Hamilton Journal-News GO!NASHVILLE CONNECTIONS PAY OFF IN STUDIO
BY RICHARD 0 JONESWhen David Hisch started getting his friends together to record his next album, they helped him conclude that they weren’t able do the songs justice on their own.
In the meantime, Hisch made some music industry connections that allowed him to take the record to the next level — the Nashville level.
We were prepared to do the record two years ago, said drummer Pete Davidson, “We decided that these songs deserved better than what we could do in the basement. It needed professional production.
Not long after, Hisch met John Davis, formerly of Superdrag (which is in the process of reuniting and will perform at the MidPoint Music Festival later this month) at a birthday party for a musician friend when they played the Beatles’ “Let It Be” album in its entirety,
“John was a great guy to hang around and talk to, Hisch said. “So on a whim I asked him if he’d want to produce my CD and to my sur- prise he said yes.”
So for nine days last year, Hisch, Davidson and bassist Jodie McFarland — the core of the Day Fish band (so named as a mispronun- ciation of “Dave Hish Band”) — holed up in the House of David recording studio in Nashville to lay down the tracks.
“John strives for perfection but is very laid back about it Davidson said, “He’s like the nice boss we all wish we had. He came with guitar in hand and was able to deliver”
The trio also absorbed the ambience of the studio, which boasts among its clients George Jones, Bon Jovi, Bruce Hornsby, Roy Orbison and the King himself.
Indeed, the band marveled at what’s been dubbed “the Elvis door,” a trap door in the part of the studio where Davidson had his drums set up.
“The story is that late in his career, Elvis recorded some vocals in that studio,” Davidson said. “He’d drive into the garage underneath, walk in through the trap door, record his parts and then leave.”
The result is “Dancing Along the Dingy Days,” which the band and a few selected guest performers will celebrate this weekend with a pair of performances at the Riverbank Cafe in Hamilton. The concerts will be videotaped for a future DVD project.
“The songs were written on acoustic instruments but ended up being recorded electric,” Hisch said. “It’s definitely harder.and edgier than what I’ve done in the past, but no ones going to mistake it for heavy metal.”
Hisch makes musical 'Clay' with his new CD By Richard 0 Jones
David Hisch bets nickels as a songwriter, according to his producer, Pete Davison. "He'll take something and run it over and over again to find all the possible notes that fit - and those that don't," Davison said.
"He just throws them out there and waits for the payoff"
The most recent payoff is Hisch's first fully-produced, released-to-the-public CD, "Clay". It will have a release party March 29 at Taffy's Main Street Coffee in Eaton.
"I'm a chronic noodler," Hisch, a Hamilton performer, said. "I'll come up with some�thing I think sounds good and I'll have some vision. but I love involving other people because then it sounds brand new, and I get excited about it again.
"I write with an acoustic gui�tar. strumming and singing. Then Pete can suggest some�thing that takes it to the next level and not be the same folk guy doing the same thing over and over.
Hisch has been playing in bands of all kinds, from classi�cal guitar quartets to rock bands, since high school. "Clay," however, explores real-world topics-from a mature perspective.
"I've got a job," he explained. "I'm happily married for 10 years. I have two wonderful kids. So I'm not writing about picking up girls in a bar. It's about the things I do on a day-to-day basis.
"If this is my last day, can I look back and say that it's all been worthwhile?"
"I think Dave writes about real-world stuff - examining your life and questioning every�thing," Davison said. "I can tell he worked pretty hard at pre�senting this in a simple way.
"In fact, he is so honest that he had to hire me to help with the CD because he wanted to leave in the mistakes.
"There's nothing pretentious about this. Dave is very down-to-earth and when it comes to music, he sounds that way. It ends up being a very truthful sound."
"These songs cover about five years of music," Hisch said. "but mostly it's been written in the last couple of years. This is the stuff that's been in my head recently."
"Clay" is a reference to a line - in the song "Dancer": "You're a sculpture, make your life your clay."
"Clay is from the earth and is very easy to manipulate," Davison said. "And once you find what you like, how you want to live your life, you can fire it and make it permanent."
Top
FUN!
Thursday, July 8,2004
Area artist still chasing the muse By Richard 0 Jones
A common complaint among musicians is that unless you get a big record deal, it's tough to chuck the day job and earn a living as an artist.
But David Hisch feels that the day job gives him the security to write and record the kind of music that he wants.
"One of the benefits of being independent is that there's no reconl company to tell me what to do,� he said. �I'm free to chase the muse and not be worried about commercial appeal or worry that my new CD isn't like the last one.
Hisch will hold a release party for that new CD, "Leaning Toward Light," 7 p.m. Friday at the Cozy Cafe, 235 High St. in Hamilton.
His first solo CD, �Clay,� contained songs with and without lyrics. "Leaning Toward the Light"' is entirely instrumental acoustic guitar.
�It mostly comes from noodling,' he said. �I will sit and stumble round on a thought until it develops into something.�
For the party, he will perform one set of material from 'Leaning Toward Light,� and then a second set to preview from the next project, already in development, with the newly-formed Day Fish Band, which includes Dave Sams on bass, Pete Davidson on drums and percussion, and vocalist Tevi Tarler.
I'm blessed to l)e friends with some of the best musicians in the area,� he said. Davidson and Sams are both veteran players and teachers at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts. Tarler is from Eaton, and Hisch said that he has a very unusual, improvisational approach to singing.
�He's not afraid to take chances,� Hisch said. �Because of that, he doesn't really sound like anybody else. He uses a song as a rough outline for what he does vocally, but eveny time we play it, he takes it to different places.
Although the Cozy Cafe isn't normally open in the evenings, Hisch said that he so likes the ambience there that he asked the owner, Pamela Payne, if she would open up especially for the event.
�I wanted to have a coffee house experience that just doesn't exist in Hamilton,� he said. was very excited to do this arid even asked me what I wanted on the menu. It's a real treat to have a business owner willing to work with you like this.�
For more information on the event, call (513) 868-2699.
�Leaning Toward Light� is available at Galaxy CDs. 1238 Main St, Hamilton. For more information, visit www.davidhisch.com on the Internet.
Top