Q: We here at Rising Artists love the sound of your newest single “Waste Land”, what inspired the songwriting behind it?
GUY DAVIS: Firstly, thanks for offering me this feature. It means a lot, especially as this is only my second single. I definitely set out to write a song that addressed some of the more prevalent issues in modern society. I guess the main focus of this track is the organisations out there (economic or political) that willfully spread misinformation or ‘token good news stories’ to cover up the real harm they are causing to the environment. The current way in which we consume news and media makes this all the more simple. It’s a bit of a niche topic but after the first few lines the lyrics started coming pretty easily.
Q: We noticed you just starting releasing music this year, how has this experience been for you?
GUY: I’ve been writing songs on acoustic guitar for years and years now. I’ve always wanted to release them, but I wanted to wait until I could properly record them with all the instruments, how I imagined them in my head. To finally be doing it is just so much fun and the feedback so far has already made it well worth it. It has definitely been hard work and involved a lot of learning. I think for most DIY musicians, there are a lot of elements of releasing music that you’ve never thought of, or have no clue about. I spent the first 5 months of this year just watching YouTube videos on self-promoting/marketing/social media strategy/”how to release a single” etc. Before starting this my plan was genuinely to chuck the album on Spotify and wait for the record deal. That was mainly because, at that time, the thought of starting a social media account and trying to convince randomers on the internet to follow me was just way too far out of my comfort-zone. It still is, but at least I sort of know what I’m doing now (or at least what I’m meant to be doing).
Q: What made you want to become a musician?
GUY: I’ve always loved listening to music. So at the heart of it, I think I would just really like to also be the person making it. I don’t think it’s because of some incredible stage experience I had a kid (because I’ve never really played that much live and still get real bad stage fright). But whenever I watch other artists on stage (either in person or on video) I know that ‘that’ is what I really want to do. I also originally only ever intended on being a guitarist. The root-cause for that probably had something to do with the intro riffs from Octopus’s Garden and/or 5 Colours In Her Hair. Hearing those definitely convinced 10-year old Guy to pick up a guitar.
Q: Who is one of your favorite artists of all time?
GUY: Thank you for saying ‘one of your favourite’, because I always struggle when some says ‘all out favourite’! Obviously there are a lot (honourable mentions go to Elton John, The Killers, Dire Straits (Busted & Taylor Swift?!)) but I think I have to go with Bruce Springsteen (& the E-Street Band too). I only discovered Springsteen at university but there is such a ‘larger than life’ quality to his songs which I really love. I’m pretty sure spending a couple years trying to copy his songs has left me a slight American accent when I sing!
Q: What do you do when you AREN’T working on music?
GUY: I imagine it’s at this point that some musicians realise just how little time they spend doing anything other than music. Right now I’m big into a series of books called the Wheel of Time (I’m actually re-reading them, all 14, which is bad because there are loads of other books I haven’t read and want to – I’m just really enjoying these). For me, big fantasy fiction series are just such a perfect way to escape real life for an hour or so. Plus, Amazon are bringing a TV show out later this year, so it’s been really fun speculating all about it with the other book-fans.
Q: What should we expect from your next release?
GUY: Got a couple things lined up this summer which I’m really looking forward to releasing. I’ve got a couple of none-album songs (one cover and one demo that I’ve been working on) and a couple more releases from the album which are both pretty upbeat numbers. I’m also quitting my currently quite time intensive job in August, with the idea of putting a band together and finally playing my music live once things start opening up. Hopefully all goes well and people like ’em!
Interviewed by Stephanie Pankewich
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