Moot Davis

Moot Davis got a late start as a musician. Though he worked as an actor, Davis didn't think much of his singing voice so he avoided musical theater. And he didn't pick up a guitar until he was well into his 20s. But Davis, who lives in Hamilton, N.J., had these songs running through his head, songs he created to fight off the silence.

"I always had a vehicle but never had a radio," Davis, 37, says during a telephone interview from his home. "I'd make up these songs whenever I'd go somewhere or if I'd walk somewhere. I'd just make up these songs.
"As time went on, they got better and I thought, 'Well, I should just learn to play the guitar to accompany myself because it might be a fun thing to do, never thinking it would be anything other than just fun."

Davis, who will perform with his band Friday at the Ephrata Main Theatre, said he began to see the possibilities when he heard Hank Williams Sr.
"Once I found Hank Williams, it all sort of made sense to me," he says. "I identified with that and it just felt real true to me, so it just happened.
Davis, very much a honky-tonk singer in the spirit of Williams, well remembers the first time he ever performed in front of people.

He describes it as an open mic night in a "somber and sad" basement in Brunswick, N.J.
"I started playing that song 'Whiskey Town,' and it was immediate, like all the old drunks turned around."

"Whiskey Town," one of the first songs he wrote, wound up on his self-titled debut album, released in 2004. The song also wound up on the soundtrack to the film "Crash" and the album earned him great reviews.

Davis, who would move to Nashville and later to Los Angeles, suddenly had a career as a country musician.
"In the beginning, it was certainly not unlike the way I approached acting, like a character kind of thing," said Davis, whose speaking voice betrays none of the twang that colors his singing voice. "As time goes by and you sort of learn what you're doing and figure it out and you sort of develop your own thing, you're left with what's there."
Davis, who moved to L.A. to be closer to his record label, released his sophomore album, "Already Move On," in 2007.

Then his career stalled. He started having problems with his record company and was feeling a little burned out after being on the road for almost four years straight.
So he moved to New Zealand.

"I had read somewhere in an article that New Zealand was like California was 50 years ago," he says. "And I thought, 'That sounds good to me.' And it was as far away as I could go and they still spoke English and I could get a work visa there and everything."
He did some acting there, including a small role as a helicopter gunner in the film "Avatar." He also started writing songs again.

He moved back to New Jersey after about six months, mostly to see if he could make things work with his longtime girlfriend (he couldn't).
And he started sending songs to the head of his record label as he tried to convince them to let him record his third album, which would fulfill the terms of his contract.
The record company head, however, didn't like any of the songs, and Davis languished.

"I thought these were decent songs and other people told me they were decent songs," Davis says.

Finally, out of the blue, the record company released him from his contract in the summer of 2011. Davis took those songs, went into the studio and recorded "Man About Town," which was released earlier this year.
It's his best album yet and was produced by Kenny Vaughan, the guitarist in Marty Stuart's band. Vaughan also plays on Davis' album, adding some amazing guitar playing throughout.

Though the album is rooted in honky tonk, it is long on variety and includes a terrific murder ballad and a few hard-rocking numbers.
Now that he has his freedom, Davis says he hopes to make an album every year and plans to have a new one ready for 2013.

"The next one, I think I'm going to flip it around and have three or four honky-tonk songs and the rest will have more of a rock sound," he says.
Why not? Davis seems to be able to do whatever he wants. - Lancaster Online

Moot Davis got a late start as a musician. Though he worked as an actor, Davis didn't think much of his singing voice so he avoided musical theater. And he didn't pick up a guitar until he was well into his 20s. But Davis, who lives in Hamilton, N.J., had these songs running through his head, songs he created to fight off the silence.

"I always had a vehicle but never had a radio," Davis, 37, says during a telephone interview from his home. "I'd make up these songs whenever I'd go somewhere or if I'd walk somewhere. I'd just make up these songs.
"As time went on, they got better and I thought, 'Well, I should just learn to play the guitar to accompany myself because it might be a fun thing to do, never thinking it would be anything other than just fun."

