Scott and I went up to San Francisco to meet with David Luning and his band last night to discuss the upcoming taping of American Songwriter this Tuesday at the Media Center. David will be the guest artist for our 20th show.
After our meeting on the sidewalk outside the Brainwash Cafe on Folsom we ducked into catch the last three songs of Todd Haemmerle’s set. I’ve seen Todd before and always enjoy his open string finger-pick style and his mellow soothing voice. He treated us to a world premier of his new song, an upbeat love song Come On Out.. And he covered Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide and then ended with Hard to Dream. You can listen to Todd on his myspace page.
David was up next. I’ve only seen him solo with his acoustic guitar but he has recently acquired a band: John Luther on bass and Zach Garn on drums. They played a thirteen song set made up mostly of David’s originals with a few covers through in. David hits the usual themes of heartbreak, bad luck and drowning it all in alcohol. But David masters the fun side of heartbreak and loneliness. That’s what I really love about his unique folkyblues with rock elements – there’s always an upside, even if it’s only the fact that the singer is so painfully aware of his misery that it feels alive and thrilling to be connected to it. His flirtation with self-awareness is very different from self-consciousness – of which he appears to be refreshingly devoid.
David is relaxed and natural before a mic. He tells strong stories and paints vivid pictures with his lyrics. His patter between songs draws you in and you’re carried through a window into David’s world. His song have strong hooks, are wonderfully melodic, and natural phrasing. His voice has an unusual timbre, rich and sonorous but with a little catch in it, that really sets it apart, gives it an emotional edge.
And the band sounds really established. For being just a few months old, they are tight with solid arrangements. John plays an amped acoustic hollowed-body bass guitar. I never saw one of those before so that was something new. And I must say it goes great with David’s acoustic guitar. Zach on drums was really pro at using the full spectrum without overpowering the acoustic feel of the set. His liberal use of brushes, a tambourine on his foot! And some shakers were nicely blended in as well.
So David sang some songs we can look forward to hearing on Tuesday night. His current “hits” include Humble Apologizing, My Baby Blues on Wheels, Northern California, Whiskey Bottle, American Nightmare and Waiting Room. Most of them can be heard on his myspace page. He also did a moving rendition of Steve Earle’s Ben McCullough among the handful of covers he did.
After David and the band’s set, Kevin Beadles took the stage with John Foster on vocals and guitar. I got to hear Mrs. Jones Cadillac, a really hilarious song, but had to leave before he got too far into the set. Kevin’s got a real mellifluous flowing voice that he uses well with his cursive wrap around lyric lines. I saw Kevin (and David coincidentally) at the West Coast Songwriters Conference a few weeks back. I got to hear some of his music then in some of the screenings. And I got to see Kevin work with performance coach Steve Memel during one of Steve’s sessions. Kevin is a dynamic performer and is well worth listening to and watching, too and he writes entertaining upbeat music to boot.
