Piano Tribute to Metallica [press release]
Current mood: working
Category: Music

I'm both a piano player, and a huge fan of heavy metal music (please, don't ask me how that happened). I wanted to let you know about my new CD "Pianotarium", that mixes both sides of that coin to the extreme. You can listen to "The Unforgiven" on my profile right now, and all the songs from the entire CD at Pianotarium.com. Go take a listen and let me know what you think. I'm a huge Metallica fan, and feel I'm one of the few piano plyers who could pull this idea off. But just to make sure it's not all in my head, I'd like your opinion.

PRESS RELEASE

Piano Tribute to Metallica

"Painotarium: Piano Tribute to Metallica" is Scott D. Davis' fourth solo piano recording, and this time he dives head first into the heavy side of his musical personality. The album features Davis' own arrangements of classic Metallica tunes from their albums "Ride the Lightning" (1984) through "Load" (1996).

While the concept of a tribute album is nothing new, it's something that can often backfire. "I knew I was on dangerous ground when I decided to tackle this album." says Davis. "I realized that a number of ingredients would have to be just right if this was going to work." As someone who's been playing air guitar to Metallica's songs for years, he let his love and respect for the original performances guide the process. He devoted himself to faultlessly following every nuance of James Hetfield's vocal melodies, capturing the moodiness and intensity of the guitar riffs, and making sure that Kirk Hammett's blazing fast guitar solos stay, well, blazing fast. Even so, bringing it to life on the piano still demanded a lot of creativity. "I was constantly having to change it to keep it the same. It's like an oxymoron; stay true to the original, and still make it uniquely your own. It can be very elusive, but when you find that balance, it's a beautiful thing."

The intricate arrangements and dynamic passages of Metallica's performances share much in common with classical music, which makes for surprisingly good piano music. Songs like 'Nothing Else Matters' and 'Fade to Black' already have such a beautiful, classical quality, that they seem almost meant for the piano. But Metallica is famous for being heavy and hard-hitting. According to Davis "Metallica's genius is that the know when to get soft and melodic, so there's contrast between loud and soft, slow and fast. Music that's loud and fast all the time, becomes tiring. Ironically, it's the soft sections that give their music so much power, and set Metallica apart from other metal bands."

The initial idea for "Pianotarium" came years earlier. "I've been a die-hard Metallica fan since I first heard Master of Puppets when I was 16" says Davis. "It was around that time that I first started learning to play the keyboard. I remember trying to mess around with some of their songs on my little Casio keyboard, but their music was way to difficult for a beginner, plus the idea just seemed crazy."

As a piano player who also loves heavy metal music, Davis has always felt a sense of musical schizophrenia. "I'd be on my way to one of my concerts, where the audience is coming to hear some beautiful and relaxing new age piano playing, and I'm head banging to thrash metal" Says Scott. "And I'd often ask myself 'How many people in my audience would be horrified to know what I'm listening to right now'."

This is not Davis' first solo piano rock tribute album. In 2005 he released "Rockfluence," a collection of songs from his favorite rock and metal groups, which includes songs by the Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Linkin Park, and even one Metallica song. "I was testing the rock tribute waters with Rockfluence. I wanted to prove whether or not I could do it. So now, I finally felt ready to take on the mother of all hard rock tributes, a solo piano tribute to the metal gods themselves, Metallica."

You can hear samples of all the songs at Pianotarium.com as well as order the CD. Also available from Amazon.com & CD Baby

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6:30 PM - 4 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

In concert with my "Idol"
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Music

I was going to tell you a little about the amazing show I was lucky to be part of last weekend.  One of the highlights for me was the opportunity to meet and perfrom with pianist David Lanz, who has been the single biggest influence on me musically!  Pianist David Nevue also performed at this show, and on his blog he describes the evening quite beautifully, so I'll let him tell the rest...

"Last Saturday night I performed a Whisperings piano concert with fellow pianists David Lanz and Scott D. Davis at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre (in California) - a 500 seat venue. We sold over 400 tickets to the show, making this the largest crowd I had ever played for. 

"I started the show by playing Overcome, from my CD of the same name. I then welcomed the crowd and introduced them to the Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio concept - telling them about the broadcast and more or less what we're trying to. Then, I sat down and played The Vigil, As the Deer, Big Snow in Salzburg, The Gift and Sweet Dreams & Starlight, telling the stories about the songs as I went along.

