Saturday, April 16
5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Co-Sponsored by The Regulator Bookshop
$15 suggested donation
David Berkeley
David Berkeley will be doing a special reading, performance and signing at Outsiders Art & Collectibles on Saturday, April 16th at 5:30 pm. The special early performance is co-sponsored by The Regulator Bookshop and will pull together the art, music and literary communities for a concert on the porch of the old house, now gallery.
About David Berkeley:
David Berkeley recently released his 4th studio album, the haunting and shimmering Some Kind of Cure via Straw Man. Along with the album, Berkeley also wrote an accompanying book of short stories entitled, 140 Goats and a Guitar, the Stories behind Some Kind of Cure; all while living for a year in a remote 35-person mountain village on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.
140 Goats and a Guitar
The book tells the stories of how each song was written while adapting to his surroundings, missing home, and trying to survive, with his wife and one-year old child in tow. The tales are both heartfelt and humorous, not unlike David’s performances, in which he weaves often hilarious stories with his heartbreaking songs.
David Berkeley is a romantic realist, known for his ability to look at the human condition in all its complexity and give us luminous songs full of sunshine and anguish, melancholy and delight. He brings the people and situations he sings about to vibrant life with a warm, rich tenor that often slips into an aching falsetto to underline the overwhelming emotions that can move us to tears or laughter. On Some Kind of Cure, Berkeley delivers some of his most heartfelt tunes blending folk, rock, and classic pop to create timeless expressions of love and longing.
David Berkeley never intended to become a professional musician. “I sang all the time, almost before I could talk,” Berkeley recalls. “There wasn’t a lot of music around the house. My parents didn’t take me to anything like Star Search performances, but they did take me to New York to see Broadway musicals. I had a good ear and could remember the words and melodies to the songs I liked, but I didn’t start playing myself until fairly late.” Berkeley played in various bands in high school and during his years at Harvard, where he studied philosophy and literature. He busked in Harvard Square, but he didn’t get serious about music until he fell in love. “I started writing songs in my last years of college, when I had my heart broken. My first songs were written in an attempt to get my girlfriend back. I ultimately did, and married her, but it took a while.
Berkeley’s music started getting national attention when the music director of the CBS drama Without a Trace saw him play live. Berkeley wrote “Fire Sign” for the show and went on to be featured in promotions for iTunes, Coke and Paste Magazine. He received ASCAP’s Johnny Mercer Songwriter Award and performed on NPR’s This American Life, telling the awkward and hilarious story of a private serenade he was hired to perform to help a guy win back an ex-girlfriend.
Additional information:
www.davidberkeley.com
www.facebook.com/davidberkeleymusic
www.myspace.com/davidberkeley
