David Bryan
Vocalist for the band Loveland
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.26.2006
Age: 45
For the record: If it were up to vocalist David Bryan, his local band Loveland wouldn't be called Loveland.
It wouldn't be called anything at all.
"I didn't really want to have a band name," Bryan said in a recent phone interview. "I didn't want to name our upcoming album either if I could help it."
Bryan's desire for a life without labels is only matched by his lifelong ambition to sing.
He performs regularly around town with Loveland, including a show at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St., Feb. 8.
Sounds like: Southwestern alt-country with a touch of Texas twang.
How did the band get started? "(Guitarist) Nathan Sabatino and I met in (Pinos Altos) New Mexico, and then he moved down here. I came down to visit and record a little more with him and some guest musicians. I finally realized when we had 10 songs recorded that we had a record but we didn't even have a band. I said, 'I guess we'll have to work on that.' "
Where did the band get its name? "It was an old R&B disco song called 'Float On' by the Floaters. The Floaters would each say their sign and what kind of woman they liked. The chorus was 'take my hand/come with me, baby, to loveland.' It was always a joke."
You are the primary lyricist for Loveland. Where do you draw your inspiration? "I don't sit down to write a song. They come to me. It's like, 'We're happening. You better write this down.' It's gotten to the point that every time I leave town I write a song. My radio doesn't get good reception. I cross Texas a lot, and I'll get to west Texas and figure I better write something now.
"There are only a couple of songs I've ever written that have had choruses. I kind of think of a song in terms of a dramatic progression. I see them unfolding like a scenario, a little movie going on. One thing falls after another, and it is not necessarily the kind of structure people are used to."
How does the music scene in Tucson compare to the music scene in Pinos Altos, N.M.? "It exists. Pinos Altos was a real little place, 300 people or so. There was a bar where there was a lot of music going on. It was going pretty good. It is falling apart now. Tucson is the way Pinos Altos was then, just on a much grander scale. Once in a while you make a little money down here."
Any dream gigs? "My dream gig would be to do a show for everybody's family in the band where we could all do something and then when we are done have a nice big meal. Then maybe we would play some more, make some homemade ice cream, then who knows what."
You share a name with another musician, David Bryan, the keyboardist for Bon Jovi. Any favorite Bon Jovi songs? "No, I really don't know anything about them. The funny thing is I don't listen to music that much anymore. I just enjoy making it and being around live music. What I listen to most is older stuff. I love '30s and '40s standards. I can listen to Fats Waller all day."
Gerald M. Gay. To suggest someone for this column, e-mail ggay@azstarnet.com.
