Singer-songwriter Dave Keener is back on his feet. The Easy Way dealt with his divorce, but he now he comes out swinging with his new album Slugger, a collection of upbeat and just one ballad This Is Where I Came In.
Keener is a story teller, with a phrasing that's part Buddy Holly and part Nick Lowe. He has the skills to sing really fast, which comes to good use in songs Linear Larry, a nervous song that could have been penned by David Byrne and Elvis Costello. He is musical omnivore who can write a West Coast ditty like Uncle or come up with a Caribbean tempo for Mama Had A Bongo, with tongue-in-cheek cheesy lyrics.
He knows that entertaining is part of the game. As a rule singer-songwriters go on stage with a guitar and a stack of stained lyrics. Keener came up with the idea for Songwriter Deathmatch: a couple of like-minded artists in an impromptu contest. A win-win concept: the audience gets lots of music for a few dollars and the artists have to step out of their comfort zone to win over the crowd.
Dave Keener: guitar, vocals
Russ Alderson: bass
Dave Foster: bass, guitar
James Morris: drums
Thomas DeVito: drums
Karen Dahlstrom: background vocals
Jen McDearman: percussion
Bill Wadman: piano and organ
Slugger is released on Keener Boy Records. Buy it from his website.
Tracks:- When
- That's The Way I Do It
- Linear Larry
- This Is Where I Came In
- Uncle
- Second-Rate Rainbow
- Mama Had A Bongo
- Gather Round
- Bottom of My Heart
- Put That Baby Down
- No One Else
- All This and Heaven Too
- 12/14 Freddy's Bar, Brooklyn, NY
- 01/18 Freddy's Bar, Brooklyn, NY
HCTF review of The Easy Way.
