J Davey Keeps Them Coming Back for More

Have you ever listened to a piece of music or a whole cd, and when it ended you knew you liked what you heard but you didn't quite understand it? If so, try not to beat yourself up too much. It could be that, that is exactly what the band/artist intended. This is exactly the goal of the electric/eclectic duo J Davey. J Davey hail from Los Angeles and musically they have been described as alternative hip hop, alternative rock, soul, electronica, fusion, jazz, punk, funk, new wave and R&B futurist! I am not even sure what an R&B futurist is and I had no idea new wave still existed! What I do know is that J Davey has an all together different style and sound and they just might be more "alternative" than your average alternative band.

"We have a little bit of something for everyone" exclaims Jack Davey (aka Briana Cartwright). "There are elements of jazz, funk, punk...we may have dug ourselves a bit of a whole trying to do so much but I think that's ok. I think it's good for people not to know what they are hearing when they first listen to us. I like the idea of people coming back again and again to hear us, in order to figure it out. That's how legends are born! HA!" Producer Brook D'Leau chimes in and states, "Personally, I think the only way we are valuable is if we are the only ones that know what we are doing. Nowadays the priorities in music are a bit misguided. The focus is on what the bands looks like or how many spins they are getting. The music and artists I have loved are the ones where you had a hard time putting your finger on just what they were doing. Honestly, if the music is good, people will listen and come back for more. "

How your music gets heard when you are a young, alternative band can be an issue. Many groups have turned to opportunities in TV and in movies in order to get their music heard and J Davey is no exception. "Radio is obsolete but you still have to appeal to it" declares Jack Davey. "However, we have been using the internet to get our music out there. We had one of our songs in a movie that was done by Snoop Dogg, and we have done music for commercials for Alize and Nike South America."

The music of J Davey is indeed dynamic and different but the story behind how the duo met seems to be taken, right out of a made for TV teen drama. Jack Davey exclaims, "We met at prom. I went to an all girls school but I went to Brook's prom. At the time I was singing in an all girl group. We recorded and performed a lot and we were signed to MCA but we never released anything. Brook and I kept in touch after graduation. He had told me he had been working on some tracks in his dad's basement. I listened to some of the stuff and I liked what I heard." Brook adds, "My dad had a studio setup when I was growing up. He had a four-track and everything. My mom was in a church choir but it was my dad who really pursued music. He taught me a lot about production and sound and now I am getting a chance to teach him. He is a bit blown away by the capabilities of sound these days." This duo is all about utilizing the capabilities of sound, and while J Davey does strive to be different, this can pose a problem with either record companies or even building a fanbase. When asked to comment on how they are dealing with these two issues, Brook proclaims, "We have met people who have seen us, like us and promote us hard! They are the superfans. They become our street team...word of mouth has been good to us. We have not been "present" for two years but our fanbase is doing some impactful stuff for us. Even folks who are not our peers are excited about us. They may not readily get it but they can see/hear something of substance." Jack Davey adds, "Our fans understand that this is not disposable music...they know that they have to dig into it if they want to understand it." When asked to comment on what they have been up to for two years, Jack Davey sighs and declares, "We are releasing our next disc ("New Designer Drug") on Warner Brothers and we have been taking our sweet time! We really want to put our best foot forward. This is a piece of art and we want it to be perfect! We have a body of work we are proud of and it will continue with our new disc this fall." One has to wonder how a major label has taken to a new young duo out to challenge its audience. Davey articulates, "There were growing pains at first. I mean, we know who we are! If you (the record label) were not sure that was ok because we know! It took a while for us to see eye to eye. We asserted ourselves. We know who we are and we didn't falter." Brook adds, "our disc is actually being released on Sire Records. Sire was a subsidiary of Warner Brothers and they have brought it back. Back in the 70's, Sire was known as having avant garde bands on its label. One of my favorite bands, Talking Heads was on Sire so I think that helped a lot. The goal will be to see if this music can appeal to people outside our demographic. It's going to be a challenge but I think it will be a good one." With the mention of Talking Heads, one has to speculate if the duo listens to anything that would make their indie fans scratch their heads. Brook matter of factly states "Right now I am listening to a lot of Naked Raygun, some punk rock and King Crimson." Jack meanwhile adds sarcastically, "I listen to J Davey! HA! Ok really, I am into vintage metal! I dig listening to Motorhead, Sabbath and Alice Cooper!"

Nothing wrong with a little vintage metal or Naked Raygun and there is nothing wrong with the eclectic sound and ambition of J Davey. The duo will be doing a residency in May at The Roxy in Hollywood and they will also be releasing music on their website, leading up to their major label debut. If you want music that will challenge you and keep you coming back for more, do yourself a favor and check out J Davey.