Entry #85: Where It Becomes My Mission To Make Sure You Hear David Shultz
As mentioned below, my recent trip to NYC ended with a frustrated me being forced to listen to a CD by an unknown artist until my friend saw fit to borrow a roomates computer that my ipod could plug into. In a strange twist of fate, I got to the point where I actually didn't want the CD we were listening to to end. Had the circumstances surrounding my being in that apartment been different, had I not been beaten down by a weekend in the big city, or had I possessed a CD of the band I wanted to listen to rather than the ipod, I may have been more willing to take action and dickishly play what I wanted to right off the bat. As it stood, I sort of sat there while my friend brought me ginger ale and peanuts, and took in the music of David Shultz.
I don't know much about the man, nor do I ever expect to. From his tour dates, I suspect he lives in New York, but he plays on Friday at Coupe De Ville's, (widely renowned as the worst bar at UVA, and paradoxically one of the few that endorses live music), so there may be a UVA connection as well. I think that his music is best summed up by a line from his album closer "Of All The Things": "I recognize the familiar sound / It's like a song I've heard a thousand times before / or maybe I've never heard it at all." I think that his music is like 1,000 other things done right.
Imagine your typical guy with a guitar, but take away the baseball cap and make him sound genuine. Put a little bit of whiskey in his voice. Kick the tempo up every now to keep things rockin'. Don't mention the ladies by name, they already know who they are. And most importantly, make sure that the guitar and harmonica sound mournful enough that when you realize that the song is making you sad, you suddenly understand that it's because you're not sure if anyone else you know is ever gonna hear this guy's songs.
I realized that right about song 3, and by the time the record was almost over, the thought of other people not hearing these songs I had heard had become a devastating proposition. Fortunately, I am a man of action who is going to do his best to make damn sure that these songs don't go unheard by you, the discerning reader of a stranger's blog. So here's what I suggest that you do: Check out these two songs, check out Shultz's myspace site and then, (this is the big step), register for a free trial at eMusic and use some of your 50 free downloads to get the rest of his CD. eMusic
can do no wrong by me. Their free trial is a cancel anytime, no strings attached policy, they're gotten rave write ups from Rolling Stone, and every other music blog you will read will endorse them whole heartedly. Best of all, within five minutes you can be downloading Dave Shultz's self titled album, plus My Morning Jacket, The Meat Puppets, The Arcade Fire, etc.
David Shultz Myspace
