John Davey: Recent Episodes
John Davey
Summer Nightwind is the fourth studio album by songwriter and recording artist John Davey. It was composed in a flurry in the months preceding the birth of his daughter. “Late Bloomer” is the first single. It establishes the paradoxical relationship between the life of the imagination and the embodied experience of day-to-day routine, a theme which plays throughout the album. The title track is a series of vignettes compiled as an homage to the American West and the memory of Davey’s brother Amos. “Summer Nightwind” depicts A Truck, A Horse, A Man and is the closing paragraph of the adolescent chapter of life.“AM Angel” and “Jesus is a Friend (of the Working Man)” are set to the rhythm of manual labor and the natural movement of people across vast stretches of the American landscape. They return Davey to his gospel roots, a common denominator of country music and rock ‘n roll. The juxtaposition of light-and-dark, give-and-take of a long, intimate relationship plays out in “Laugh Track” and “Sacred Heart”. Both are accompanied by the promise that the narrator will continue to be a presence to be contended with. The final set of companion songs on Summer Nightwind are the character sketches “Sad Prince” and “Employee of the Month” which examine heroes and anti-heroes in two dramatic coming-of-age sequences. These are set to the backdrop of a Midwestern indie rock aesthetic so familiar to John Davey’s generation of seekers and wanderers. “Our Ladies Anno Domini” is the jubilant and tongue-in-cheek bookend of the record which enters with laughter and a half-cocked appreciation into the spirit of the Feminine. The only song on Summer Nightwind that precedes Davey’s migration from Tennessee and Indiana, this recursive refrain gratifies and sets the stage for a second listen. The sound of Summer Nightwind was conceived by Davey’s longtime collaboration with drummer Bud Clowers and his baritone guitar. The album was produced by John Davey and Ryan Staples at Dead River Sound in Marquette, Michigan and elevated by performances from Mark Wayne (pedal steel guitar), Luke Arquette (bass and electric guitar), Liam Joyce (drums), and Pete Gummerson (organ). It was mastered by indie rock royalty TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado) in Massachusetts.
Summer Nightwind is the fourth studio album by songwriter and recording artist John Davey. It was composed in a flurry in the months preceding the birth of his daughter. “Late Bloomer” is the first single. It establishes the paradoxical relationship between the life of the imagination and the embodied experience of day-to-day routine, a theme which plays throughout the album. The title track is a series of vignettes compiled as an homage to the American West and the memory of Davey’s brother Amos. “Summer Nightwind” depicts A Truck, A Horse, A Man and is the closing paragraph of the adolescent chapter of life.“AM Angel” and “Jesus is a Friend (of the Working Man)” are set to the rhythm of manual labor and the natural movement of people across vast stretches of the American landscape. They return Davey to his gospel roots, a common denominator of country music and rock ‘n roll. The juxtaposition of light-and-dark, give-and-take of a long, intimate relationship plays out in “Laugh Track” and “Sacred Heart”. Both are accompanied by the promise that the narrator will continue to be a presence to be contended with. The final set of companion songs on Summer Nightwind are the character sketches “Sad Prince” and “Employee of the Month” which examine heroes and anti-heroes in two dramatic coming-of-age sequences. These are set to the backdrop of a Midwestern indie rock aesthetic so familiar to John Davey’s generation of seekers and wanderers. “Our Ladies Anno Domini” is the jubilant and tongue-in-cheek bookend of the record which enters with laughter and a half-cocked appreciation into the spirit of the Feminine. The only song on Summer Nightwind that precedes Davey’s migration from Tennessee and Indiana, this recursive refrain gratifies and sets the stage for a second listen. The sound of Summer Nightwind was conceived by Davey’s longtime collaboration with drummer Bud Clowers and his baritone guitar. The album was produced by John Davey and Ryan Staples at Dead River Sound in Marquette, Michigan and elevated by performances from Mark Wayne (pedal steel guitar), Luke Arquette (bass and electric guitar), Liam Joyce (drums), and Pete Gummerson (organ). It was mastered by indie rock royalty TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado) in Massachusetts.
