Chicago-based guitarist and singer Voo Davis will appear at Mayday Brewery on Saturday, Sept. 5, in support of his release Midnight Mist, the third CD from this talented musician whose musical gumbo encompasses blues roots, Americana flavorings and jam-band spices.
Produced by Davis and recorded in organic analog sound at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, La., Midnight Mist includes a bonus video of “Riverside Blues,” filmed in and around Clarksdale, Miss., that perfectly captures the spirit of the new music on the album.
“Being able to return to Studio in the Country and expand my guitar sounds was something I really looked forward to on this project,” says Davis about the recording sessions. “The tones were something that I really wanted to play with, not just get stuck on one sound.”
Guitar tones are something of a specialty with Davis, who played an assortment of vintage guitars as well as pedal steel, mandolin and keyboards; on two of the album’s 14 tracks, he performed every instrument heard.
A nonbeliever in slick computer fixes, Davis uses the one-take approach throughout the new disc, relying on musicianship instead of computers and emotion instead of effects. The result is an album that bears a live performance feel, with an energy level that is palpable.
“We recorded the album in three days, two of which were spent on instrumentation, and on the third day I finished up vocals. It was ten hours in the booth that day, and if something didn’t work the first or second time we moved on.”
Born in Anniston, Ala., Brian “Voo” Davis moved with his family to Chicago while still a child. That transition helped embue his rootsy Alabama-clay musical foundation with some Chicago juke-joint flash. The resulting mix permeates his overdriven, acoustic slide guitar work. Davis learned to travel the blues circuit and sharpen his craft alongside one of the best when he toured with former Koko Taylor guitarist and Blues Music Award-winner Eddie King.
There is no cover charge for the Sept. 5 performance, which begins at 6 p.m. Mayday Brewery is located at 521 Old Salem Road, Murfreesboro.
