on), got sick of that, and moved on to the digital multitrack ADAT (16 tracks on a VHS tape? really? weird, but whatever) and lastly/currently I moved up to what the big boys use… Pro Tools… oooooo… ahhhhh! More tracks than 279 fugitives running through the woods with blindfolds on. Does it make my songs any better? I think not. It made me soft. Lazy.

It’s like Nas says about 1 Mic… except I’m saying it about 4 Tracks. Anybody can make shit sound good with unlimited tracks (you Pro Tools sissy) but what can you do with only 4?

Fade to Black (silence…)

2007: Bitches, I’m back!

Enter, the new,sexy, sleek, and small Boss MicroBR, a digital 4 track that is just a little bit bigger than my Palm Treo.

Oh yeah, its on.

And here’s a cover song. Just like the old days. Hendrix’ “Spanish Castle Magic” (4MB MP3) recorded entirely on the MicroBR.

Fuck sexy, I’m bringing 4 track back.
Posted by gillsans· Apr 26, 2007 mp3, music


Source: http://goincase.com/blog/2007/04/26/4-is-better-than-infinity/#comments

By Kandia Crazy Horse

Aw rooty, now! This here biased and concise guide to some of the masterpieces of black rock should serve as a suitable entree to the aesthetics and titans of the genre. There are more black rockers on the planet than blackglama playa Lenny Kravitz and the on-again socio-shred quartet Living Colour, y'know? Blackfolks' history in the rock & roll arena has been likened to an "electric purgatory," but out of the madness comes magnificence.

Ike Turner

Before he beat (ex-wife) Tina, the Father of Rock & Roll, Ike Turner, transformed boogie-woogie into rock music with a driving back beat, fuzzy electric guitar and wailing saxophone at Memphis' Sun Studios in 1951, via legendary Oldsmobile ode "Rocket 88" (mistakenly credited to Turner's vocalist Jackie Brenston). From the highs of that No. 1 hit with his band the Kings of Rhythm through the lows of Turner's coke-fueled LA studio paradise, rock's first likely guitar god perfected a mix of blues, country and western, R&B, jazz and everything after. The Ikon has certainly been lauded by greats: Turner was referred to by Little Richard as "The Man" and B.B. King dubbed Tina's Bane "[The] best band leader I've ever seen." Check out Rhythm Rockin' Blues (Ace) to see if the Blues Boy was right.

Little Richard

Hailing from Macon, "Little" Richard Wayne Penniman is more than the Georgia Peach and a minister, honey -- he's the self-proclaimed "Architect of Rock & Roll." You can practice your piano bang with the Great Emancipator's debut, Here's Little Richard (Specialty), as accompaniment. Bow down before such rockin,' gender-bending, electrifying classics as "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally," and "Keep A Knockin'" -- or shuut up!

Ray Charles

Recently deceased and eulogized on celluloid via Jamie Foxx' Oscar-winning performance, Brother Ray will forever remain an American treasure due to his revolutionary erosion of the boundaries between Saturday night devil music and sanctified Sunday morning sounds. Furthermore, remember him not just for his keys mastery but his innovations in country music. Charles' Anthology (Rhino/WEA) collects several of his standards: "Hit the Road Jack," "I Got A Woman," "Georgia On My Mind." What'd I Say? Go git it!

Love

This high 60s psych-rock band was led by black Crenshaw-Adams native (by way of Memphis) Arthur Lee, a brilliant, mercurial musician who not only inspired and mentored the world's most famous (black) rock star, Jimi Hendrix, but Lee influenced Jim Morrison as well. Forever Changes, the Love group's string-laden classic full of dark visions of the American Way and baroque prefaces to suicide notes, regained its pride of place as a perennial cult favorite during Lee's recent tours (now sadly ended) with the young LA band Baby Lemonade.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

This ubiquitous guitar mag posterboy needs no introduction. If your record collection lacks eternal ax spirit and "Voodoo Chile" Jimi's finest hours on tape, Electric Ladyland (Experience Hendrix), then get hip.

Sly & the Family Stone

The artist and funk king formerly known as Sylvester Stewart almost single-handedly revolutionized many forms of pop music at the turn of the 70s, with the release of his desperate, downer symphony There's A Riot Goin' On (Sony). Few musicians dared plumb the depths of such Sly songs as "Luv 'N' Haight" and "Spaced Cowboy" but many, from Madonna to Janet Jackson to Human League to World Party's Karl Wallinger, have made a mint aping the Family Stone's churchy harmonies, elastic beats, and multiracial/multi-gendered communion. Of interesting note: Sly produced the Jefferson Airplane classic, Surrealistic Pillow.