Summer Nightwind is the fourth studio album by songwriter and recording artist John Davey. It was composed in a flurry in the months preceding the birth of his daughter. “Late Bloomer” is the first single. It establishes the paradoxical relationship between the life of the imagination and the embodied experience of day-to-day routine, a theme which plays throughout the album. The title track is a series of vignettes compiled as an homage to the American West and the memory of Davey’s brother Amos. “Summer Nightwind” depicts A Truck, A Horse, A Man and is the closing paragraph of the adolescent chapter of life.“AM Angel” and “Jesus is a Friend (of the Working Man)” are set to the rhythm of manual labor and the natural movement of people across vast stretches of the American landscape. They return Davey to his gospel roots, a common denominator of country music and rock ‘n roll. The juxtaposition of light-and-dark, give-and-take of a long, intimate relationship plays out in “Laugh Track” and “Sacred Heart”. Both are accompanied by the promise that the narrator will continue to be a presence to be contended with. The final set of companion songs on Summer Nightwind are the character sketches “Sad Prince” and “Employee of the Month” which examine heroes and anti-heroes in two dramatic coming-of-age sequences. These are set to the backdrop of a Midwestern indie rock aesthetic so familiar to John Davey’s generation of seekers and wanderers. “Our Ladies Anno Domini” is the jubilant and tongue-in-cheek bookend of the record which enters with laughter and a half-cocked appreciation into the spirit of the Feminine. The only song on Summer Nightwind that precedes Davey’s migration from Tennessee and Indiana, this recursive refrain gratifies and sets the stage for a second listen. The sound of Summer Nightwind was conceived by Davey’s longtime collaboration with drummer Bud Clowers and his baritone guitar. The album was produced by John Davey and Ryan Staples at Dead River Sound in Marquette, Michigan and elevated by performances from Mark Wayne (pedal steel guitar), Luke Arquette (bass and electric guitar), Liam Joyce (drums), and Pete Gummerson (organ). It was mastered by indie rock royalty TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado) in Massachusetts.
Summer Nightwind is the fourth studio album by songwriter and recording artist John Davey. It was composed in a flurry in the months preceding the birth of his daughter. “Late Bloomer” is the first single. It establishes the paradoxical relationship between the life of the imagination and the embodied experience of day-to-day routine, a theme which plays throughout the album. The title track is a series of vignettes compiled as an homage to the American West and the memory of Davey’s brother Amos. “Summer Nightwind” depicts A Truck, A Horse, A Man and is the closing paragraph of the adolescent chapter of life.“AM Angel” and “Jesus is a Friend (of the Working Man)” are set to the rhythm of manual labor and the natural movement of people across vast stretches of the American landscape. They return Davey to his gospel roots, a common denominator of country music and rock ‘n roll. The juxtaposition of light-and-dark, give-and-take of a long, intimate relationship plays out in “Laugh Track” and “Sacred Heart”. Both are accompanied by the promise that the narrator will continue to be a presence to be contended with. The final set of companion songs on Summer Nightwind are the character sketches “Sad Prince” and “Employee of the Month” which examine heroes and anti-heroes in two dramatic coming-of-age sequences. These are set to the backdrop of a Midwestern indie rock aesthetic so familiar to John Davey’s generation of seekers and wanderers. “Our Ladies Anno Domini” is the jubilant and tongue-in-cheek bookend of the record which enters with laughter and a half-cocked appreciation into the spirit of the Feminine. The only song on Summer Nightwind that precedes Davey’s migration from Tennessee and Indiana, this recursive refrain gratifies and sets the stage for a second listen. The sound of Summer Nightwind was conceived by Davey’s longtime collaboration with drummer Bud Clowers and his baritone guitar. The album was produced by John Davey and Ryan Staples at Dead River Sound in Marquette, Michigan and elevated by performances from Mark Wayne (pedal steel guitar), Luke Arquette (bass and electric guitar), Liam Joyce (drums), and Pete Gummerson (organ). It was mastered by indie rock royalty TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado) in Massachusetts.
