Find Out What Kyle Davis Has Up His Sleeve

Most of you out there probably know Kyle Davis from Against The Grain and RawDogs. We met him for the first time a couple of months ago when we attended the ATG CD Release Show and had the privilege of interviewing him and Rob.  After seeing him play with Against The Grain, we knew he was a great musician. We didn't realize how diverse his musical talent is, though.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, when Kyle contacted us about a solo project he has been working on. Of course we wanted to hear it, but I am ashamed to say I expected it to be punk rock and not too different from his other projects. Not that that would be a bad thing. But still, I should have listened to that old saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." Kyle Davis' self titled album has quickly become one of my favorite new CDs. I can't stop listening to it.

The album is 6 tracks of pure Rock & Roll. Most of the songs have sort of a 50's feel too them, while one is sort of 80's and one is best described as Johnny Cash meets gypsy punk. All around, it's just a fun album. I must say, Track 5 - Kickin' the Dog is not my favorite on the CD. That is mostly because of the name, though. Luckily, Kyle cleared it up and assured me that it was slang and he wasn't actually talking about kicking dogs (Whew! That's a relief!).

It has taken me weeks to decide what to say about this album. I was just going to write a review about how great it is, but I had so many questions that I wanted to ask Kyle first. During his short break from tour with Against The Grain, he was nice enough to answer all of my questions for me.

Hip In Detroit - This CD features a different genre of music than your other bands. What was your inspiration for this album?
Kyle - "Well I've always dug alotta different stuff, it's foolish for musicians to limit themselves to their little cliques & genres, otherwise they'll keep coming out with the same old bullshit."

Hip In Detroit - Tell us a little about making this album. How long did it take? Where did you record it? I noticed that it was Mastered in London, England. Any reason why?
Kyle - "It took us about half a year to have everything mixed and get all the album art together, I recorded it at Lily Pad studios in Chesterfield Township. We got it mastered in England by a chap named Andy Jackson who is a great engineer, he happened to do some work on some of the Pink Floyd albums. That's a pretty cool thing to have on our side I suppose."

Hip In Detroit - You don't hear harmonicas in music very often anymore. It was pretty awesome. Is that you? 
Kyle - "You're right about harmonicas in music, I never really hear em' that much anymore. On another note, I noticed flutes are becoming really hip again, whatever I guess. Yes that was me playing the harp."

Hip In Detroit - So, I mentioned that this is a different style of music than we're used to hearing from you, but "Kickin' the Dog" is even different still. What makes this song different from the rest?
Kyle - "Kickin' The Dog started out merely as a joke with a few of my friends, we'd always mock Brian Johnson era AC/DC by singing stuff like that. Then one nite me and other local musician Steve Krycia happened to look through his brothers messages on his phone, it read "Tuesday night I'll be ridin', rain or snow" THAT WAS IT. After drinking an obscene amount, the rest of the lyrics came to us pretty fluidly, as did the malt liquor. Kickin' The Dog is a euphemism for having fun, getting wasted or blasting a joint or WHATEVER. (Sorry peta, I don't really kick dogs)" 

Hip In Detroit - What does the future hold for Kyle Davis? Can we plan on some more music? Maybe some solo shows? 
Kyle - "Yes mam, you can plan for some shows in the late fall/early winter. Chris Nowak (plays bass for Against The Grain) will also be playing bass for my band. I haven't had an official record release show for this album, so hopefully I can bring a few people to that one. I'm trying to get some airplay for these songs since they're so tame compared to the other musical endeavors I'm involved in. I'm always playing open mics or busking when I have time too."

Hip In Detroit - We like to ask most of the people we interview what some of their favorite places in the Detroit area are. What's your favorite venue, restaurant, place to grab a drink, place to shop, etc.?
Kyle - "Places in the area that I like? I dig the Painted Lady as far as venues go. Magic Stick is pretty cool too. I really liked The Belmont when they had shows there. As for food I'm not much of an aficionado, I just dig the two dollar slices of pizza at Sgt. Pepperonis, hah. As for shopping? I dig UHF & Flipside. Some of the fellas from Record Time are starting a new shop soon called "Found Sound" in Ferndale, right where Mother Fletchers used to be, next to Buffalo Wild Wings and across from the Record Collecter. Keep your eyes out!"

I'd like to thank Kyle for sharing this project with us and taking the time out to talk with us. His CD is available through CD Baby. You can either download a copy or order a hard copy. If you would like to preview his music before you purchase it, you can head to his website or his Facebook. I guarantee you will be impressed with his musical talent and you will be hooked by his fun tunes and catchy lyrics. And, don't forget about the harmonica!

Kyle will be heading out on the road with Against The Grain again very soon. Their tour kickoff show is coming up on July 13th at Phoenix Cafe in Hazel Park. He will also be performing with RawDogs that night!  So make sure you head out to that show and while you are there hassle him about booking some shows for his solo project, too! Well, maybe don't hassle him, just kindly encourage him! I know we're looking forward to it. I'm sure after you listen to this album, you will be too!

Before you head over to check out & buy Kyle's album, check out this music video he made for his song "Wait and See".

~C