Betty Davis

This Betty Davis was born Miss Mabry. However, her eponymous debut (a rare groove Grail recently reissued in the UK -- where else?) places Miles Davis' ex-wife in badass league with the late Hollywood actress of the same name. These superstar ladies share not only factory-town heritage (Mabry hails from Pittsburgh, the actress from Lowell, MA), but inimitable voices and womanist strength. Corraling a slew of former Janis Joplin and Sly Stone sidemen, along with rocker-turned-disco divo Sylvester and the Pointer Sisters, the hot bitch who introduced her good friend Jimi to Miles fearlessly sings such lyrics as, "If I'm in luck I just might get picked up" in a pre-punk snarl Johnny Rotten could never top.

Prince

This many-handed, multiple-monikered one-man band from Minneapolis was almost the sole reservoir of rock in the 80s for "the Youth" and other folks of discerning taste. As an earlier generation of rockers descended into self-parody and desperate bids for relevance (ahem, world music, ahem), Prince's sexy electro and funkdafied psych provided a breath of fresh air in the Reagan Era, as the bouncy street track "Lady Cab Driver," Chuck Berry-esque road song "Little Red Corvette" and premillennial anthem "1999" attest.

David Ryan Harris

Former Follow For Now leader Harris, from down the road in Hot'lanta, delivered some of his finest tunes on 2001's unjustly overlooked Tragic Kingdom (Elektra/WEA), recorded as part of power trio Brand New Immortals. Even if you're not charmed by this disc's rave-ups ("Blacksun") and funky Wonderlove ("High Time"), the transcendent, soulful elegance of Harris' greatest song, "If I Had A Dime," will melt your Philistine heart.

Glen Scott

Scott may be the most unsung player amongst the last decade's crop of progressive black musicians. His first release, Without Vertigo (Sony), barely registers even with the crate-digger crowd, yet it's one of the best-crafted exhibits of the awesome might of black rock. Purveying a lush, Beatlesque soundtrack fit for archetypal black boho Denise Huxtable's wet dreams, Brer Scott's album deserves recognition amongst such 90s alternative fusion touchstones as Beck's Odelay and The Jayhawks' Sound Of Lies instead of being consigned to the dustbin of sonic history. He croons Sly's lyric "Shadrach, Meshach, Abendego" in the coda of "Way I Feel," self-consciously measuring the distance between Sly and himself. Both were maverick artists compromised by the major-label shortsightedness that still plagues black genius today.

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

Source: http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=125511

DRH Dreamsawake.com Interview, '04

Interview with David Ryan Harris

by Stephanie Shum

After enduring a couple of somewhat awkward and downright weird moments during our interview (unfortunately, said moments did not make the editorial cut), I can safely conclude that not only is David Ryan Harris an extremely talented vocalist and all-around fabulous musician, he is also able to laugh his way through tough situations -- a trait that is undoubtedly beneficial to have as a performer. Read on as Dreams Awake catches up with David after another solid performance.

Dreams Awake: Just a few random questions to start off with. If you could be on any reality TV show, which would it be?

David Ryan Harris: It would be Paradise Island, uh, Paradise Hotel. It is a good show. They're also young and stupid and it's very high school, so I would like to be on it to be the one that's not young and stupid.

DA: Besides your guitar and other musical instruments, what is something you have to have with you when you're out on tour?

DRH: Cell phone. Must have cell phone. It's an appendage. And I know that I should have it removed -- lanced -- but I'm addicted.

DA: You play many different instruments, guitar, drums, piano, among others. Out of those you currently aren't familiar with, which do you want to learn the most?

DRH: I would like to really be able to play piano. I play piano well enough to record songs but I'd like to be able to just ... I'd like to be the guy who walks past the baby grand in the lobby of a hotel and sit down and play Schubert or someone. That's not me; I can't even play Chopsticks really.

DA: What is in your CD player right now?

DRH: What is in my CD player? I don't have a CD player. See if you asked me what's in my iPod ...

DA: What is on your iPod right now?