Summer Nightwind is the fourth studio album by songwriter and recording artist John Davey. It was composed in a flurry in the months preceding the birth of his daughter. “Late Bloomer” is the first single. It establishes the paradoxical relationship between the life of the imagination and the embodied experience of day-to-day routine, a theme which plays throughout the album. The title track is a series of vignettes compiled as an homage to the American West and the memory of Davey’s brother Amos. “Summer Nightwind” depicts A Truck, A Horse, A Man and is the closing paragraph of the adolescent chapter of life.“AM Angel” and “Jesus is a Friend (of the Working Man)” are set to the rhythm of manual labor and the natural movement of people across vast stretches of the American landscape. They return Davey to his gospel roots, a common denominator of country music and rock ‘n roll. The juxtaposition of light-and-dark, give-and-take of a long, intimate relationship plays out in “Laugh Track” and “Sacred Heart”. Both are accompanied by the promise that the narrator will continue to be a presence to be contended with. The final set of companion songs on Summer Nightwind are the character sketches “Sad Prince” and “Employee of the Month” which examine heroes and anti-heroes in two dramatic coming-of-age sequences. These are set to the backdrop of a Midwestern indie rock aesthetic so familiar to John Davey’s generation of seekers and wanderers. “Our Ladies Anno Domini” is the jubilant and tongue-in-cheek bookend of the record which enters with laughter and a half-cocked appreciation into the spirit of the Feminine. The only song on Summer Nightwind that precedes Davey’s migration from Tennessee and Indiana, this recursive refrain gratifies and sets the stage for a second listen. The sound of Summer Nightwind was conceived by Davey’s longtime collaboration with drummer Bud Clowers and his baritone guitar. The album was produced by John Davey and Ryan Staples at Dead River Sound in Marquette, Michigan and elevated by performances from Mark Wayne (pedal steel guitar), Luke Arquette (bass and electric guitar), Liam Joyce (drums), and Pete Gummerson (organ). It was mastered by indie rock royalty TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado) in Massachusetts.
Summer Nightwind is the fourth studio album by songwriter and recording artist John Davey. It was composed in a flurry in the months preceding the birth of his daughter. “Late Bloomer” is the first single. It establishes the paradoxical relationship between the life of the imagination and the embodied experience of day-to-day routine, a theme which plays throughout the album. The title track is a series of vignettes compiled as an homage to the American West and the memory of Davey’s brother Amos. “Summer Nightwind” depicts A Truck, A Horse, A Man and is the closing paragraph of the adolescent chapter of life.“AM Angel” and “Jesus is a Friend (of the Working Man)” are set to the rhythm of manual labor and the natural movement of people across vast stretches of the American landscape. They return Davey to his gospel roots, a common denominator of country music and rock ‘n roll. The juxtaposition of light-and-dark, give-and-take of a long, intimate relationship plays out in “Laugh Track” and “Sacred Heart”. Both are accompanied by the promise that the narrator will continue to be a presence to be contended with. The final set of companion songs on Summer Nightwind are the character sketches “Sad Prince” and “Employee of the Month” which examine heroes and anti-heroes in two dramatic coming-of-age sequences. These are set to the backdrop of a Midwestern indie rock aesthetic so familiar to John Davey’s generation of seekers and wanderers. “Our Ladies Anno Domini” is the jubilant and tongue-in-cheek bookend of the record which enters with laughter and a half-cocked appreciation into the spirit of the Feminine. The only song on Summer Nightwind that precedes Davey’s migration from Tennessee and Indiana, this recursive refrain gratifies and sets the stage for a second listen. The sound of Summer Nightwind was conceived by Davey’s longtime collaboration with drummer Bud Clowers and his baritone guitar. The album was produced by John Davey and Ryan Staples at Dead River Sound in Marquette, Michigan and elevated by performances from Mark Wayne (pedal steel guitar), Luke Arquette (bass and electric guitar), Liam Joyce (drums), and Pete Gummerson (organ). It was mastered by indie rock royalty TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado) in Massachusetts.