"Playing for such a large crowd was quite the experience. It was wild how I'd finish a song, and the audience would just keep clapping and clapping and clapping. I mean, it wasn't just polite applause, it was enthusiastic, happy, "we love you" sort of clapping. I was really overwhelmed by it - I felt undeserving of such praise! The cool thing was, the audience didn't just do this for me, but for Scott D. Davis and David Lanz as well when they played. I don't know if I've ever played to such a thoroughly happy bunch of people. Was there something in the water, perhaps? :)

"After I finished playing my set, I introduced Scott D. Davis. Scott is far and away the 'rocker' of Whisperings. He's got long hair, fast music, and limitless energy. He played three of his original tunes, plus solo piano arrangements of 'My Immortal' by Evanescence and 'Nothing Else Matters' by Metallica. It's really interesting to hear these songs done on solo piano - they are quite enjoyable. Check out Scott's Rockfluence CD. It's really quite good and a lot of fun.

"I then introduced David Lanz who came out and played one song, a 'teaser,' before intermission. He played the title track from his latest CD, Spirit Romance and it was stunningly beautiful. After intermission, I introduced David once again and he played the entire second half. He started with a 'medley' of all his most popular songs. It ran probably, oh, eight minutes or so, and was quite ingenious. How he put all those songs together (probably twenty of them) capturing the big moments from his popular tunes and tossing them into one, big, musical salad I'll never know. It was very cool. Then David played a number of favorites including his classic  'Cristofori's Dream' and his very moving version of 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' by Procol Harem.

"For the encore, we had a little fun together. We played what I called 'Stand, Sit and Play.' If you've every seen the show 'Whose Line is it Anyway?' is the same basic concept as their 'Stand, Sit and Lie Down' game, except we've got a piano to play!

"I started the 'game' by playing a bit of music and then, after about 90 seconds or so, Scott slid onto the bench with me and seamlessly took over at the piano. After another 90 seconds or so, David Lanz took over from Scott, and then it was my turn again, and then Scott's and David's. The idea was to keep the music going without interruption - like one long piano piece played by three different people. It was pretty tricky making the switch (especially with the pedaling) and keeping it smooth. But it was a blast and the crowd just ate it up, applauding wildly after each successful switch!

"After the concert, David, Scott and I went out to autograph CDs and just hang out with the crowd. Again, I was struck by the enthusiasm. The show went about two and a half hours and these folks weren't the least bit tired!

"We finally got everything packed up and out of there by about twelve-thirty in the morning - and then the three of us (plus families) all went and shared a meal at BJ's restaurant in Vacaville."

I hope to have some pictures and video from the show pretty soon. When I get them, I'll post them here.

12:57 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Why I'm so excitited about this concert...
Category: Music

Here's a press release about a concert I'll be performing in March 18th. I'm more excited about this show than usual, and the reason will become quite obvious as you read...



Local Pianist Scott D. Davis Shares the Stage with His 'Idol', David Lanz


February 15, 2006 - Vacaville, CA -- For years Scott D. Davis has dreamed of meeting and performing with David Lanz, who's music provided the inspiration to start his own career. On March 18th at 8:00 p.m. at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre that dream will become a reality. Pianists Scott D. Davis, David Lanz and David Nevue will join artistic forces to present an enchanting evening of solo piano & storytelling presented by Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio. Tickets are $20, and are available by calling the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre box office at 707-449-6217.


The show is headlined by Grammy nominated artist David Lanz, best known for his platinum album "Christifori's Dream". But it was his "Skyline Firedance" CD which made the biggest impact on local pianist Scott D. Davis. "I was in high school when I first heard the music of David Lanz" Davis remembers. "I had been playing keyboards for about a year, and had just formed a rock band with some friends. The guitarist of that band introduced me to Lanz's music, letting me borrow his "Skyline Firedance" CD. I couldn't believe that solo piano music could sound so fresh and have such a great energy. I had never heard anything like it." And so the seeds were planted that would eventually lead Davis to compose and record his own solo piano works. Davis has since released three solo piano albums of his own. His newest release "Rockfluence", is a solo piano tribute to some of his favorite rock bands including songs by The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, and Guns N' Roses. "I think it's really cool how this album brings things full circle" says Davis. "Since most of the songs on the album are interpretations of heavy metal songs, I think the music could be best described as 'Heavy Mellow', a term originally coined by David Lanz." Davis is a full-time independent musician, and promotes his music primarily by performing in upscale shopping malls throughout the U.S.


