John Davis Interview & Bio - ChristianMusic.com
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About John Davis....

John Davis was born into a strong Christian family and grew up in a rural Tennessee community, attending the small but active Baptist Church with his extended family, which was very close to his parents' home, four times a week, as a child. Musically, he was exposed early to not only the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Word, but also Gospel, country, and bluegrass music through his immediate family, his church family, and friends.

John Davis shares with ChristianMusic.com his upbringing and early influences on his spiritual development in his growing up years.

"I was brought up in the church from a very young age; as a matter of fact, the church we went to (First Baptist Church Of Bluegrass, Knoxville, TN) was more or less in our back yard. You can look right out the back door and see the steeple. The parking lot is about 50 yards from the back of the house. My folks were and are very active in the church there. Years and years ago, my grandfather owned the piece of property that the church sits on. All that to say, the Christian faith had a lot to do with my upbringing."

During his growing up years, John Davis was exposed to and soaked in a variety of music genres, including rock, southern Gospel, country, and folk, each which influenced his developing musical gifts, given to him from God.

Musical Influences - "I have got some fairly obvious influences; the ones that rise to the top the quickest are The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Guided By Voices, Cheap Trick, The Band, Larry Norman, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Big Star, My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Louvin Brothers, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Reed, Slim Harpo, Freddie King, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, The Clash, Dinosaur Jr, Husker Du, The Replacements, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Buck Owens & His Buckaroos, T-Model Ford----I could go on all day!"

As his musical talents were considerable, John Davis began his professional career as a singer, songwriter, and performer on several instruments in secular music, as John Davis had drifted away from his Christian faith sometime in his youth, creating a void in his life, that he didn't realize at the time. These events were not exactly what the Lord had planned, but the merciful Lord is patient and waited, as He does with all of us, for the time when John would turn back to Him.

Around 1994, John Davis became the "lead creative force" in the secular band, SUPERDRAG, described as a "melodic, power-pop rock band" who created music which "combined punk energy, bittersweet melodies, and classic British influences." John Davis' used his unique ability and talent to create quite inventive melodies and compositions which brought success to SUPERDRAG. As their loyal fan base grew, their songs were brought to the attention of the secular music industry.

A single from SUPERDRAG's debut album, REGRETFULLY YOURS, called "Sucked Out", became a "Top 20 Modern Rock Hit." Over the next ten years, SUPERDRAG gave their fans 4 albums and many single releases and EPs. Many of their music videos were played on MTV, and they were the guest band twice on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

While John Davis and fellow SUPERDRAG band members enjoyed commercial success with their music, John Davis still suffered from a void, an emptiness in his life and tried to fill it up with self-medication via booze. John Davis found himself in an out of control spiral due to his increasing alcohol consumption, almost to a life or death situation, as he flirted with drinking to a point of risking death by alcohol overdose, a la Bon Scott, ACDC singer; 1980. (YIKES!).

John Davis commented in a Rambler Records bio, "I had a charter membership in the 'Bon Scott Club.' I can make light of it now, but it really did almost become a life or death situation."

You may ask, what stopped this destructive, deadly downward spiral? Mercifully, John Davis was rescued by the Lord one night, who made a house call in a car to a child of His (John Davis) in trouble and lost down the wrong path, and hitting rock bottom, a cold, lonely, and frightening place to be.

His Personal Testimony ......His "Road to Damascus" Experience.

It happened while John Davis was on his way over to his parent's house, driving in his car. He suddenly was overwhelmed with an overbearing sensation which was described by John Davis as being a combination of "being struck by lightening, getting hit by a cannonball and having a piano dropped on your head."

Overtaken with this intense swirl of sensation, John Davis instinctively turned back to the Lord.

John Davis explains, "Before I had a chance to think about what I was doing, I started praying. I cried out to God. Instantly, I knew that the void inside of me would never be filled with the liquor. I just got tired of running. I remember thinking that I needed peace, and it just came over me like a cool breeze - God's peace. At that moment, it was like a huge burden had been lifted. I got to my folks' house looking like I'd been run over by a truck." (Taken from Rambler Records Bio)

Needless to say, John Davis rediscovered / returned quickly to his faith and embraced Jesus Christ, who filled this void in his life. Relying on the power of the Lord, John Davis gave up alcohol and related ways of thinking/ behaving which were destroying his life.