Summer Nightwind is the fourth studio album by songwriter and recording artist John Davey. It was composed in a flurry in the months preceding the birth of his daughter. “Late Bloomer” is the first single. It establishes the paradoxical relationship between the life of the imagination and the embodied experience of day-to-day routine, a theme which plays throughout the album. The title track is a series of vignettes compiled as an homage to the American West and the memory of Davey’s brother Amos. “Summer Nightwind” depicts A Truck, A Horse, A Man and is the closing paragraph of the adolescent chapter of life.“AM Angel” and “Jesus is a Friend (of the Working Man)” are set to the rhythm of manual labor and the natural movement of people across vast stretches of the American landscape. They return Davey to his gospel roots, a common denominator of country music and rock ‘n roll. The juxtaposition of light-and-dark, give-and-take of a long, intimate relationship plays out in “Laugh Track” and “Sacred Heart”. Both are accompanied by the promise that the narrator will continue to be a presence to be contended with. The final set of companion songs on Summer Nightwind are the character sketches “Sad Prince” and “Employee of the Month” which examine heroes and anti-heroes in two dramatic coming-of-age sequences. These are set to the backdrop of a Midwestern indie rock aesthetic so familiar to John Davey’s generation of seekers and wanderers. “Our Ladies Anno Domini” is the jubilant and tongue-in-cheek bookend of the record which enters with laughter and a half-cocked appreciation into the spirit of the Feminine. The only song on Summer Nightwind that precedes Davey’s migration from Tennessee and Indiana, this recursive refrain gratifies and sets the stage for a second listen. The sound of Summer Nightwind was conceived by Davey’s longtime collaboration with drummer Bud Clowers and his baritone guitar. The album was produced by John Davey and Ryan Staples at Dead River Sound in Marquette, Michigan and elevated by performances from Mark Wayne (pedal steel guitar), Luke Arquette (bass and electric guitar), Liam Joyce (drums), and Pete Gummerson (organ). It was mastered by indie rock royalty TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado) in Massachusetts.
Summer Nightwind is the fourth studio album by songwriter and recording artist John Davey. It was composed in a flurry in the months preceding the birth of his daughter. “Late Bloomer” is the first single. It establishes the paradoxical relationship between the life of the imagination and the embodied experience of day-to-day routine, a theme which plays throughout the album. The title track is a series of vignettes compiled as an homage to the American West and the memory of Davey’s brother Amos. “Summer Nightwind” depicts A Truck, A Horse, A Man and is the closing paragraph of the adolescent chapter of life.“AM Angel” and “Jesus is a Friend (of the Working Man)” are set to the rhythm of manual labor and the natural movement of people across vast stretches of the American landscape. They return Davey to his gospel roots, a common denominator of country music and rock ‘n roll. The juxtaposition of light-and-dark, give-and-take of a long, intimate relationship plays out in “Laugh Track” and “Sacred Heart”. Both are accompanied by the promise that the narrator will continue to be a presence to be contended with. The final set of companion songs on Summer Nightwind are the character sketches “Sad Prince” and “Employee of the Month” which examine heroes and anti-heroes in two dramatic coming-of-age sequences. These are set to the backdrop of a Midwestern indie rock aesthetic so familiar to John Davey’s generation of seekers and wanderers. “Our Ladies Anno Domini” is the jubilant and tongue-in-cheek bookend of the record which enters with laughter and a half-cocked appreciation into the spirit of the Feminine. The only song on Summer Nightwind that precedes Davey’s migration from Tennessee and Indiana, this recursive refrain gratifies and sets the stage for a second listen. The sound of Summer Nightwind was conceived by Davey’s longtime collaboration with drummer Bud Clowers and his baritone guitar. The album was produced by John Davey and Ryan Staples at Dead River Sound in Marquette, Michigan and elevated by performances from Mark Wayne (pedal steel guitar), Luke Arquette (bass and electric guitar), Liam Joyce (drums), and Pete Gummerson (organ). It was mastered by indie rock royalty TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado) in Massachusetts.
