Jody
Davis biography
When one of the members of a popular band steps out to do a solo recording,
there are always rumblings. When two members of that same group release
solo albums within months of each other, well, that's a sure sign that
the End is near, right?
"Nope," Jody Davis, guitarist
for Newsboys answers simply and matter-of-factly. As if band-mate Phil
Joel hadn't already laid those doubts to rest, Jody adds, "We
knew we needed a break. We had been working too hard and doing too many
shows for much too long a time. We had to step back and say, 'we do
want this ministry to remain viable, so we need to rest, spend more
time with our families, and begin to express ourselves in other ways."
Those diverse interests found Peter Furler helping start inpop Records,
Phil Joel making his solo bow on that label and Jody launching his solo
career with his self-titled Pamplin Records debut.
"Initially,
we were all going to do albums, like the members of Kiss did years ago,
when they released four solo records at once," says Jody,
with a chuckle. "But we killed that idea
pretty quick! It just so happened that Phil and I were the most interested
and the most motivated."
Jody admits that "just because you can" isn't the best reason
to attempt a solo venture. But he says he feels like this new disc was
necessary to his artistic growth. "Everybody
[in Newsboys] writes, and there's only so many songs you can put on
a Newsboys record. Plus, we have a pretty specific thing we do, so anything
outside that doesn't really fit. I've contributed to a lot of Newsboys
albums, but this is the first time I've gotten to take my original ideas
and bring them to fruition the way I heard them in the first place."
The music on Jody Davis surveys some of the best pop and rock sounds
of the past 25 years, as he combines a gritty, emotional vocal delivery
with the energy of power pop and modern rock. "I
didn't want to make a 'squeaky-clean' pop record," explains
Jody. "I could do that with the Newsboys.
I was trying to capture a little of the 'live,' spontaneous feel of
the records I loved from the 1970s, mix that with the sophistication
and drive of old Chicago records and bring that into a modern setting.
There are very few keyboards on the album; it's just guitar, bass, drums
and a horn section. I just wrote what I felt, rather than trying to
make perfectly structured pop songs. Most of the tunes started with
me playing acoustic guitar and singing into a Dictaphone."
Although
the songs were composed over ten years' time, Jody says there is a central
theme to the album. "I'd say it's trying
to understand the painful side of love," he reflects. "Sometimes
I feel like we ignore the cost of love; it's not just feeling good and
being giddy all the time. Loving someone and accepting love and the
ultimate gift of Christ's love demands a lot from us."
Following his father's triple bypass surgery a few years ago, Jody
says he began to give a lot of thought to what C.S. Lewis called "the
problem with pain." "It was a painful
thing to watch because of how much we loved him," admits
Jody. "So this record is my attempt to come
to grips with questions like 'why do people suffer, what does God think
about this, is God's hand in this, what are we supposed to do in response?'
Several of the songs touch on those questions."
After a lengthy pause, Jody adds "but the
record's not a downer! In fact, I even start off with a song called
'Believe,' that talks about knowing and understanding what you believe
and why you believe it; what makes you do the things you do-and then
challenging listeners to ask themselves that same question. 'The Crush
of Love' follows along those same lines; it's the pressure, the push
you get from God that brings you to repentance. 'Climbing to Your Throne,'
'I Can't Get Enough' and 'Close to You' are all about fervent prayer
and seeking the presence of God and the will of God."
Jody, who grew up in a small southern Indiana town, refers again to
his father when mentioning musical influences from his youth. "My
dad was a coal miner and a musician. I guess that's what got me started,
seeing him play. But I spent most of my high school years locked up
in my bedroom, playing guitar."
However,
Jody did venture outside his bedroom long enough to befriend his choir
director, with whom he would serve time in a Top 40 cover band. He also
made a life-long friend in Jim Cooper, who would join Jody in his first
Christian music group. "We made friends with
a band called David and the Giants, who had their own studio in Mississippi,
so we went down there to cut a custom album with our little band. A
few months later, we ran into them on the road and found out they really
loved this project we did. Keith Thibeadeaux, their drummer (the former
"Little Ricky" from the "I Love Lucy" show) asked
us to back him on a solo project he was doing, and we later became his
band, Lively Stones. In fact, Todd White, who's now my A&R man at
Pamplin, was our manager and booking agent, and we shared a house together
back then!"
About ten years ago, Cooper and Davis re-located to Nashville, where
they eventually hooked up with the bands that would bring them the greatest
recognition-Cooper to a stint in Petra and Jody to the Newsboys. "I
was originally just going to fill in for the first couple weeks of the
Not Ashamed tour," remembers Jody, "but
after just a few gigs, we knew it was the right fit for both of us."
After the highly publicized (and exhausting) "Dome" tour,
Jody says he's glad that Newsboys are planning a less demanding schedule,
allowing him the time to release what he calls "a very personal
record." In spite of the album's serious moments, says Jody, he
hopes listeners will take their cues from the final track, a cover of
the Todd Rundgren & Utopia classic, "Love Is the Answer."
"I know sometimes as Christians we feel that
everything must be answered, but sometimes you just have to ask the
questions. 'Love Is the Answer' does indeed point to Christ, but that's
just the start of this journey we're on. Life with Christ is full of
mysteries and adventures."
