BIOGRAPHY
 After spending years on the road playing country with Marty Stuart, bluegrass with Earl Scruggs, newgrass with Sam Bush, Gypsy jazz with John Jorgenson, and rock with Billy Bob Thornton, Brad Davis steps out front to prove that he can hold his own as a solo artist and band leader.
Brad Davis spent ten years (1992-2002) performing on stage as a member of Marty Stuart's road band. For the past seven years, he has played lead acoustic guitar with Earl Scruggs and Friends, and for the past six years he has played lead electric and acoustic guitar with movie actor Billy Bob Thornton's rock band. He spent two years (2003-2004) as the guitar player for the Sam Bush Band and also performed with John Jorgenson's Gypsy Jazz Quintet in 2005. He occasionally performs with an exciting new bluegrass band, 'Greenbroke', which consists of himself, John Cowan, John Moore, and Dennis Caplinger. In 2008, he joined Billy Bob Thornton's band The Boxmasters out on the road with appearances on Regis and Kelly and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
Brad has worked for, or recorded with, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, The Forester Sisters, Tommy Shaw (Styx), David Lee Roth (Van Halen), Sheryl Crow, Sam Bush, Warren Zevon, and The Sweethearts of the Rodeo.. Additionally, Brad has recorded two album projects featuring Billy Bob Thornton on Mercury Records and has toured both Europe and the United States as the lead guitar player for Billy Bob Thorntons band. Brad's two solo recordings on FGM Records "I'm Not Gonna Let My Blues Bring Me Down", and "This World Ain't No Child Anymore" were both released to rave reviews. He also appears on an FGM concert DVD video release "Live in Kansas City" with Cody Kilby and Tim May.
A prolific songwriter Brad has had his songs recorded by various country and bluegrass artists, including country star Tim McGraw ("Ain't No Angels"), Jo El-Sonnier ("Can't Give My Heart Away"), Billy Bob Thornton ("Always Countin'", "Beautiful Door"), Grasstowne ("Love You Don't Know"), Hometown News ("All The Time"), and Tony Trischka ("I'm Singing Harmony"). He has played on Marty Stuart's gold selling album "This Ones Gonna Hurt You", the Marty Stuart "Hit Pack", and Martys last MCA recording "The Pilgrim". He played on the soundtrack of Steven Seagals "Fire Down Below", and performed music for Billy Bob Thornton's Miramax releases "Daddy And Them" and "Waking Up In Reno". He also recorded with Sheryl Crow, and others, on the Johnny Cash tribute album "Kindred Spirits", played guitar on Warren Zevon's final Grammy-winning recording, "The Wind", and was on Sam Bush's Sugar Hill release "King of My World".
A talented guitar instructor and writer, Brad has been a columnist for Flatpicking Guitar Magazine since 1996 and is currently Takamine’s main guitar clinician, conducting dozens of music store clinics for Takamine each year. He has taught at Steve Kaufman’s Flatpick Camp, Nashcamp, Camp Bluegrass, the St. Louis Flatpick Weekend, the Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend, and more. He has also produced four instructional DVDs for Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, "Flatpick Jam", Volumes 1, 2, & 3 and a book/DVD/CD course called "Flatpicking the Blues". Additionally, he has produced several instructional courses for Mel Bay Publications, including the "Blue Book of Speedpicking", and a series of instructional Ear Training Cds.