David Nevue is a self-taught pianist from Springfield, Oregon, who cites a variety of musical influences including George Winston, Chopin and the progressive rock band Rush. Nevue recorded his first album of piano works in 1991 and has since released eight more CDs, including his most recent, "Overcome," a nominee for "Best Instrumental Album - Piano" by New Age Reporter's "LifeStyle Music Awards." Nevue's music can be heard on over 220 radio programs world-wide. In addition to his work as a pianist, Nevue is the author of "How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet" and the founder of The Music Biz Academy (musicbizacademy.com), an educational web site for musicians. In August of 2003, Nevue launched Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio, (solopianoradio.com) which is heard by over a half-million listeners each month, making it the most popular solo piano radio broadcast on the Internet.


For more information about the artists and Whisperings Solo Piano Radio, visit www.SoloPianoRadio.com

5:47 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

The CD I Almost Didn't Make

For years people have been telling me I should do a CD of songs people know, cover songs. I've always resisted this for a few reasons. First, I'm a composer first and foremost, and really only learned to play the piano so I'd have a way of taking my own music out of my imagination and into reality. Writing original music is what I do and is my first love. So spending hours each day learning other peoples music always felt like time wasted to me. Second, the kind of piano songs that are famous, aren't usually the kind of music I'm into (with a few exceptions from the classical world). Popular love songs, Sinatra, the theme from Titanic and the like...it's all stuff that is great music (especially Sinatra), but to be perfectly honest, none of those songs light a fire in my heart, personally. Therefore, I had no plans to do a CD of covers.

Then David Nevue, the host of an internet broadcast called Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio, invited me to perform at an artist showcase concert put on by the radio station. When it was my turn to go on stage, David introduced me as "the type of solo pianist that is really a rocker in disguise". When I heard him say that, it rang so true. It set the tone for my performance that evening, and for that matter, my whole career since. He'd hit the nail on the head. When I'm in my car driving around, I'm not listening to classical, or new age, or easy listening...I'm rockin' out! That's the influence that gives my piano music it's unique energy, and sets me apart from other "new age" pianists. I just hadn't really thought about it until that moment.

Once I'd found my true identity as a pianist, I began to think about all that advice to do "songs people know", and realized that I COULD do a CD of covers that would be a fun challenge, light a fire in my heart, and be unique. I could do solo piano arrangements of rock songs! Songs by bands that I was into, and drive around rockin' out to. For the first time in my life, I was excited about spending time learning "other people's music".

Throughout 2005 I spent some of my practice time experimenting with various rock songs, seeing if I could come up with a good way to play them on piano, without making them sound 'cheesy' or destroying the essence of the original. I'd considered about 35 in all, but narrowed it down to eleven:

Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
Hotel California - Eagles
My Immortal - Evanescence
Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
In the End - Linkin Park
Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
Open Arms - Journey
The Final Countdown - Europe
White Wedding - Billy Idol

By summer of 2005 I'd committed myself to getting this album out by Thanksgiving, booked studio time in October, and began practicing the songs like crazy to get ready for the recording. In the beginning of October, I started to take pre-orders to help pay for the production, and was overwhelmed by the amount of people willing to buy an album that doesn't exist yet, just to help make it happen. Then just three days before I was to go into the studio, the owner calls me to tell me that Pixar has just bought his studio, and he won't be able to record my album! I was in shock. You can't plan for something like that. I didn't know what I was going to do.

To make a long story short, The project was now late, and over budget. I found another studio to record the album, but it was much more expensive (I'm very picky though). Then a fan emailed me out of the blue and offered the financial help needed for me to complete the album, and soon. So although this giant roadblock seemed to come out of the blue very suddenly, so did the solution. I was amazed, and very grateful.

After all this, the album was release only two weeks late, and has been a smashing success since it came out on December 16th (at least by my independent standards) It was a fun, challenging, and sometimes scary journey, but now I have "Rockfluence" to show for it. I'm so glad that I finally found my true musical identity, the courage to do an album of "other people's music", and without selling my soul as a composer. I'm very proud of this CD, and hope you'll consider listening to some samples. Feel free to let me know what you think.

Musically Yours,

Scott D. Davis
http://www.InspiringPiano.com

6:08 PM - 3 Comments - 3 Kudos - Add Comment