Daydreams run on Pennzoil Bend and break your back from toilBusted bronco, busted road Chomp the bit and pull the loadHe snorts and stamps his own tornado Rides it back to ColoradoDevil on his heels againFriend of danger, friend of windHigh Plains Stallion Gold MedallionRun until you reach that shining seaI heard he made himself a nuisance Ran himself to old Las CrucesHeart run through like the Rio Grande God damned him to damn The ManThe coyote on the old bridge cryin’ Stopped to hear him flyin’ by himSummer Nightwind Rodeo Clear the fence and steal the showHigh Plains Stallion So bold and valiantSomething up his nose and on his shoulderHe’s the High Plains Stallion Loves a challengeRun until you reach that shining seaDaydreams run on Pennzoil Bend, don’t break, your back from toil
Summer Nightwind is the fourth studio album by songwriter and recording artist John Davey. It was composed in a flurry in the months preceding the birth of his daughter. “Late Bloomer” is the first single. It establishes the paradoxical relationship between the life of the imagination and the embodied experience of day-to-day routine, a theme which plays throughout the album. The title track is a series of vignettes compiled as an homage to the American West and the memory of Davey’s brother Amos. “Summer Nightwind” depicts A Truck, A Horse, A Man and is the closing paragraph of the adolescent chapter of life.“AM Angel” and “Jesus is a Friend (of the Working Man)” are set to the rhythm of manual labor and the natural movement of people across vast stretches of the American landscape. They return Davey to his gospel roots, a common denominator of country music and rock ‘n roll. The juxtaposition of light-and-dark, give-and-take of a long, intimate relationship plays out in “Laugh Track” and “Sacred Heart”. Both are accompanied by the promise that the narrator will continue to be a presence to be contended with. The final set of companion songs on Summer Nightwind are the character sketches “Sad Prince” and “Employee of the Month” which examine heroes and anti-heroes in two dramatic coming-of-age sequences. These are set to the backdrop of a Midwestern indie rock aesthetic so familiar to John Davey’s generation of seekers and wanderers. “Our Ladies Anno Domini” is the jubilant and tongue-in-cheek bookend of the record which enters with laughter and a half-cocked appreciation into the spirit of the Feminine. The only song on Summer Nightwind that precedes Davey’s migration from Tennessee and Indiana, this recursive refrain gratifies and sets the stage for a second listen. The sound of Summer Nightwind was conceived by Davey’s longtime collaboration with drummer Bud Clowers and his baritone guitar. The album was produced by John Davey and Ryan Staples at Dead River Sound in Marquette, Michigan and elevated by performances from Mark Wayne (pedal steel guitar), Luke Arquette (bass and electric guitar), Liam Joyce (drums), and Pete Gummerson (organ). It was mastered by indie rock royalty TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado) in Massachusetts.
All Johnny ever wanted to do Was to fire one up for a round or twoCarry on like a rocket blue For all the girls to cheer and booLiving the dream in Tennessee Bar crawl, jukebox, OpryStop to take a photograph or three With Emmylou Harris at the JamboreeCause he’s a high flyin’, death defyin’ Operator at the end of the lineHe’s a tastemaker, the Great Caretaker A legend in his mindNot a minute sooner He’s a late bloomer Everything is gonna fit just fineWell he shaved his face when he wanted to He’s got flawless timing in 2/2Still he did what he thought he ought to Chasing straight white lines and singing trueWell she fired ‘em up, they gathered two by two In the afternoon, in the golden hueHe did his sure-shot damndest to tame the shrew She finally said “I love you” like she wanted toCause he’s a high flyin, death defyin Operator at the end of the lineHe’s a shit stirrer, no ma’am, yes sirrer A legend in his timeNot a minute sooner He’s a late bloomer Everything is gonna fit just fineWell the fireworks got rained out So open up your mouth And take the medicine you thought You’d never hear aboutNot a minute sooner He’s a late bloomer Everything is gonna fit just fineHe’s a trapeze flyin, no fear of dyin Operator at the end of the lineHe’s a mountain climber A deep sea diver Everything is gonna fit just fineHe’s a Blackjack DaveyNo sir, not maybeEverything is gonna fit just fineNot a minute sooner He’s a late bloomer Everything is gonna fit just fine
John Davey: acoustic guitar, vocals Shane Leonard: drums, percussion, bgv, toy piano, violin, electric guitar Jeremy Boettcher: upright bass, electric bass