Though he finished his current commitments to SUPERDRAG by completing the band's 2002 album, LAST CALL FOR VITRIOL and went on tour as well, John Davis shared, "My heart just wasn't in it anymore."

John Davis then made a clean start by moving to Nashville, hooking up with old friend, R.S. Field, an established and respected music producer who John had first met at a Nashville SUPERDRAG show. This was the first step in John Davis' switch to composing his own unique brand of Christian music which glorifies and pleases the Lord and gives John a personal satisfaction.

What a merciful, loving Savior we have in Jesus Christ!

John Davis was / is a changed man, healed from old hurts and weaknesses through faith in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. In that painful void in his being, he has been filled with the love of and for the Lord Jesus, which has resulted in being freed from old demons and the chains of his past, and is now free of all this baggage to step out in faith to create and explore the Christian music genre.

A Personal Revelation on the Gospel Story; John 3:16 -- God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

Another experience that gave John Davis personal spiritual insight of John 3:16 was the birth of a little son, Paul Isaac, whose arrival greatly blessed both John Davis and his wife. It added a new dimension to his songwriting as the meaning of John 3:16 became close and personal.

John Davis shares with ChristianMusic.com, "I became a father recently; we have a three month old boy here at home, Paul Isaac. He pretty much came on the scene and started educating his Daddy immediately. To tell you the truth, he gave me an entirely new perspective on the Gospel story, just by being alive and being our son. You know, we read and understand the language of God's word, love it, dedicate ourselves to living by it, as Christians, but the notion of God's Son being tortured, beaten, and murdered for something I had done took on a whole new level of profundity for me once I had a son of my own."

These two most powerful experiences influenced John Davis; the night the Lord reached down for him and the birth of his new son, events which changed both him and his wife, helping John to compose and write songs for the Lord and his Gospel, from a personal perspective which touches and inspires the listener in their own spiritual journey and struggles with faith and weaknesses.

About John Davis' Music...

ChristianMusic.com asked John Davis, "Your Music, how would you describe it?"

"It is Rock’N’Roll, generally. So by definition, that means it’s Country, Gospel, Blues, R & B, Soul, Hillbilly, Rockabilly, Folk, Folk-Rock--- I’d like to think it’s either a combination of everything I’ve ever heard and loved, or a reaction to it."

While John Davis still is proud of the music he created during the ten year period with SUPERDRAG, John describes the music as being composed "by a completely different guy. There's a real emotional distance between life then and life now."

ChristianMusic.com asked John Davis, How were you led by the Lord to use your musical gifts to write and sing songs?

"It was a matter of surrendering my all to Jesus. Composing songs, producing records, and performing for people are not only the best ways I know of to communicate to people the way I feel, I’m inclined to think they’re the best qualities God has endowed me with as a human being; the best I have to serve Him with. So that’s what I’m trying to do; just take the absolute best I’ve got and hand it over to the Lord as a means of thanking Him for saving my life." - John Davis

ChristianMusic.com, always fascinated with the creative musical process, had to know; How do you compose your songs? Group jam sessions? Do you compose from a keyboard or guitar? What comes first, the lyrics or the melody / composition?

John Davis explains, "I will ordinarily sit down and write on whatever instrument immediately suggests itself if I have an idea taking shape. On this album it ended up being split about 50/50 between guitars and the piano. I wrote an entire song with a bass the other day--that's atypical for me, and kinda backwards, but I had fun at it. I do all the writing for my material. Generally, I write music and lyrics simultaneously, but not always. I still make demos on 4-track cassette."

UPDATES:

John Davis & Logan Sekulow - Logan Show

11 / 08 / 2005 - John Davis was the guest performer on The Logan Show, a clever and hilariously funny nationally syndicated show, hosted by the witty, 19 year old Logan Sekulow.

show's website: theloganshow.com

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