Davis, who will perform with his band Friday at the Ephrata Main Theatre, said he began to see the possibilities when he heard Hank Williams Sr.
"Once I found Hank Williams, it all sort of made sense to me," he says. "I identified with that and it just felt real true to me, so it just happened.
Davis, very much a honky-tonk singer in the spirit of Williams, well remembers the first time he ever performed in front of people.

He describes it as an open mic night in a "somber and sad" basement in Brunswick, N.J.
"I started playing that song 'Whiskey Town,' and it was immediate, like all the old drunks turned around."

"Whiskey Town," one of the first songs he wrote, wound up on his self-titled debut album, released in 2004. The song also wound up on the soundtrack to the film "Crash" and the album earned him great reviews.

Davis, who would move to Nashville and later to Los Angeles, suddenly had a career as a country musician.
"In the beginning, it was certainly not unlike the way I approached acting, like a character kind of thing," said Davis, whose speaking voice betrays none of the twang that colors his singing voice. "As time goes by and you sort of learn what you're doing and figure it out and you sort of develop your own thing, you're left with what's there."
Davis, who moved to L.A. to be closer to his record label, released his sophomore album, "Already Move On," in 2007.

Then his career stalled. He started having problems with his record company and was feeling a little burned out after being on the road for almost four years straight.
So he moved to New Zealand.

"I had read somewhere in an article that New Zealand was like California was 50 years ago," he says. "And I thought, 'That sounds good to me.' And it was as far away as I could go and they still spoke English and I could get a work visa there and everything."
He did some acting there, including a small role as a helicopter gunner in the film "Avatar." He also started writing songs again.

He moved back to New Jersey after about six months, mostly to see if he could make things work with his longtime girlfriend (he couldn't).
And he started sending songs to the head of his record label as he tried to convince them to let him record his third album, which would fulfill the terms of his contract.
The record company head, however, didn't like any of the songs, and Davis languished.

"I thought these were decent songs and other people told me they were decent songs," Davis says.

Finally, out of the blue, the record company released him from his contract in the summer of 2011. Davis took those songs, went into the studio and recorded "Man About Town," which was released earlier this year.
It's his best album yet and was produced by Kenny Vaughan, the guitarist in Marty Stuart's band. Vaughan also plays on Davis' album, adding some amazing guitar playing throughout.

Though the album is rooted in honky tonk, it is long on variety and includes a terrific murder ballad and a few hard-rocking numbers.
Now that he has his freedom, Davis says he hopes to make an album every year and plans to have a new one ready for 2013.

"The next one, I think I'm going to flip it around and have three or four honky-tonk songs and the rest will have more of a rock sound," he says.
Why not? Davis seems to be able to do whatever he wants. - Lancaster Online

Though guitarist Moot Davis grew up a New Jersey rocker, he had an appreciation for country music thanks to his West Virginian parents. But it wasn't until he saw a certain cola commercial that he really turned a corner.

"It was either Coke or Pepsi," Davis recalls. "Basically, the delivery man is wheeling a soft drink into a store, and as he's putting in his product, he sees the opposing product, and goes and grabs one to have a drink of it. And then, 'Your Cheatin' Heart' by Hank Williams starts playing. It just mesmerized me — it changed everything."

Davis plays rockabilly, honky-tonk and what some critics have called "thinking man's country" on his new album Man About Town. He discusses it with NPR's Jacki Lyden and performs two songs. - NPR

Though guitarist Moot Davis grew up a New Jersey rocker, he had an appreciation for country music thanks to his West Virginian parents. But it wasn't until he saw a certain cola commercial that he really turned a corner.

"It was either Coke or Pepsi," Davis recalls. "Basically, the delivery man is wheeling a soft drink into a store, and as he's putting in his product, he sees the opposing product, and goes and grabs one to have a drink of it. And then, 'Your Cheatin' Heart' by Hank Williams starts playing. It just mesmerized me — it changed everything."

Davis plays rockabilly, honky-tonk and what some critics have called "thinking man's country" on his new album Man About Town. He discusses it with NPR's Jacki Lyden and performs two songs. - NPR