John Davey: acoustic guitar, vocals, bgv, electric guitar Shane Leonard: drums Jeremy Boettcher: electric bass Josh Gallagher: ace tone
John Davey: acoustic guitar, vocals Shane Leonard: mellotron Jeremy Boettcher: electric bass Josh Gallagher: piano
John Davey: 12 string acoustic guitar, vocals Shane Leonard: drums, pocket piano, organ Jeremy Boettcher: upright bass Josh Gallagher: piano
I wonder what it is that motivates the creatures of the night To circle ‘round the high-walled garden Looking for a way inside
The smell of babies’ breath, I guess The supple fruit of all good flesh The crumbling cookie, flaxseed cake The brick and fire which we bake with The hearty fruit on sturdy vine With love as sweet as yesterday’s wine
The boiling pot, the mother’s cub A warning shot fired up above As old as hills, a fear instilled A caution sign, a chilly spine
The coal-black coat, the beady eyes The slither and the scale and size They’ll warn you once, they’ll tell you twice Entreat you to take their advice They’ll treat you bad, they’ll treat you nice They’ll turn your blood as cold as ice
Hard times make strong men Strong men make good times Good times make soft men Soft men make hard, hard times
Hard times make strong men Strong men make good times Good times make soft men Soft men make good wine Good wine make good time Good times make hard, hard times
John Davey - acoustic guitar, vocals Shane Leonard - drums, percussion, mellotron Josh Gallagher - piano Jeremy Boettcher - bass
Lower Tiers Words and Music: John Isaac Davey
I watched my heroes fall I saw them crumble One and all And a chorus of "no's" From a gallery of those Who will never see so straight Or stand so tall
All the guardian angels The blanket forts and fake hells All told me to sacrifice myself On a funeral pyre With my body on fire I sat straight up and cast off all the spells
With the gates open wide And my lover in sight I called her name out loud In the middle of the night And the dawn it breaks And the morning's warm embrace Illuminates my lover's face
My sisters went very South and West And I went East We're all still fighting off Our demons in our sleep We cascade to the coasts Where we mostly can boast That we are living better than well
But Maria, when are you gonna settle down? I see your pictures and the question Practically answers itself When the back car seats On lower tiers that we have known for years Have finally had their way with all of us
I was terrified and dry and wide eyed All sentimental I rubbed the fog with my sleeve Off of the early morning window And the dawn it breaks And the morning's warm embrace Illuminates my lover's face It illuminates my future face
The first single from Toss Your Javelin, "Kings, Gods, Fools" dives into Man as the Man dives into a clear, deep pond in a clearing in the forest to retrieve what some say cannot exist.
In the cool by the glass pool Where you shed your clothes On the stony shore there Where the green moss grows That's where you dreamt and chose
And you dove down for a secret It took a couple tries And when you resurfaced Even despite the light You were dissatisfied
You were utilizing tools Are we kings or gods or fools?
Still I watched you watch me watching you As you drank so resolute Down to the dregs and truth How the magic worked so fast Heavy heart and pleasant mask
We walked for miles with your ashes In an urn and a strongbox tight And a list of your demands Up to the House of Light Where all would be made right
And with a flick of his deft wrist He let the pictures go And they floated upward To where the warm storm blows Through the kaleidoscope
So you planned and saved and stored Was your body slave or lord?
Still I watched you watch me watching you As you built so resolute Your picture paper loot How the magic worked so fast Now you know you can't go back
You found your future in the water Unknown to your son and your daughters You were utilizing tools
Like an unwashed, uncut geode John Davey and the boys crack open this rough, gritty rock to find a sparkly colorful interior. Like every geode, this baby knows it's special on the inside.
John Davey - acoustic guitar, vocals Jon “Jonny Negaunee” Letts - electric bass Raymond Little - electric guitar, effects Dennis “Bud” Clowers - drums
Tracked and Engineered by Raymond Little and Bud Clowers @ the Letts family camp up past Harlow Lake in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Mixed by Steffen Yazvac @ Steffen Yazvac Audio in Minneapolis, MN Mastered by Matt Whatley @ Combover Mastering in Fort Worth, TX