DRH: In my iPod in heavy rotation: I've been listening to this guy Gavin DeGraw and this other guy Teitur, who I like a lot. He's probably my favourite new find.

DA: So I guess that answers my next question which is: name someone, an up and comer, you think everyone should listen to.

DRH: Teitur. T-E-I-T-U-R. I think his record's called "Poetry & Aeroplanes." Terrific.

DA: For those who still have not yet heard your music, how would you describe it to them?

DRH: It is everything except country music and at this point, hard rock. I mean, actually, I think it probably has more elements of country than hard rock. It's real ... it's very organic, I think, without being granola. It's based on my voice which really is kinda like a classic soul kind of voice and you know, written on guitar -- in that a lot of the songs are based around guitar, I guess it's got sort of a ... not really folk ... I guess it's just solo and acoustic guitar.

DA: Which of your songs do you think is the best "intro to David Ryan Harris" song and why?

DRH: Wow. Um, I would say "If I Had a Dime" because it's just really strong lyrically without being too ... you know, it doesn't have a lot of crazy metaphors necessarily. And musically and melodically, I just think it's really strong -- it's one of the better things I've written.

DA: Your first break into the music scene was with your band Follow For Now. When your experience with the group was over, what kind of lessons did you walk away with?

DRH: I don't know if there's enough space on that minidisc. Just that if I was going to succeed or fail, I didn't want to do it based on someone else's mistakes or someone else's ... I didn't want to ride on someone else's coattails. I just want to be a bit more responsible for my own ... destiny. I felt like I did a lot of, I guess at the time, I felt like I did a lot of work, but got more grief within the structure of the band than was necessary. I got more grief than I felt like I deserved and I really like the idea of being in a democratic situation. I haven't found anything that musically, as far as a group is concerned, I haven't found anything that was anywhere near a gratifying, you know, we had a great time -- actually, I had a dream that I was playing a Follow For Now show like two nights ago -- I listen back to the music and it's great. I have people come up and they tell me about their memories of shows and how frenetic they were. It was a really wonderful, wonderful time in my life and I wouldn't trade those days for anything.

DA: And now, the same question but after Brand New Immortals dis-banded.

DRH: Probably more of the same; just to be a little bit more reliant on myself musically. I like the idea of collaboration but sometimes just because I just don't want to be the only guy up there. So it's really kind of a lonely thing. When John was first going out, it was him and Dela. So just musically and also at the end of the night, you have somebody to kind of hang out with. All the fans come up and they're very appreciative, and I'm appreciative of them being appreciative, but at the end of the day, I'm not hooking up with chicks, I'm going to my room. So sometimes, that's kind of lonely so I guess the lesson was I just have to be okay with that. I have a lot of confidence now in doing what I do in front of whoever. I don't know how many people were out there tonight, but I think it's kind of ballsy for a guy to go and stand on the stage in front of people who don't know him with just an acoustic guitar. I was afraid of doing that before but not anymore.

DA: Obviously, you have experience as both a solo artist as well as a band member. Which do you prefer and why?

DRH: I would love to be in a band if I found at least 2, you know, maybe 3 other guys, I felt were bringing something really creative to the table. If I had a bass player, I don't want to have to tell the bass player what to play but at the same time, I don't want him to play something that I don't want to hear. So you multiply that by 4 musicians ... I mean, the Beatles were probably, in my estimation, the best example of 4 distinct personalities who all brought something incredible to create something that was much larger than any of them which, people talk about it all the time, them individually didn't come close to the musical impact that they had when they were all together. I would love to be a Beatle. I would love to be George, Ringo … I don't know if I'd want to be John or Paul.

DA: What do you think sets you apart from the all the other young male singer-songwriters out there?

DRH: I'm just better than them. No, uh, really, it's probably my voice. I mean, a lot of the singer-songwriters that I hear, the vocals aren't necessarily bad, but I'm a singer first -- at least that's the way I look at it. I think that's what people gravitate towards first, and then hopefully, they listen to the lyrics next. And then if that picture's nice enough to make them want to pay attention to the guitar, then we're done. It's a done deal.



DA: Tell us about your latest EP, Atlanta, which you recorded on your computer. How did you come about deciding to record and mix it on your own?

