Dave's True Story

Dave's True Story - Nature - 2005 - Bepop

On its fourth album and first release in three years, this trio further crystallizes its formula of cocktail jazz meets deceptively biting lyrics. The initial impression is that this sounds too much like elevator or dentist office music for anyone's good, yet the songs grab your ears after a few spins, helped enormously by producer Jeff Eyrich's tasteful mood and arrangements that add heft to the basic trio's stripped-down sound. Percussion, sax, vibes, organ, and even accordion are all utilized at various times to flesh out these tunes, making them throb with a full yet cushy glow. Vocalist Kelly Flint remains the focus with a Peggy Lee/k.d. lang-styled voice that makes these songs soar. There are echoes of Norah Jones and Sade, but this is jazzier than either and aims for a more shadowy fringe. The dichotomy of the gentle, easy listening melodies and David Cantor's edgy, often dark concepts is a brilliant stroke. It makes this music perfect for the lounge crowd, chatting while twirling their swizzle sticks, or for serious listening with the lyric sheet in hand. The richness of the sound of "A Dog's Life" nearly obscures ominous lines such as "No ounce of prevention will kill you like the cure, this dog's life is hard to endure," sung by Flint in an upbeat, burnished yet dreamy style. The musical/lyrical contradiction and floating melodies with subtle hooks produce wonderfully sharp and unique jazz. Nature shows Dave's True Story to be crafty innovators in a genre where there aren't many other musicians pushing the envelope. © Hal Horowitz © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:azfqxqqsld0e

Terry Teachout of The New York Times said that "Kelly Flint and David Cantor's act is hard to pigeonhole; imagine a weird and wonderful cross of Steely Dan and Stephen Sondheim." Jim Allen of Muze said this about David Cantor's music, "a songwriter whose name belongs in the pantheon of greats like Randy Newman, Donald Fagen and Lyle Lovett." (David Cantor is a great Steely Dan fan). Spencer Harrington of Jazziz noted that "The edgy genius of Dave's true Story - the trio of guitarist-songwriter David Cantor, vocalist Kelly Flint, and bassist Jeff Eyrich - is in its ability to fuse the vibe of jazz from the 1940s and 50s with a modernist lyric sensibility: witty, urbane, and anxiety-ridden... jazz songwriting for a new generation." All great descriptions. How about a cross between Matt Bianco and Michael Franks, or Everything but the Girl and Cole Porter. Why not put all these sounds together? DTS's music is not easy to describe but they are very, very talented with great lyrics, beautiful melodic hooks, and a suave, cool and urbane jazz pop sound that is timeless. DTS is another band who rise head and shoulders above the controlled commercial pop and rock "X Factor/Britain's Got Talent bands" masquerading as today's music sensations. Give "Nature" a listen. The album is VHR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to DTS's brilliant and highly original "Sex Without Bodies" album, and buy Kelly Flint's "Drive All Night" album. Open your eyes and ears to today's real music.

TRACKS

1 The World in Which We Live
2 Dog's Life
3 I Lost My Nature
4 Chasing the White Line Down
5 Everlasting No
6 Who Would Guess?
7 Still She Knows
8 How Do You Break A Heart
9 Cinder
10 Sandman
11 Small Black Heart
12 Kiss Me Quick
13 Blue Nile

All songs composed by David Cantor

MUSICIANS

David Cantor - Guitar, Ukulele
Jeff Eyrich - Bass, Vocals (bckgr)
Jon Dryden - Organ, Piano, Piano (Electric)
Bob Malone - Piano (Electric)
Lalo, Tom Beckham - Vibraphone
Rich "Dusty Chopmeat" Zukor - Percussion, Bongos, Drums, Shaker
Fred Walcott - Percussion, Bongos
Bernhard Ullrich - Clarinet, Saxophone, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
J. Walter Hawkes - Trombone
Randy Reinhart - Trumpet
Steve Gluzband - Flugelhorn
Roger Bruno - Accordion, Shaker
Kelly Flint - Vocals

PRESS QUOTES

"You can call it hip, call it clever, or even call it 'jazz noire.' The music of Dave's True Story both challenges and defies categorization. It swings with a refreshing literate charm of its own." Ken Franckling/UPI Arts & Entertainment - The Jazz Condition

"It's been said, 'You're born. You die.' If you're lucky, you learn to walk upright, keep the Devil interested but waiting, and gasp in wonderment at Dave's True Story's new album, Nature." Dane McCauley - Chronogram

"New York hipsters DAVE'S TRUE STORY mix it up with smoldering grooves and cheeky beatnik lyrics..." Billboard

"the resuscitation of two nearly extinct traditions--Golden Age songwriting (Rodgers and Hart, Arlen and Mercer) and non-self-indulgent jazz-oriented singing (Annie Ross, Peggy Lee, June Christy)." Joel E. Siegel - Washington City Paper

"Jo Stafford-sings-Dorothy-Parker feel...Harry Connick, Jr. and John Pizzarelli should have new material that is as witty as what Mr. Cantor creates." Jim Fusilli - Wall Street Journal

"Kelly's gorgeous voice with its drop of irreverence was perfect for those great songs filled with wordplay and curveball ideas." Rita Houston, Music Director, WFUV)

