Tonight I had the pleasure of doing an hour long telephone interview with Southern California, singer/songwriter David Hare.  You might remember the review I wrote back in May for David’s debut album Demonstration.  If not, click here.  David has been an Internet friend of mine for almost two years and we finally made a phone call commitment to discuss his music career.

David Hare

David was born in California and grew up in LA County singing along to the radio and his records from a very early age.  He went to Boston for a couple of years and majored in Musical Theatre at the Boston Conservatory where he studied voice, drama and dance.  David also traveled to New Zealand for nine months as the lead singer for a rock band called Russia.  I asked him how he liked New Zealand and he said “The people were nice.  We were treated very well.  The land was green and lush.  However, it was the rainiest year in like 20 years when I was there and we hardly ever saw the sun.”  I commented that all he had to do to enjoy that weather was head up the coast to Washington State.

David had told me in the past that some of his non-music jobs involved that of warehouse worker, retail clothing sales, bartender, school admissions counselor and actor.  He’s been in two films and had one television role.  Some of his music jobs included voice and guitar teacher, guitar and voice session work and he stage managed a touring blues band.

Here is a good portion of tonight’s conversation (not verbatim as I can’t write longhand that fast):

Christine: What have you been up to musically of late?

David:  Playing acoustic performances locally in LA in clubs and coffee houses; BB King’s, The Cat Club and I did some charity gigs for abused kids.  I just got back from Iowa where I played in the annual Tommy Bolin Festival.  I was the lead singer for the Tommy Bolin Tribute band and played with Johnnie Bolan and Bobby Berge who played and recorded with Tommy Bolin and Buddy Myles (Myles is a drummer who played with Jimi Hendrix in Band of Gypsies). I try to attend the festival every year and I’ve been there 8 out of the last 10 years.  This year it was held in Sioux City, Iowa which was Tommy’s hometown.  It’s also been held in Denver and Clear Lake, Iowa.  I played in Clear Lake at The Surf Ballroom with Vanilla Fudge.  The Surf Ballroom is where Buddy Holly played his last gig.

Christine: Who is Vanilla Fudge?

David:  They were a rock band who started out in the 60’s.

Christine: So does Tommy Bolin’s brother Johnnie organize the festival?

David:  Yes, he’s involved as is the Bolin Foundation. 

Christine: How did it go this year?

David:  The turnout was fantastic.  People said it was the best one ever.

Christine: How often do you play live?

David:  On average once every one to two weeks.  I find a lot of my gigs on MySpace.

Christine: Who plays with you?

David:  I play mostly solo but when I’m with the Tommy Bolin Tribute band I play with Johnnie Bolan (drums), Sam Irish (bass), Dave Napier (saxophone), John Bertle (guitar) and Terry Brooks (keyboards).  We raised money for The Boys Club in Sioux City.

Christine: It’s no secret that Tommy Bolin (of Deep Purple & The James Gang) is a major influence and hero of yours.  I know he died in 1976 and you were pretty young at the time but did you ever get to meet him?

David:  No, I never did, but I picked up his last solo album, Private Eyes, just before he died. 

Christine: So you were also listening to bands like Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin?

David:  Yeah, but I also listened to a lot of progressive rock like Yes, Camel, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis with Peter Gabriel, Jeff Beck…I was heavily influenced by Steve Perry, especially on The Infinity Album.

Christine: What about Bowie?

David:  In the first band I ever played with, some guys I met at a party, I got up and sang two David Bowie songs.  We did “Suffragette City” and “Ziggy Stardust”.

Christine: How was your first music video, “Coming Home” received?

David:  People really like it a lot.  It hasn’t aired anywhere yet.  I’ve just been sharing it with friends and through my website.  We’ve shot a second video.

Christine: What song did you choose for your second video?

David:  Treaty Betrayed.  It’s on my album.

Christine: How long does it take you to write enough songs for an album?  When can we expect a new one from you?

David:  I don’t know how long it’s going to take to percolate.  I’m starting to write new material and am still trying to promote this first one.

Christine: Do you have any plans to release music by other artists on your eponymous label? 

David:  I plan to record a Bolin song on my new album.

Christine: No, I meant…

David:  Oh you mean sign other artists?  I’d like to eventually do that but it wouldn’t be fair to anyone else right now because essentially I’m too busy with my own stuff.

Christine: What do you do for your day job?

David:  I find funding for various projects…

Christine: So, would you say fundraising?

David:  Yeah.  Most musicians have to have a day job too.

Christine: What is your opinion of the Southern California music scene?

David:  I think there’s a lot of talent out here.  The scene is always changing out here and for people coming out they should try to create their own scene because it takes a while to get known.  There are places to play.  You have to be tenacious and have respect for the people you’re dealing with.  There’s this Pay to Play structure out here and I think it really destroyed the music scene we used to have here in the late 70’s, early 80’s when bands like Van Halen, Quiet Riot and Motley Crue were here. 

Christine: I don’t know what a Pay to Play structure is.

David:  Well, it’s like a band or artist approaches a promoter or club to play at and they have to sell a percentage of the tickets (say $2,000 worth) first to their friends or contacts to get the promoters to put on their show.  It’s more about marketing now which is a challenge.

Christine: I don’t think we have that here in Canada but I don’t know for sure.

Christine: Where can one purchase your album right now?

David:  It’s available on I-Tunes through CD Baby and on Amazon.com.

Christine: When are you coming to Kingston?

David:  Well, I don’t have a booking agent at the moment.  I’m an artist needing to be adopted.  I’d love to come up there and play and I’m open to anyone who is in a position to help make it happen.

Christine: Thanks a lot for the chat David!

David:  Thanks for calling and tell everyone hello in Canada – or at least in Kingston!

David and I discussed the possibilities of trying to make playing in Kingston work for him and his need to make some more contacts in Windsor, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal so he can do a mini Canadian tour when he’s ready.  Interested parties can contact David through his official website at www.davidharemusic.com or at MySpace at www.myspace.com/davidharemusic.

David Hare is booked September 6, 2006 to play live at BB King’s in Los Angeles. They’re going to stream the show on the Internet and you can watch him perform at www.BBKingslive.com at 7:00 p.m. Pacific or 10:00 p.m. Eastern. This is a great opportunity for PartyinKingston.com readers to experience the slightly retro rock and very groovy sounds of Marina Del Rey’s own David Hare.

Christine Bode
c.bode@partyinkingston.com