DRH: That is where I feel the most, um, it's just where I feel the most creative because I don't have the time constraints of being in a big studio. There is something to be said for being able to just roll out of bed and record in your underwear. Whatever, you just have a different head space, a completely different space. And I wasn't really sure how I wanted to go about doing it, like I had a sound in my head but it certainly wasn't an option for me to go fishing around for that sound in my head in a big studio and part of the reason why the EP was even necessary was that I didn't have anything recorded that was representative of the acoustic shows. So although the CD's not totally acoustic, I think ... it isn't a bait and switch that an acoustic show and the Brand New Immortals CD would be. Like if people see me play acoustic and then they buy the Brand New Immortals CD and they're like "okay, I guess it's the same thing" and just smile and nod.

DA: How long did the whole process take?

DRH: I don't know, maybe 3 months, off and on. A lot of give and take, trial and error. Basically, my thing was I wanted to start with maybe a metronome at least, a drum beat at best, and acoustic guitar and then I would put the vocals on. And if the song could exist without more stuff, then I wouldn't put more stuff on. Some of the songs, like "Strong Enough" for instance, had drums on it, but I took 'em out and it still worked. A lot of songs had bass on them. Whatever I could take out to get close enough to the acoustic and vocal, I took out. So that was like the process and some things were more successful than other things. I mean, it's a good representation of that time in my life and me being in Atlanta and living where I live.

DA: You have a new album coming out soon. What can we expect from it?

DRH: I don't really know. I have some live stuff that I recorded that I think is really good and really kind of captures the experience of being at a David Ryan Harris show but there isn't enough material to fill out an entire record. And then I also have some new songs that have been recorded more for a band but there's not enough of it to make an entire record and to be perfectly honest, I feel that I have had a fair amount of growth as a songwriter and it just needed to be represented in the songs and the package and the recordings and all that so I'll just keep plugging that up until I get it done.

DA: Let's talk about your songwriting process. Who would you say are some of your influences?

DRH: Songwriting-wise, certainly Stevie Wonder. Um, you know, although I really love the energy and the aggression and sort of a "working man, blue collar" thing of Lennon, I would probably rather be McCartney just from a melodic perspective. I do find myself saying sometimes "what would Paul McCartney do here?" So, there's Stevie, there's Paul McCartney, there's um, Prince ... lots of people. I guess it depends on what I'm working on at the time. Some songs, lyrics are really their focal point and then I have a different set of influences and then if it's more of a groove thing, like Sly and the Family Stone or ... Prince or something.

DA: Where do you like to write?

DRH: I don't really have any real place. I thoroughly enjoy singing into my little Dictaphone thing ... for ideas. The guitar sounds really good coming out of it. So, anywhere. I mean, I feel like you don't really write the songs, they're already out there. You just have to be quiet long enough to pick them up.



DA: What comes to you first, the lyrics or the music?

DRH: Probably the melody. It takes a long time sometimes because I adhere to the actual rhythm of the melody and sometimes it's really hard to put words over the rhythm. I guess that's any songwriter's problem.

DA: Have you written a song that just came flowing right out?

DRH: "If I Had a Dime." I almost feel bad or guilty taking praise for it because it came so quickly and from somewhere else that I don't really feel like I wrote it. Like I sat down and was like "where the hell did that come from?"

DA: What is the song you're most proud of lyrically?

DRH: Hmm, I don't know, I guess it changes from time to time. I mean, when I wrote "Turn Around," I really liked some of the lyrical phrases and that. I like "Pretty Girl" now just because it's really simple and I have a tendency to run myself in circles lyrically and have to try to have everything said a certain sort of way and "Pretty Girl" kind of does away with that in a really simple way that's very reflective.

DA: At what point do you feel confident enough in a song that you can perform it in front of an audience?

DRH: Soon as I can do a verse, chorus, verse, chorus -- I don't mind screwing up. I guess it just depends on the audience but it doesn't have to be all done up for me. Most of these people, they never heard any of my songs so they don't know if I'm screwing it up or not.

DA: The list of people you have collaborated with is impressive: DMB, Dionne Farris, Mariah Carey, Santana, just to name a few. Which artist or artists would you like to collaborate with next?

DRH: I would like to do a record with The Roots. Just because it's a band first and foremost but they have a grasp of a lot of different elements that I think ... just the ability to be able to communicate your ideas to someone that can quickly go from genre to genre or sound to sound -- a luxury that a lot of people don't have. So yah, I'd like to work with them. I like what they've got going on. I think they would appreciate where I'm coming from.