"beatnik wit and chic" Thomas Standler - NY Times

"Dave has all the wit, sophistication, even romance of Cole Porter, and yet he remains a maverick with a cutting-edge sensibility" Mary Foster Conklin, performer

"Cole Porter meets Seinfeld." CNNfn

"This is the stuff of pure hipster cool, fleshed out by David Cantor's sense for gentle dynamics and Flint's winking delivery." Colin Helms - CMJ Magazine

"DTS offers art songs for a new century, spiced with jazz and neon details, and I can't wait for more" Neil Tesser - Playboy Magazine

ABOUT THE BAND

The story behind the band, Dave’s True Story, is every bit as interesting as Dave Cantor’s lyrics. Dave Cantor, singer/songwriter and the Dave of Dave’s True Story, grew up in New York, (Long Island to be exact), and had a dream of wanting to become a novelist out of college. The novel didn’t work out, nor did the playwriting, so instead he turned to writing songs, where his lyrics are like mini-scripts with dramatic monologues. Kelly Flint grew up in the mid-west, (Michigan City, Indiana) came to New York with $400, a suitcase and like so many people that come to New York, with a dream of becoming an actress or a singer. It was something that she desperately wanted, but she put off going to a club called the Speakeasy for their Open Mike night for a few years, because she said that she knew once she went it would change her life, and it did. She became involved with the Fast Folk Musical Group, which is where she met Dave in 1989. Friends encouraged Kelly to sing Dave’s songs, since she needed material and was not a prolific writer herself, but Kelly didn’t really “get” Dave, and didn’t like his style of jazz. Over drinks one night, Dave taught Kelly one of his songs, and when she sang it, she “got” it, and went on to learn a few more of his songs. Fast-forward, Dave and Kelly went to a Folk Festival that Jack Hardy put on with 33 performers. Although Dave and Kelly were not on the line-up to perform, at the third from the last of the performers, they decided to sing one song, and the audience loved them. At the end of the concert, the audience cheered Dave and Kelly to come back on and sing another song. Ironically, the only other Dave’s song that Kelly knew was a Christmas song, which they performed, so what that it was July! Encouraged by their reception at the concert, they went on to do a couple of gigs. In 1994 they formed Dave’s True Story, released an album, and in 1995 they won the prestigious Kerrville New Music Award. The story gets even better; in 1994 Kelly met Southern California Surfer/bassist, Jeff Eyrich, who was living in Malibu, in an Internet chat session called the Surf Lounge Tijuana Brass Cocktail. Encouraged by their chats, Kelly sent Jeff their album so that he could try to generate some interest for it on the West Coast. When he heard the album, coupled with his growing online relationship with Kelly, he moved to New York and joined Dave’s True Story in 1998. Their first release together was Dave’s True Story (1994, re-released in 2002), Sex without Bodies (1998), followed by Unauthorized (2000), which is when I first became a fan of Dave’s True Story. Their latest release, Nature, from BePop Records was just released on April 19, 2005. The story gets even better! Their song, Crazy Eyes, was featured in the film Kissing Jessica Stein, and the second track, Dog’s Life, from the Nature release is in the documentary, Dog’s Life: A Dogmentary, from Emmy award winning television producer Gayle Kirschenbaum. On June 3, 2005 Edward F. Nesta and I, along with our friend, Tim Garrabrandt, had the opportunity to listen to Dave’s True Story perform at the club, Satalla, in New York, and to interview them to get their “story”. When I asked what inspired Dave, Kelly quickly responded, “he gets his inspiration from Kelly”, to which Dave added, “or else.” Actually, he grew up liking (surprise!) music, which was definitely off the beaten track, which included The Mothers (Frank Zappa) and Captain Beefheart. He also admitted that he was a Steely Dan fan. Jeff was inspired by the Southern California surfer instrumental pipeline music. He said that sometimes people say that he plays “surf guitar.” Hearing Dave’s True Story perform live is about as good as it gets. Joined by drummer, Richard Zukor, the band clearly was in their element. Although Dave may not have written a bestselling novel, his lyrics are clearly bestselling stories; and it appears that Kelly didn’t have to choose between acting or singing, as she captures the audience with her mesmerizing voice and sassy attitude; and as for Jeff, this cool California surfer plays his bass with the ease of a champion surfer coming out of a long pipeline. I can’t wait to hear the next story from Dave’s True Story, as the stories just keep getting better and better. Written & © by Debra C. Argen © August 2005. Luxury Experience. www.luxuryexperience.com All rights reserved. http://luxuryexperience.com/music_scene/interviews/daves_true_story_interview.html

SHORT BIO

The duo Dave's True Story formed in Manhattan, when songwriter/guitarist David Cantor and singer Kelly Flint met through connections in the New York music scene; Flint showed an affinity for singing Cantor's witty, often risqué songs written in the style of Porter and Gershwin. The duo released their self-titled debut on their own BePop label in 1996 and built a following by performing frequently at New York clubs and touring the Northeast. Their second album, Sex Without Bodies, appeared in 1998, followed in early 2000 by Unauthorized. © Steve Huey © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:k9fwxqlhldfe