Music & Book

David Berkeley lives here now; get pumped

Local musician/author/father David Berkeley has lived all over the place. New York, Berkeley, Atlanta, Corsica…and the list goes on. But when his wife was offered a job at St. John's College three years ago, it would set into motion some of the more permanent decisions of his life and prove a boon for the Santa Fe music landscape.

"Most of my career has been touring, so where I'm based doesn't usually matter so much [and] though some places have been easier than others, Santa Fe has been the most livable and is the first place where we've ever owned a home," Berkeley says. "The space here is so inspiring, the quiet is so amazing and the light is extraordinary, which I know sounds trite, but this is an incredible place to be working."

Santa Fe's change of pace seems to lend itself perfectly to Berkeley's mellow brand of indie-folk. Think of his catalogue as a sort of intersection between Beck's Sea Change, the best of Cat Stevens or Bob Dylan and a dash of neo-bluegrass like The Avett Brothers thrown in for good measure. It's an almost perfect blend of finger-picking goodness with just enough rock 'n' roll edge to avoid solemnity or sad-sackery. Lyrically, each song tells a story, and most come across autobiographically. Topics are culled from Berkeley's globetrotting touring schedule/living situation.

Take songs like "The Well (Wait for the Rain)" from Berkeley's most recent release, The Fire in My Head, in which he states, "I've been trying to hold onto something that lasts." It's a relatively universal sentiment given gravity by how often Berkeley has moved. Others on the record like "I'm Coming Home" add to the borderline melancholy search for permanence he espouses. Feelings of isolation or disconnection are nothing new to the world of singer-songwriters, but Berkeley's whisper-soft Jeff Mangum-meets-Nick Drake vocal style brings a relatable level of earnestness to the concepts in an emotionally believable way. There isn't even a hint of manipulation here; he's got a timbre one can trust, which is made all the more impressive when we consider the majority of the record was put together live in the studio with minimal overdubs.

Within the aforementioned three short years, Berkeley has already forged strong relationships with some of the more renowned and beloved local musicians like Ben Wright, Josh Martin (who now make up the bulk of his backup band) and Jono Manson, an invaluable asset in Berkeley's recording career. Berkeley's last offering came out of Manson's Kitchen Sink Studios in Chupadero, and September's Cardboard Boat was built there as well. It serves as a companion piece to an upcoming collection of short stories penned by Berkeley and titled The Free Brontosaurus.

"Each story weaves together with the other [and] it's all set in the same city, and the songs are for each of the main characters from each story," he says. "It's like…let's create a world and create stories to see how each of these characters might write a song or what they might say."

It'll be a bit of wait before we can see what Berkeley has up his sleeve, but in the meantime Santa Fe will have plenty of opportunities to check out his existing work in varying combinations. Take, for example, an upcoming performance at Duel Brewing with Wright on guitar and Martin on the upright bass that will feature no shortage of newly planned three-part vocal harmonies and altered arrangements of older material.

"I feel so lucky to be working with these guys and after the last few months of playing with them, I've changed my MO," he says. "For the first year or two I lived here, I think I played three times, but now I'm finding the right places to play more often—like Duel—where people are engaged listeners."

Local venues and promoters ought to pay close attention to David Berkeley. He offers a level of talent and professionalism that has the potential to serve our scene well. If nothing else, it's almost criminal how rarely the man plays, especially given his backup artists. This is a musician who could easily slay the Lensic or unite the community on the Bandstand. Somebody make that happen, please.

David Berkeley featuring
Ben Wright & Josh Martin

7-10 pm. Friday, Feb. 27. No cover
Duel Brewing
1228 Parkway Drive,
474-5301

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