DA: And finally, think 3 years down the road. Where would you like to see yourself?

DRH: 3 years down the road? I don't know, hopefully, I would still be making music CDs, for myself. I like the fact that at this point, I don't have to do them on any real sort of schedule. I don't really want that to change. I don't want to have to go on the road. I enjoy it but I don't want to have to do it. I really would like to be able to continue doing what I do yet still maintain control of my life. I think that's what anybody wants to do. Nobody wants to have to work. Nobody wants to have to practice piano or do things they don't want to do. And I've been fortunate enough where now, I don't necessarily have to go on the road. And I think my shows are better for it, my attitude is better for it and hopefully, the music is better for it. So hopefully there will just be more opportunities for me to do that.


Source: http://www.dreamsawake.com/interviews/drh/index.htm

DRH in ATL Journal-Constitution, 2003

IN THE DRESSING ROOM

WITH DAVID RYAN HARRIS at Smith's Olde Bar. Talk about low maintenance.

by Sonia Murray

All the man required for his amazing set was bottled water ("Gotta stay hydrated!"), Sweetwater 420 ("Had to have it because I can't find it in Los Angeles") and a bottle of Camelot merlot (well, just because).

Privacy wasn't even a must. Opener Teitur shared the sole seat in the room -- actually a bench -- with Harris, who didn't seem to mind as the burgeoning singer-songwriter did a Catwomanlike growl to warm up. People just casually floated past the opened door as Harris tuned his new Martin acoustic guitar. That kind of thing.

"This is home," sighed Harris, who after stints as a member of Atlanta rock band Follow for Now, Dionne Farris's guitarist, a solo moment and more time as a member of Brand New Immortals, decided to leave Atlanta last year for California.

Since then, a busy Web site (www.davidryanharris.com), a song on the "Biker Boys" soundtrack -- plus more songs in the movie -- and some studio work with John Mayer have kept the bills paid. "But what's been priceless is the freedom to move at my pace," he says. "Not to knock major label deals, because I've had three -- and they have given some people a great platform for their work -- but this kind of creative space and time has been amazing."

Oh, and before he left to play, it was hard not to notice the "window advisory" behind his bald head, which read: "If your band sticker ends up on our window, you will be asked to pay for a new window along with jeopardizing any chance to ever again grace the stage here at Smith's Olde Bar.

"Thank you in advance for your professionalism and courtesy."


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

DRH in Marist College paper, 2003

CD REVIEW: David Ryan Harris breaks onto pop-rock scene

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- In the last year-and-a-half, the sonic landscape has been overrun by fresh-faced American Eagle ad's armed, like an of army of pop-rock terminators, with acoustic guitars and sly, "trust me" smiles. The likes of John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, and a host of others whose names don't necessarily begin with the letter "J" have made it nearly impossible to turn on MTV or pick up a copy of Rolling Stone without being force-fed a sticky-sweet brand of Dylan-esque bubble-gum wads that don't even muster enough conviction or talent to pass for Stealers Wheel, let alone Mr. Freewheelin'.

Enter David Ryan Harris, a college drop-out from Atlanta who, on paper, appears to be just another [expletive] with a guitar. The biggest difference (and there are many) between Harris and his contemporaries is a genuine gift for singing. Harris employs a soul-stirring mix of Lenny Kravitz grit and Stevie Wonder grace, a credit to both his own vocal ability and his sophisticated sonic palate (Harris paid homage to both Radiohead and Prince during the course of his performance at the Nelly Goletti Theater Sept. 6).

Lyrically, Harris finds himself mulling over the lessons learned from past relationships, rather than pining for the girl lost in the process ("Strong Enough", "Do What You Want", "Turn Around"). When not contemplating the fairer sex, Harris takes care to maintain a social awareness, if only for a song or two. With "Dickin' Around", a Stevie Ray Vaughn-influenced ramble denoting society's tendency to ignore its problems rather than confront them, Harris brandished his guitar like a seasoned pro, going as far to pay homage to the Voodoo Child himself with a behind-the-head solo.

Though not exactly a rarity in today's pop community, Harris separates himself from the pack in a number of ways, not the least of which is a distinct R&B approach to a genre of music that, until now, has been rooted almost entirely in alt-country and mainstream rock n' roll. Only time time will tell if his unique approach will pay off.


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

DRH Apache Cafe