DISCOGRAPHY
CDs
This World Ain't No Child (2005)
PURCHASE: Flatpicking Mercantile | iTunes
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Guest artists who appear on this recording include: movie star Billy Bob Thorton, Sam Bush (New Grass Revival, Nash Ramblers, The Sam Bush Band), Rob Ickes (Blue Highway), Greg Davis (Ramona Jones), rock star Tommy Shaw (Styx, Damn Yankees), John Jorgenson (Elton John, Desert Rose Band, Hellecasters), banjo legend Bela Fleck, John Cowan, and more. |
Track List:
1. All I Need To Know
2. Ain't That Just Like Love
3. Love You Don't Know
4. I'm Not Through Loving You
5. Shadows
6. This World Ain't No Child
7. LaCrosse
8. You and I
9. Feet of Clay
10. True Love
11. Holy River
12. Falling |
I'm Not Gonna Let My Blues Bring Me Down (2003)
PURCHASE: Flatpicking Mercantile | iTunes
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Guest artists who appear on this recording include: movie star Billy Bob Thorton, Sam Bush (New Grass Revival, Nash Ramblers, The Sam Bush Band), Rob Ickes (Blue Highway), Greg Davis (Ramona Jones), rock star Tommy Shaw (Styx, Damn Yankees), John Jorgenson (Elton John, Desert Rose Band, Hellecasters), Kelly Knolf, Earl Scruggs, Jon Randall, David Grier, Glen Duncan, and more. |
Track List:
1. I'm Not Gonna Let My Blue Bring Me Down
2. Old Number Nine
3. Dawg Diddy
4. Big Timber
5. Tell Me Son
6. Cypress Walls
7. Rank Stranger
8. Black Snake
9. Where You Belong
10. California
11. I Love My Guitar
12. Sight Of Truth
13. Journy Through Misery
14. The Clock Strikes Twice
Quotes/Reviews:
Brad Davis is a great musician and singer. He really shines on this project. I'm glad to endorse this music and Brad. He's also a fine young man whom I'm glad to call friend.
Ricky Skaggs
Having spent the last 10 years attending honky-tonk university as Marty Stuart's lead guitarist, you could say that Brad Davis has now earned his degree. This mostly acoustic solo debut at last puts the spotlight cleanly on him, despite the presence of heavy-hitting guests like Earl Scruggs, Billy Bob Thornton, Styx's Tommy Shaw and others. Brad also plays bass and drums on most cuts, but the primary focus is on his guitar and mandolin playing, singing and songwriting, and he earns his diploma by doing a fine job of them all.
Jeff Wall, Country Music Weekly
This album comes straight out of the Blue and Groove-atous side of Americana/Bluegrass. It's not your standard 'Been there, done that, what else do you have?' kind of stuff...Too cool. This guy plays so fast and clean he must be using a humminbird for a metronome. Brad evidently didn't get the memo: If you can sing like this, you're not supposed to play great too. Talent like this really ticks me off!
Jimmy Olander, Lead guitarist, Diamond Rio
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DVDs
Live in Kansas City (2005)
PURCHASE: Flatpicking Mercantile
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On December 18th, 2004 three of today’s most talented flatpicking guitar players Brad Davis, Tim May, and Cody Kilby got together and performed a concert near Kansas City, Kansas, and Flatpicking Guitar Magazine had cameras rolling.
On that night at Jim Curley's Mountain Music Shoppe in Shawnee, Kansas, the crowd was not only treated to some amazing guitar work, but these talented musicians also put on an awesome multi-instrument, singing, and songwriting display. The three perform as a trio, pair up in various duo configurations, and perform solo. Each artist brings some of his original material to the stage, but they also get together to tear up a few standard flatpicking numbers. It is something you don’t want to miss! |
Track List:
1. Angeline The Baker
2. Gold Rush Rock
3. Lonesome Fiddle Blues
4. My Heart's An Open Door
5. Miss Nari
6. Cypress Walls
7. Song in B
8. Love Affair With Misery
9. Old Bud
10. All I Need To Know
11. Uncloudy Day
12. Song In G
13. Lacrosse
14. I'm Not Through Loving You Yet
15. Catwalk
16. Ain't That Just Like Love
17. Song for Sophie
18. Big Timber |
Appearances on other FGM Releases:
Click item to purchase and learn more information.
LINKS
Check out Brad's official website at: http://www.braddavisontour.com .
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